HSC, ATAR results 2023 LIVE updates: NSW Year 12 students receive end of year results

It’s less than an hour until NSW students who completed the HSC will receive their ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank).

The Universities Admissions Centre has released a few details about how students went overall in 2023:

55,523 students were eligible for an ATAR – 1215 more than in 2022.49 students received the top ATAR of 99.95. Of these students, 12 were female and 37 were male. They came from a mix of government and non-government schools and studied 37 different courses out of the 116 courses offered.17.5 per cent of students received an ATAR of 90.00 or above, 35 per cent received an ATAR of at least 80.00 and 51.8 per cent received an ATAR of at least 70.00.The median ATAR this year was 71.05, slightly lower than in 2022.To achieve a middle ATAR, students generally need to be in the middle of their courses and receive HSC marks between 70 and 80. The median ATAR for females was 71.90, whereas the median ATAR for males was 70.00.

The state’s top mathematics student Angie Wang from Pymble Ladies College casually opened her HSC marks in her bedroom this morning – and she was not disappointed.

“I slept very well … I naturally woke up just at six. I looked at them myself, and then I ran over to my parents’ room and told them – they were like ‘wow’,” she said.

Angie Wang, first in course for mathematics extension 2 in the 2023 HSC.Credit: James Brickwood

She received near perfect results: 100 in maths extension 1, 99 in maths extension 2, 98 in chemistry and 99 in advanced English. She had previously completed the Latin extension for the HSC in 2021.

“I feel like happiness comes from relief, I am just relieved all my hard work paid off because during the year I made sure there was nothing I could regret.”

Teachers at her school had been a big support for Angie as well as her friends.

“We had very good teachers all the way up from junior high,” she said. “I didn’t give up entirely on my social life, but in the more stressful times I would see my friends a little bit less. And I felt a little more isolated.”

While other students might be now inputting their marks to online ATAR calculators in a bid to predict their result, maths whizz Angie already has a good idea.

“I don’t think I have to, I think I have a pretty good idea of what I am going to get,” she said.

Orlando Douglas-Giles, from Turramurra High School, had long planned to write about the famous Sirius building, on the west side of Circular Quay, for his final HSC English major work.

“The fact it is one of the city’s last brutalist buildings, and its history as a social housing complex is so interesting to me. But I also took inspiration from my relationship with Sydney and how that has changed over time,” he says.

Arella Plater, Jacob Johnstone, Angie Wang, Kiana Levy, Orlando Douglas-Giles and Anubhav Ammangi after a ceremony celebrating their first-in-course achievements yesterday.Credit: James Brickwood

Orlando, 18, finished first in the highest-level English course in this year’s HSC for his 6000-word non-fiction essay, The Fishermen’s Songs (you can read an extract from that essay here).

Yesterday, Orlando was one of 128 students from 89 schools across the state who were recognised for finishing first in a subject in the 2023 HSC.

You can see that full list, and read the incredible stories behind some of those names, here.

Early riser Ruby Macpherson couldn’t bear to look at her results. When the text arrived around 5.30am, she put her hand over her phone and peeked at her scores one by one, line by line.

“I was so nervous,” the Shire Christian School student says.

Ruby Macpherson, 18, from Menai in the Sutherland Shire.

The 18-year-old from Menai feels vindicated by her decision to do two extra units. She achieved three band fives and was particularly “stoked” with a band six in food tech.

Ruby isn’t sure what she will do next – she has applied to study a general science degree at the University of Sydney and has received an offer to study pre-med at the University of Wollongong.

For now, the whole family is going out for breakfast to celebrate her achievement.

“I’m the eldest, so this is the first time they’ve done this,” Ruby says. “I went through them [the results] one by one, and they asked ‘are you happy’? I said I was happy and they said, ‘well, we’re happy too’.”

Jeremy Wong, the Sydney Grammar student that topped four language courses in this year’s HSC, was elated when his results landed this morning.

“Amazing”,” he said.

Jeremy Wong, Sydney Grammar School, with NSW Education Minister Prue Car.

The 18-year-old from Maroubra scored 99 for both Classical Greek Continuers and Latin Continuers – and 50 out of 50 for both extension courses. He also excelled in maths extension 1 and chemistry.

“I’ll probably study law at UNSW,” he said. “And maybe work in the public sector. It’s a bit far away to say.”

He was proud of his school’s success across a range of languages and humanities.

“All my friends are quite happy too.”

More than 67,000 students have now received their higher school certificate results – a first tentative step towards discovering what they will do in their careers, and who they want to become. But it’s rarely a linear journey.

Wharton Business School lecturer Adam Grant.Credit:

For parents, supporting children down this uncertain path can be daunting: how can they help their child unlock their potential? How can they help them build a future that is both successful and secure?

Organisational psychologist Adam Grant, who has recently published a book on the subject of potential, told lifestyle and health writer Sarah Berry that parents foisting unrealised dreams onto their children is one way we inadvertently thwart our children’s potential – but there’s also genuine concern for the future.

“Often a really big mistake parents make is they impose the models of career success that were relevant when they were finishing school,” says the 42-year-old father of three.

You can read the full story here.

The class of 2023 should all now have received their HSC results, and we will be hearing from some of those students very soon.

A Herald analysis of HSC data from 2012-2022 shows students are more likely to achieve top two band scores in HSC courses including English advanced, visual arts and physics when compared with a decade ago, while subjects such as modern history and maths extension 1 have dipped slightly in that time.

Two-thirds of English advanced pupils were awarded the highest two bands last year, with band 5 results rising by about 25 per cent over the decade.

Chemistry results in the highest bands have been steady, but slipped in 2022 with one-third of students achieving band 5 and 6 results. In modern history, the proportion of students achieving band 5s has dropped by one-third.

Read the full story by Lucy Carroll and Nigel Gladstone here.

All 67,234 students completing their HSC will shortly receive their results, via text, by 6am. We’re hearing some have already received theirs.

A reminder, you can get in touch to share your results, a video of you opening the long-awaited text, or just your thoughts on what comes next. You can reach us at education@smh.com.au, or via the tipjar below. Please include your phone number.