By Madeleine Heffernan, with Emma Anvari, Stephanie Clarkson, Harry Gell, Ciaran O’Mahony and Bianca Roberts

Bethany hesitated to open her results at first. But after some encouragement from her mother she made that final click.

A wave of relief immediately washed over her. “It’s a lot better than I thought” Bethany said. “I was so stressed for nothing.”

She had exceeded her own expectations, achieving an ATAR of 82.25.

It should mean guaranteed entry into either Melbourne or Monash, where she hopes to study politics and international studies.

Getting through VCE despite Melbourne’s lockdown was not easy.

“When we got back to school, I felt like I didn’t remember how to write,” she said.

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