BSHS Awarded highest median ATAR score in the region

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As the staff and students of Busselton Senior High School (BSHS) return for the 2019 school year on the 4th February, Principal Dainon Couzic is reflecting on what has been an outstanding 12 months for the school.

After being recognised at an awards ceremony in November 2018 in Sydney as the winner and leading school nationally in the design and delivery of VET programmes to high school students (Australian Training Awards – School Pathways to Vocational Education Training), BSHS has backed up this result with also being awarded the highest median ATAR school in the region, with a result of 78.95. The school also boasts 100% attainment rate for 2018, with all ATAR students being accepted in to their first preference at university.

Mr Couzic says ‘This result is testament to the individual programs that we tailor to each student at the school. The staff at BSHS have worked tirelessly to create programs to ensure each student can achieve individual success in their chosen field’. He goes on to say ‘I cannot convey enough to the wider community how proud we as a school of all our students and their achievements. The greatest reward as an educator is to see students leave the school having achieved their goals or be well on the way to doing so. It means we are doing our job, and doing it well.’

The formula for success is obviously working and being celebrated in our community, as the school is boasting the highest enrolment rate for its 2019 Year 7 cohort for the last ten years.

Buoyed by its recent achievements, the school will look to build on its success in 2019, by concentrating on improvements to ensure they support their successful students by continuing to refine their learning environments, providing quality teaching, ensuring they have the right resources for success and will work collaboratively with students and their families to work in partnership in their education.

Young Carers

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YOUNG CARERS

Young carers is a term used to identify young people who look after a family member with a disability, mental illness, chronic illness, or drug/alcohol problem. Due to their situation, young carers have extra responsibilities which will necessarily impact on their home, school and social life.

In Western Australia, there is estimated to be over 40,000 young carers under the age of 26 in both metropolitan and regional or remote areas. This means that there is likely to be at least two young carers in every classroom.

They may become a young carer through someone in their family sustaining disabilities from an accident, being born with a disability, or developing a chronic illness. Alternatively, they could grow up having someone in their family with a mental illness, or drug or alcohol problem. Each caring situation is different and every young carer helps their family in different ways.

The role of caring for another person in day to day life can have both positive and negative impacts on a young person. Research has shown there to be immediate and long term effects associated with caring with young carers being more likely to suffer from the negative effects of caring if they do not have the right support.

National and international research shows that young carers rarely self-identify for a variety of reasons. They also do not respond to the term 'young carer' until after the term has been explained to them, meaning that identification can be difficult for us at school.

When recognised and supported in their role as a young carer, young people have stated that it has had a strong, positive impact on their lives. Young carers often gain useful skills, knowledge and experiences which can help them in later life.

Busselton Senior High School is partnering with Young Carers WA to provide students who are carers with extra support.

This may be in the form of counselling, vouchers for activities, camps or other support as per the need of each child. The service is completely free and confidential.  Parents or students who wish to engage with young carers may get information and a referral pack from the deputies in student services or the school nurse. The school does not need to know the reasons why someone is a young carer. We will simply provide the information for you to pursue. As such the identity of those acting in the roles of young carers will be confidential.