A free tutoring program at Marist College Kogarah is embracing the talent of past HSC students to help their younger peers grow and shine academically.
The college invites new graduates who have done well in specific subjects to take on paid tutoring roles while they are at university.
The tutoring service is available to students from years 7 to 12 at no cost, and students in Year 12 are able to book subject-specific help through an online portal.
Principal Simon Ghantous said the school has about 35 tutors who work across three days each week for two hours after school.
“It’s awesome, and it works on a few levels,” he said.
“You have past-students still connected to the school, so it builds our community of alumni. They bring recent knowledge of the HSC and also spend time talking about what life is like after school, and there’s a whole lot of benefit to that.
“In the afternoons, especially before exams, the library will be full of students with tutors.”
Shared success
The school’s 2023 duxes Luca Colarusso and Brendan Mabbutt share a love of physics and an impressive ATAR of 98.75.
After both completing the subject alongside chemistry, English and the highest levels of Mathematics extension for the HSC, they are each a shoo-in for tutor roles.
Brendan plans to study aerospace engineering and Luca physics at the University of NSW.
Both credit their maths teacher Mr Nguyen and science teacher Mr Zilich for helping them achieve a great HSC result.
“They’re both great teachers,” Brendan said. “Their advice was to study hard.”
Luca said the physics exam was a highlight for him.
“I was having fun,” he said. “It was the one thing I was really confident in.”
HSC in focus
Marist College Kogarah’s class of 2023 achieved above state average in 31 of 32 courses offered.
This included 9.57% above state average in English Standard which has a candidature of more than 33,000 students, and 6% above state average in English Advanced.
While Mr Ghantous said he was proud of the students’ results, he was most proud of the students themselves and of the teachers who supported them.
“They’re gentlemen and they worked hard,” he said.
“The explicit teaching and feedback and support for the students, and the expertise of the teachers and their hard work is phenomenal.”
“We often say to the students that ‘the end crowns the work’. The highlight for me is seeing progression and growth. You watch the students grow and gain confidence as the year goes on.”
