It hasn’t been an easy two years to go through the VCE.
From bushfires to a pandemic, storms and floods, the past two years have thrown up unprecedented challenges and disruptions for our school students.
But despite everything, the Class of 2021 has refused to be deterred, persevering through remote learning, power cuts and damaged buildings to succeed in their VCE – and there is nothing the world can throw at them now that they can’t take in their stride.
Education Minister James Merlino (centre) and VCAA chief executive Stephen Gniel (far left) celebrate with year 12 graduates on the lawns of Parliament House.Credit:Paul Jeffers
I want to say a huge congratulations to everyone – whether you achieved study scores above 40, whether you opted for an unscored VCE or anything in between, all 50,723 of you deserve recognition for your hard work, resilience and determination in the face of all the challenges.
While we all wish we didn’t have to, we were proud to continue to support students to achieve their best through the Consideration of Educational Disadvantage process this year, just as we did in 2020 – taking every single VCE student’s individual circumstances and challenges into account to make sure that the only thing that counts towards their score is their effort and hard work.
We also delivered the Tutor Learning Initiative this year – employing more than 6400 tutors in schools across the state to support students from Prep to Year 12 to catch up on any learning they missed throughout the pandemic, and we’ll continue that program into next year to make sure no Victorian student is left behind.
To this year’s VCE graduates – congratulations again, and I hope you are able to enjoy a well-earned break before you take the next step on your journey, whether that’s university, TAFE or getting into the workforce.
Remember that this is just the beginning – there are so many opportunities in front of you, and endless pathways to get there, and I look forward to seeing you all continue to succeed, just as you have done at school.
James Merlino is the Minister for Education.
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