The St Rita’s College graduating class of 2019 had plenty to celebrate following the release of Queensland’s Overall Position (OP) results.

College Principal Mrs Dale Morrow congratulated the students and teachers in being among the highest achieving in the state, and one of the top five Brisbane girls schools. 

Thirty-eight percent of students received an OP 1-5 and eighty-three percent placed within the 1-10 band.

“We applaud the Class of 2019 for their commitment in motivating themselves and taking advantage of the many opportunities offered by the College to assist them in achieving the excellent results they did,” Mrs Morrow said.

“We also wish to acknowledge the extraordinary guidance of our fine teachers, who have supported the girls every step of the way."

College Principal Mrs Dale Morrow with Dux and OP1 recipient, Ellanah

The efforts of Year 12 student Ellanah came to fruition when she received an OP1, following on from being named College Dux and achieving three top-of-subject awards earlier in the year.

“My plan next year is to study Secondary Education; I am incredibly passionate about imparting knowledge and think that giving the gift of both education and pastoral support is invaluable,” Ellanah said.

“I have been afforded so many amazing opportunities during my time at St Rita’s, and I am very excited for the road ahead!” 

2019 College Vice Captain Grace was also thrilled to discover she had received an OP1 and said every girl in the cohort should be proud of her efforts.

“I was really excited and honoured to receive an OP1,” she said. “I’m thankful to the teachers and all the girls for the hard work and determination shown throughout the year.”

2019 College Captains Grace, Ella and Carla

College Captain Ella was also among those in the first band, being awarded an OP5.

“I was really pleased with my result because it was better than I predicted, and is what I need to hopefully study Engineering and Business at the University of Queensland next year,” she said.

“I think we are a really unified cohort and during the whole OP process we wanted to work together, not only to achieve our best but for ourselves, but for each other too.”

College Principal Dale Morrow said the cohort’s achievements did not stop at academia.

“This cohort have coupled their hard work with interests that extend beyond the classroom including sport, music and debating, and even further to include a range of social justice pursuits,” College Principal Mrs Dale Morrow said. 

“We could not have hoped for a better way to end the final year of OP results.” 

Next year the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) will replace the Overall Position system, following four years of preparation since the announcement in 2015.

Graduates will now eagerly await University offers, scheduled for release early next year.