Mandurah Student Achieves Top Regional ATAR Score of 99.25
Dave Lim, a student from Mandurah Baptist College, has emerged as the highest achiever in the South Metropolitan Region with an impressive ATAR result of 99.25. Despite this outstanding performance, the young scholar believes there was room for improvement in his final semester.
From Stress to Success: A Modest Reaction to Excellence
"I was definitely stressed, and I feel like I was a bit off in the last semester and didn't try as hard as I should have," Mr Lim reflected on his academic journey. His reaction to discovering his top-tier score was remarkably composed. "It was at the end of the day, I was tired from doing stuff, so I was sitting in the car refreshing the page, I found it, I was happy. And I just closed it and went to sleep," he recounted.
Securing a Future in Mechanical Engineering
Mr Lim has already accepted an early entry offer from the University of Western Australia to study mechanical engineering combined with business economics this year. Interestingly, his career choice comes despite paternal advice to avoid the family profession. "(Dad) says he doesn't really want me to go in the same industry because the stuff that he does, (industrial), he says it's kind of boring," Mr Lim explained with a laugh.
Instead, the ambitious student has set his sights on a more dynamic application of his engineering skills. "The last few years, I thought that's kind of unrealistic, but now I think if I trust my abilities a bit more, I can do it," he added, expressing his aspiration to work with race cars in the future.
Community Support and Academic Recognition
Mr Lim attributes part of his success to the strong school community and camaraderie within his year group at Mandurah Baptist College. His family moved to Australia from Malaysia when he was six years old, and he has thrived in the local education system.
He received a certificate of distinction for his achievement, joining several other high-performing students in the region who earned similar recognition:
- Sophie Kennedy from Foundation Christian College achieved an ATAR of 98.40
- Subin Binu from Mandurah Baptist College
- Tzuriya Fitze and Vihaga Jayasuriya from Frederick Irwin Anglican School
- Averley Johnson and Freya Merry from Mandurah Catholic College
These students represent the academic excellence emerging from the South Metropolitan Region's educational institutions as they prepare for their future careers and university studies.
