James Psaltis, a Greek Australian student from St Peter’s College in Adelaide, has received an inaugural South Australian Governor’s Award for his fantastic results in the International Baccalaureate (IB)
James received 44 out of a possible 45 score for his IB (the equivalent of the maximum possible 99.75 Australian Tertiary Entrance Rank) and was ranked first at his school, alongside Thomas Gaertner.
Speaking to The Advertiser at the time, James said he had applied to study medicine at Adelaide or Flinders University. He also aimed to bolster his volunteer work.
“I manage my own social enterprise operations, in partnership with United Way Australia,” James told the newspaper. “I aim to improve literacy rates in at-risk children.”
READ MORE: Greek Australian students in South Australia shine in the International Baccalaureate.
SA Governor’s awards for excellence have been presented annually since 2012 to high achievers in the SA Certificate of Education (SACE).
Last year, a graduate of Walford Anglican School for Girls, Jasmin Manetta, wrote to the Governor Hieu Van Le suggesting IB students should also be recognised.
The Governor agreed and said it was a pleasure to extend the awards to the top student from each IB diploma school. In fact, he was also particularly impressed the Year 12 alternative had a focus on intercultural respect.
“As a proud advocate for cultural diversity in our state and our nation, I am pleased to see that the IB considers these skills as essential for young citizens of the 21st century,” Governor Hieu Van Le said at the award ceremony.
The IB is an international school-leaving credential. It has fewer in-class assessments and about 80 percent of a student’s result is based on the final exam.
In South Australia, there were among 222 students who sat the IB instead of the SA Certificate of Education this year.
