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Linh Chu: The best thing about studying
at a government school in Australia
is to have the chance to make friends
with many different students
coming from a wide variety of cultures.
Minh Thuy: And in addition to that it is the staff and teachers at New South Wales Schools
who have not only expanded my horizons of the world
of what I can do, of who I can be.
David: It's a welcoming environment.
At first my English is not very good
but the friendly teachers and students, they helped me a lot.
Minh Thuy: But they have also become my family who greatly supported me
who've, you know, greatly contributed towards my personal growth and development.
Kitty: Students all come from various background
and this created a very inclusive atmosphere.
David: The New South Wales government School
provides a wide variety of subjects for me to choose
so we can control self and study what we like.
Kitty: My experience in Australia granted me independence.
Jean: I really enjoyed to be support leader.
It was great to have responsibility of taking care of Year 7's.
I loved it.
James: I made the choice that I need to do really well in HSC
so that I can get into Uni and do whatever I want to do.
Linh Chu: It has been such a great honour
to become all a part of that
and know that you can make a change,
knowing that you are not just a student in the school,
but also a part of the school.
James: The HSC is all about belonging.
I belong to China first.
I haven't been to any other countries before
but now I belong to Australia too
and the things in the school just, you know, stunned me.
I'm going to love this place forever.
Hannah: I've got an ATAR of 99.8
and I've enrolled in Medicine
in University of New South Wales.
James: I'm studying Architecture in Sydney Uni as I always wanted
and that's because I did really well in HSC last year.
I feel really lucky because I'm staying on campus this year
and I got a really good scholarship and I'm doing what I want.
David: I'm really excited to go into Medicine this year.
Minh Thuy: I'm currently doing the Bachelor of Commerce,
Liberal Studies at the University of Sydney
Linh Chu: This year I'm enrolling in Sydney University
doing combined Degree of Engineering and Science
and it's going to be big. I'm really excited.
Minh Thuy: I arrived in Australia in 2008. I was fourteen.
I was a little kid but the first instance was wow.
This is my dream. This is where I want to go to, where I want to be.
I love the people here. I love the environment here.
I love the schools. It expands my horizons.
They show me the world. It's a life changing experience.
I've learnt to be a person in Australia. You know, it wasn't scary at all.
It was one of those things you go through to grow up and
I was so glad that I did it here in Australia.
Mark Howland: The New South Wales government schools
have been enrolling international students now since 1990
and the program is incredibly successful.
We are currently the largest provider nationally
for international students in the school sector
with over 3,700 students enrolled in more than 260 schools.
Marie Bashir: It is a wonderful, certainly, experience,
when the New South Wales Government sees fit to award
and recognise those international students who have done
so well and international students generally as a whole
and celebrate the outstanding contribution they are making,
not only to New South Wales and their schools
but, ultimately, beyond.
Gregory Prior: In 2011, 187 international students from 54 schools
appeared on the HSC honour role for scoring more than 90 in a subject.
Eight international students obtained ATARS greater than 99.
Twelve students achieved top all rounder status
for scoring 90 or more in at least 10 units of study.
Each year between 25 and 30% of international students
in our schools appear on the honour role and achieve
outstanding results.
Finally I would like to congratulate
our students here today for your outstanding achievements and success.
Brian Miller: The benefits of having international students
within in our schools are the fact that they are international.
Frank Pickardt: They bring such a richness to my school in terms of their cultures.
Jane Ferris: The students themselves are very committed
as learners and therefore they bring a new dimension
to the classroom.
Frank: It makes my students better global citizens.
Jane: And actually lift the game in terms of competition
and expectations and encourage everybody to excel and do well.
Brian: They bring their stories, their lives into our lives.
Jane: They so often are willing to take up leadership roles in the school.
I'm very proud today that our international student
won the Department and Communities Award for School Service.
Brian: The students will find multi-layers of support
at our school: from the ISC, from our English as a Second Language Staff,
our staff are all trained. They like the presence
of the international students in the school.
Jane: It's very important to make them feel welcome
and part of the school community quickly
so we have a Coordinator,
and we have fortnightly meetings where
the Coordinator, the Deputy-Principal and the Enrolment Officer
in the school meet to iron out any concerns.
Frank: My school offers support at many levels for international students.
We have an overarching Student Coordinator.
At my school it's our Deputy- Principal who takes
total responsibility for the enrolment of students,
liaison with International Student Centre
and with homestay parents.
Brian: We appreciate the fact that they leave family behind but what they actually gain,
is that they gain an Australian family.