Stories and highlights

There's always something to celebrate at our school! From exciting events to proud moments and everyday wins, here are some of our highlights.

2025 HSC Student excellence in Visual Arts

One of our 2025 Year 12 Visual Arts students, Isabella Macken, has been selected for ARTEXPRESS which is an annual showcase of exemplary artworks from Higher School Certificate that celebrates the remarkably high standards reached by NSW Visual Arts students across the state.

Isabella's two panel dot painting on bark is titled 'Mirrung' and will feature in the regional ARTEXPRESS exhibition being shown at Wagga Wagga and Dubbo.

Isabella's artwork also features on our school website home page banner and on the cover of our 2025 school magazine.

2025 HSC Major Projects virtual exhibition

The Virtual Exhibition of 2025 HSC Major Projects is an interactive virtual tour that showcases the talent and creativity of our Year 12 students. The exhibition includes works in Visual Arts, Textiles and Industrial Technology Multimedia.

Click on the  Virtual Exhibition of 2025 HSC Major Projects  and navigate around the virtual rooms and click on the images to find out more.

2025 Higher School Certificate results

• 219 students achieved Band 5 and Band 6 results. (Previous years: 2024 - 185, 2023 - 171, 2022 – 204, 2021 – 240, 2020 – 190).
• 32.6% of all bands awarded were Band 5 or Band 6 (Previous years: 2024 - 31.4%, 2023 – 29.6%, 2022 – 34.3%, 2021 – 40.3%, 2020 – 34%).
• In addition to 306 single course students (Government schools: 155, Non-Government schools: 151), there were 47 students in special placement settings and 86 Sydney Distance Education High School students completing all or part of the HSC.
• A significant number of our 2025 home HSC students achieved Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks (ATARs), including students achieving ATARs in the 90s.

Outstanding student success in the HSC

Congratulations Heidi Bromley

On 25 June 2026, Heidi was the proud recipient of the Brother John Taylor Memorial Prize which was shared between three students.

NESA established this award in 1993 in memory of Brother John Taylor, a long term member of the Board of Studies NSW.

In this photo, Heidi is receiving her award from Deputy Premier, the Hon. Prue Car MP at an event held at Parliament House.

Heidi's achievement

The Brother John Taylor Memorial Prize celebrates “students who demonstrated incredible resilience and determination in the 2025 HSC, overcoming significant disadvantage to achieve academic excellence.”

Heidi followed a HSC Pathways program for three years and her achievements included 1st in State for English Studies examination, 2nd in State for Society and Culture and 7th in State for Mathematics Standard 2, with an ATAR of 98.85.

In this photo, Heidi is joined by our Head Teacher Teaching and Learning (Learning Support and Library) and our school principal.

Coordinated support

Heidi received significant support provided by her SDEHS teachers, support staff, Head Teachers and senior executive.

We would also like to acknowledge the support provided by Heidi’s family and Naremburn School as she was shared enrolment with this SSP.

In this photo, Heidi is joined by staff from the Naremburn School.

This prize is yet another reflection of the outstanding and important work we do in our school community to support our students to succeed and thrive.

Take a look at some of the other outstanding HSC achievements from our students over the past few years.

HSC Showcase selections

A number of our students have been selected for the prestigious showcasing of student excellence by both the Department of Education and the NSW Educational Standards Authority (NESA). Here are our stars from the past few years.

HSC Showcase nominations

The following students have been nominated for exhibitions and performances over the past few years.