According to Madiba Doyle-Lambert, the most surprising part of his results wasn’t his ATAR of 98.65 or the fact he achieved a mark in the highest band possible (Band 6 or Band E4) in all five of his subjects.
“The biggest surprise was scoring so highly doing only arts subjects,” he said.
“I feel like a lot of people tell you if you want to do well in the HSC you have to do Mathematics and Science, but at IGS I was encouraged to do the subjects that I wanted to do. So I rolled with that and I think that worked to my benefit.”
According to Madiba, the 2022 Head Boy, it wasn’t an easy decision at the end of Year 10 to drop Mathematics and Science to focus instead on courses like Drama, Music, and English Extension.
But he’s confident he “wouldn’t have been able to get this result if I didn’t choose the subjects that I wanted to do”.
“When you do something you’re interested in, you put your full dedication into it. There have been many moments of bliss and peace this year because I found what I was doing really rewarding and enjoyable.”
“I want to thank Ms Sampson, Mr Marchbank and Ms Fajou, my English legends. They were always free to chat, check drafts and talk about ideas. They always put me back on track and supported me every step of the way.”
Madiba is currently deciding between going straight to film school or into a more traditional degree at university first.
“I’ve gotten into film school at AFTRS and the end goal is definitely writing and directing for film but I think I want to go to do another course first so that I can learn more about the world before I start to comment on it.”
Whatever path he chooses, we wish him every success.
Congratulations, Madiba, and thank you for your many contributions!