Winners of the 2019 Premier's VCE Awards Tamsyn Lovass and Jordan Blanch haven't let coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions slow their progress in two very different fields
The two were among 307 of Victoria's best performing VCE students recognised with Premier's VCE Awards, announced on 29 April.
While the Premier's VCE Awards announcement looked a little different this year — with award recipients being announced online — the achievements of VCE students from 2019 are well worth celebrating.
Last year's top performing VCE students received the awards in recognition of their outstanding academic performance last year, with 28 students achieving Top All-Round VCE High Achiever awards.
Tamsyn Lovass, 2019 Premier's VCE Awards recipient
Tamsyn won a Top All-Round VCE High Achiever Award with a score of 50 in Chemistry.
The former Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School student is pursuing her passion for scientific research at Australian National University in Canberra but due to travel restrictions has begun her university studies online.
'I have a fantastic academic mentor in material science, which is using new materials to help solve the world's problems,' she says.
'It was a massive honour to receive the VCE Award.'
Tamsyn, who was also dux of her school, is looking forward to eventually living on campus and reconnecting with the friends she made during a seven-week residency at ANU at the beginning of this year.
Jordan Blanch, 2019 Premier's VCE Awards recipient
Filmmaker Jordan Blanch, from Box Hill High School, won a VCE Award in Media for his film from a high school bully's perspective.
'It involved his back story so you do have some empathy for the bully, but that doesn't mean his actions are in anyway justified,' Jordan says.
'I was quite excited about winning the VCE Award because I put a lot of work into media and it all came together in the end.'
Jordan is studying Film and Television online at Swinburne University, while filming videos for artists who no longer have access to venues due to coronavirus (COVID-19).
High Achiever Awards go to students who achieved study scores of 46 or higher (out of 50) in at least five VCE subjects. Congratulations to each of those students, as well as their families, teachers and school communities for their exceptional achievements.
The 2019 awards list also included 276 Study Awards, which recognised the best performers across 95 individual VCE subjects. Students achieved a study score of 46 or above to be eligible for a Study Award.
Top International Students were also recognised, with three awards announced for students studying in Victoria on a student visa.
These were awarded for top study scores obtained for the best four VCE subjects plus 10 per cent of study scores in up to a maximum of two other VCE subjects.
The formal 2019 VCE Awards ceremony has been postponed until further notice, due to physical distancing restrictions currently in place.
A full list of the Premier's VCE Awards recipients is available at
Premier's VCE Awards recipients.