Beaconhills College’s Pakenham Campus Dux Mariam Mostokly achieved an ATAR of 98.05 for her VCE, but was missing in action when results were announced on 14 December.

That’s because she was busy volunteering in Fiji, making meals and helping paint churches as part of her Coptic Orthodox church’s missionary work.

Hard work and determination seem to be two ingredients of Mariam’s success.

Mariam joined Beaconhills College in 2017, leaving her family in northern Egypt to study in Australia and improve her English.

Her Year 12 subjects were English as an Additional Language (EAL), Chemistry, French and Maths Methods. She completed Arabic and Further Maths in Year 11.

Given her Egyptian schooling was in Arabic – which is written from right to left – learning to read, write and speak English was no mean feat.

“It was very hard – I didn’t know what ‘x’ and ‘y’ was in Maths that first year,” she said.

But she was determined to succeed, and in Year 12 she said she made a habit of reading ahead in the coursework, making her own notes, then adding in teacher notes after every class. She also completed 26 practice exams for each subject.

After a long-awaited visit to her family back home in January, Mariam hopes to go to university in Australia and study physiotherapy or a double degree in civil engineering/architectural design.

Not surprisingly, her parents are very proud of her achievements at Beaconhills.