Students from Victoria's Catholic schools are embarking on their VCE exams, backed by the thoughts and prayers of the state's second biggest school system
'We have more than 14,200 Year 12's in our schools this year, yet another year on year increase,' Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Executive Director Stephen Elder said.
'They come from every corner of the state and every background, including refugee and Indigenous communities.
'This year well over 210,000 students – almost one in four Victorian school children – have enjoyed a Catholic education in one of nearly 500 schools statewide, supported by some 28,000 staff.
'Those figures show the strength of our system. Parents value choice in education, and know Victoria's Catholic schools offer a quality, affordable, faith and values-based education.
'It's why the proportion of Victorian students in the Catholic system is higher than other states.
'I know the effort our hard-working staff has put in to ensure our VCE contenders can be on peak performance and am immensely grateful for their work – and I know that the rest of our Catholic education family will be praying for their success.
'They are undertaking the final steps of a journey that has taken them 13 years and we trust and pray God will guide their way through the weeks ahead.
'I wish them all well and want to thank their school communities for all they have done to prepare our students for the VCE.
'I'm also mindful of the pressure on parents this time of year brings. We at Catholic education work hard to repay the trust they put in us, and they are also in our prayers.'
Mr Elder said last year's Catholic VCE performance augured well for the Class of 2018.
'In 2017, the average of the median study scores for all Victorian Catholic schools was close to 10 per cent higher than the equivalent for Victorian government schools.
'More than 10 per cent of students received VCE study scores of 40 or above – representing exceptional performance – over a quarter of Melbourne Catholic schools, showing the quality across the system.
'Our schools also performed strongly in vocational education and training.'
