Learning English was the first goal for Djordje Uzelac when he fled war-ravaged Serbia and arrived in Australia in 2003.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Six years later he started attending the Saturday School of Community Languages at Smiths Hill High School to remain fluent in his native language.
But more importantly Uzelac was able to study Serbian as a HSC subject, with the two-unit course counting towards the 10 required for his ATAR mark.
He ended up achieving a Band 6 for Serbian which boosted his results and allowed him to enrol into a Bachelor of Economics and Finance at the University of Wollongong.
Saturday School of Community Languages assistant supervisor Khaled Elhage said Uzelac was just one of many success stories over the years.
He said the Illawarra’s only selective high school offers a number of languages for students to study at its Saturday School of Community Languages.
These languages are not available for study through the students’ day schools.
Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Macedonian and Serbian were the languages offered at the SSCL centre.
“All Year 7 to 12 Students, from government and non-government schools are eligible to attend and at no cost,” he said.
The SSCL in the Illawarra, one of only two centres outside the Sydney area, was initially run from the Wollongong Public School grounds and then moved to the Citadel area.
The citadel was previously a Salvation Army hall that was purchased by the SSCL many years ago and then became a part of the Smiths Hill High School site.
An impressive 19 SSCL students topped the state in their respective HSC courses, including Smiths Hill pair Jasmine Lowe (Indonesian Beginners) and Hannah Robinson (Swedish Continuers).
Earlier in December students took the opportunity to showcase their work and talents at the annual Presentation Day.
“Parents and the community attended this wonderful day, where students were recognised and acknowledged for their academic achievements,” Mr Elhage said.
The school returns in 2019 on Saturday, February 9.
Visit SSCL website for more details.
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
