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Recognising students’ achievements
Each year the College recognises students for their achievements on the world stage by awarding the PLC Sydney Australian Representative Blazer, the highest level of co‑curricular achievement.
In 2022 we celebrate the incredible achievements of the following students:
Grace Gaukrodger – Sport Artistic Swimming
In March this year, Grace was selected in the Artistic Swimming National Youth Squad. Over the following months, Grace trained hard and competed at the National Championships, where she won one gold and three silver medals. This earned her a position in the Youth Australian National Team to compete at the FINA Youth World Championships held in North Carolina, USA in August. Grace was also named as the team captain which was an incredible honour. At the Worlds, she came 13th in her solo event and the team finished in 9th place.
Grace achieved the highest score of the Australian team in solo and is a deserved recipient of the PLC Sydney Australian Representative Blazer.
Antonella Khodr-Chah – Performing Arts Music
In May of 2022, Antonella Khodr-Chah received news that she had been pre-selected to compete in the World Championship of the Performing Arts (WCOPA). Held in Anaheim, Los Angeles in July, WCOPA is an international competition for actors, dancers, models, instrumentalists and vocalists. In addition to providing a competitive platform, it affords participants the opportunity to learn and work with industry professionals. Antonella competed in preliminary competition rounds in five vocal categories – Broadway, Contemporary, Open, Pop and R&B/Soul/Jazz. Of approximately 300 vocalists, she was one of 50 singers (from the 16 years and over category) to perform in the semifinals. From here, Antonella became one of three vocalists to progress to the Grand Finals. Her time in the competition culminated in her being awarded WCOPA’s Senior Vocalist of the World for 2022. Antonella’s vocal skills were endorsed by receiving additional awards, including Gold in the Vocal categories of Contemporary, Pop, R&B/Soul/Jazz. She was also the division winner in the aforementioned categories and Broadway.
Sarah Clifton-Bligh – Sport Athletics
After a lot of hard work and dedication to the sport of Athletics over the years, Sarah has had an incredibly busy schedule in 2022, representing Australia three times in the space of three months! Sarah was selected in the National Wheelchair Track Team that went to Switzerland to race in the Swiss National Championships and competed in the World Para Athletics Grand Prix Meet. Following this, Sarah competed with the Australian Athletics Team at the Oceania Championships, in Mackay. The most exciting news of all was when Sarah was selected in the Australian Team to compete in the 100m at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham earlier this month. Sarah placed 5th in a competitive field and set a Commonwealth Games record for her T33 classification in the process.
Emma Olson-Keating – Sport Triathlon
After impressive results at the Oceania Junior Championships and National Relay Championships in April, Emma was selected for the Australian Junior (U/20) team to compete in the 2022 World Triathlon Sprint & Relay Championships in Montreal in June. Emma was in incredible shape, leading into this event. Soon after completing the swim leg and transitioning to the cycle leg, Emma realised that her bike was having issues, her rear derailleur broke which meant that the remaining 14km(s) had to be completed riding in a high (tough) gear. As one would expect, Emma battled on like most champions do. She attempted to complete the run leg on what were very sore and tired legs before retiring to the medical tent. Emma continued on with the Australian team for a European trip where she did more training and racing, placing an impressive 6th overall at the European Junior Cup.
Upon returning to Australia on her second day back in the country she was crowned the 18 years NSW State Champion at the Cross Country championships.
Rachel Lao – Oratory Public Speaking
Rachel successfully auditioned for PLC Sydney’s Australian Individual Debating and Public Speaking Competition team in 2021. Her consistently high standard across four speaking disciplines and an overall rank of 8th in Australia earned Rachel selection to the Australian team to attend the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships which was hosted online by Canada. Once again, Rachel exceeded expectations at the World event, receiving a nomination to the finals in After Dinner Speaking.
Her eventual rank was 10th in this speaking discipline, with Rachel’s overall world position calculated as an honourable 64th place overall from 115 competitors.
Eujiny (Yoo Jin) Cho – Oratory Public Speaking
Eujiny is a student who performs consistently well, excelling particularly in debating endeavours. At the Australian Individual Debating and Public Speaking Competition in 2021, she performed to a consistently high standard across four speaking disciplines which earned her selection to the Australian team, achieving a rank of 3rd overall in Australia. At the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships, Eujiny achieved 41st place overall from 115 competitors, being the seventh Australian to cross the line. In individual events, Eujiny ranked 28th in Interpretive Reading, 36th in Debate, 43rd in Persuasive Speaking and 54th in Impromptu Speaking.
Olivia Stavrakis – Oratory Public Speaking
Olivia is a student who excels at high levels across multiple disciplines. As a member of the PLC Sydney team for the Australian Individual Debating and Public Speaking Competition in 2021, Olivia performed to a consistently high standard across four speaking disciplines which earned her selection to the Australian team, achieving an overall rank of 4th in Australia. At the international event, World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships, Olivia distinguished herself, placing second overall in the World in two individual events – Interpretive Reading and Persuasive Speaking.
This makes her the only Year 11 student in PLC Sydney’s history to qualify and rank in two individual World events. She also improved her overall Australian ranking, being the first Australian to cross the line, finishing 11th in the world among 115 competitors.
Phoebe Adam – Academic Science
In 2021 Phoebe came up with a brilliant research topic for her Year 10 Student Research Project, based on why her parents avoided handling supermarket receipts. Phoebe’s internet investigations revealed that receipts hold a toxic chemical called BPA which has been linked to cancers, Alzheimers and diabetes. Phoebe set out to determine whether BPA is present in Australian supermarket receipts and to quantitatively investigate the transfer of BPA from receipts to skin using pig skin as a model. Seeking guidance from the PLC Scientists-in-Residence and reaching out to Professor Emma Johnston, the Dean of Science at UNSW, provided Phoebe with the knowledge, skill and access to research grade equipment. Phoebe produced an outstanding piece of work that was awarded first place in the Years 9 to 10 Chemistry Category of the NSW Science Teachers Association Young Scientist Awards. Phoebe was selected in the Australian team to present and defend her research at the virtual Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in May 2022 in the USA.
Jasmine Saha – Academic Science
In 2021 Jasmine came up with an impressive topic for her Year 8 Student Research Project titled, “Stop The Charge - pH neutralisation for button battery injury”, which sought to determine which food should be consumed to minimise the injuries associated with swallowing a button battery. A button battery can cause severe internal burns and even death if swallowed by a child.
Jasmine carried out an excellent investigation measuring the pH and burns on esophagus tissue taken from pigs. Her results showed that consuming strawberry jam significantly reduces injury. Of course, the best course of action is to ring an ambulance! Jasmine achieved three prizes in the 2021 NSW Science Teachers Association Young Scientist Awards. This is extraordinary. She was awarded first place in the Years 7 to 8 Scientific Investigations in Biology category, first place in the Royal Australian Chemical Institute Prize for Chemistry Research and was announced as the winner of the Rowe Scientific Science Communication Award. Jasmin was named the 2022 Broadcom MASTERS International delegate, representing Australia at this prestigious competition.
Maia Dragicevic – Sport Aerobic Gymnastics
Maia has been an integral part of the PLC Sydney Sports Aerobics program since taking up the sport late in 2017. Having represented NSW at two National Championships, in 2022 Maia was selected to represent Australia as a Junior at the International Czech Aerobic Open.
Maia placed in the top half of the field at her first international competition. Maia was one of two in her age group, who then qualified for the World Championships in Portugal in July. However, due to a Gymnastics Australia decision, only one of the two qualifiers competed, which left Maia as a reserve for this competition.
In 2022 Alessandra competed in her first international youth tour events in Biathlon skiing. Starting in Val di Femme, Italy and then heading to Obertilliach, Austria, Alessandra competed in the U17s category of the Alpen tour series. As a result of Alessandra’s achievements, she was selected into the Australian Biathlon Development Team and was then selected to compete at the Youth Junior World Championships. The youth world Championships were held in Soldiers Hollow Utah, USA and was an amazing experience for Alessandra. Biathlon is a sport of two disciplines, cross country skiing and rifle target shooting, and is highly competitive, especially amongst European countries. Alessandra now has her sights set on the 2024 Youth Olympic Games to be held in Gangwon, South Korea.
Charlotte Wilson – Sport Snowsports (Moguls)
Charlotte Wilson has been representing PLC Sydney in Snow Sports at a National level since she first enrolled in 2020. Her main discipline is moguls, which is a form of freestyle skiing where she races down the mountain at speed on a steep, heavily moguled/bumped course, performing technical turns and aerial maneuvers.
2022 has been an exceptionally successful year for Charlotte. She started the year training and competing in North America, competing at the international NorAm competition in Canada. Winning her moguls events at the NSW State Interschool Championships and then second place at the Australian Interschool Championships. The highlight of the year though was the announcement that Charlotte had been selected for the NSWIS Moguls Team and the Australian Moguls Team. As a member of the Australian team, competing at the internationally recognised Australian National Open Championships, Charlotte shone bright with her performances and was named the best female Australian skier in both the Junior (U20) and Open categories.
