Few people can boast having something on exhibition at The Powerhouse Museum, but for this 18-year-old from the bush, it’s a reality.
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Clayton Carlon from Fosterton near Dungog topped the State in Industrial Technology – his major work, a computer he built from scratch.
So impressed were HSC markers that his work will be displayed at The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney as part of the Intech Exhibition, a display of students’ impressive HSC major works.
Clayton studied engineering studies, physics, maths extentions 1 and 2, english, religion and industrial technology at All Saint’s College St Mary’s Campus, Maitland.
His HSC results placed him in the State’s top band (band 6) for most subjects and band 5 for english.
He hopes to study computer systems engineering and maths at Newcastle University.
All Saints’ College is celebrating the success of one of its strongest cohorts in recent memory.
Only two Hunter schools have more students on the All-Round list: Merewether High has 15 and Newcastle Grammar has seven.
The Top Achievers list, of students who earned a ranked place in a subject as well as a mark over 90, includes Clayton topping the state in Industrial Technology, Bradley achieving second place in Engineering Studies, Sophia Derkenne reaching fifth in English Extension 2 and Sydney Slade coming eighth in Geography.
While most students sourced their computer components on the Internet, Clayton decided to try something a little different.
“My major work was a basic computer I built from first principles,” Clayton said. “It was made from basic components and I did all the soldering myself,” he said.
Clayton’s hobbies outside school involve anything relevant to the degree he is pursuing at university, electronics and military history. His grandfather was in the navy during the Korean War.
James Ruse Agricultural High School in Carlingford, held off a resurgent Sydney Grammar to claim the title of NSW's top school for the 23rd year in a row.
But Grammar had its best result in more than 10 years, rising up the rankings to push its way from sixth into the top three behind North Sydney Boys'.
Girls out-performed boys in all the English subjects, history and general maths, while boys had more success at higher-level maths, economics and chemistry.
