Kentucky's Ella Ward takes the crown in HSC, ranking first in 'ag' course

The Kentucky local says it is so "incredible" and "surreal" to have be among the top students in the state.

While sitting down for a chat with the Leader, Ella had also just received her final Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) mark.

"My ATAR is 88.5. I'm a bit excited, because I didn't think it'd be that good," she said.

After ranking first in the state, she was invited to Sydney and attend a special award ceremony.

But the morning of the awards was quite hectic, as Ella went to a Foo Fighters concert in Brisbane the night before.

"I had to fly down to Sydney from Brisbane the morning of the award ceremony," she said.

"We had booked the tickets as a birthday present for my dad."

Ella made it in time for the ceremony and had an absolute blast with her fellow top-rankers.

"Because of the ceremony, I was surrounded by a lot of smart kids. So, it did make me a bit nervous about my results and if they would be high enough. But," she said.

"Now that the results are out, I'm a lot more relieved and feeling quite stress-free."

She said she was excited to go to work and tell all her co-workers at Dobinsons Distillery.

But ultimately, Ella was not worried about her final marks compared to other students, as she had already accepted an early entry into the University of New England (UNE). She will undertake a Bachelor's in Education for Secondary STEM with a focus on biology and ag.

"I also got the vice chancellor scholarship and that will be going towards my first year of university," she said.