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Amelia Carlyle Rowe (Milly)

When Amelia Carlyle Rowe (Milly) found out she had placed Top in the World in her Year 13 Cambridge Design & Technology examination, she was worried the examiners would email back to say they had made a mistake.
 

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“It took me a few days to believe it; I was scared to let it sink in!” said our graduate.

Milly’s outstanding coursework focused on designing an outside entertainment area for her house. She spent a lot of time experimenting and coming up with different ideas and sketches.

“Having to produce six initial ideas meant I could trial a variety of different themes, concepts and combinations to see which one would work the best for my final product,” she explained. “I then had to make a prototype model, which was the most enjoyable part.”

Her final design combined two different inspirations: wooden structural beams and Genkan (traditional Japanese house entryways).

Our Design & Technology teacher, Cecilia Faumuina, said Milly was a meticulous student who managed to balance extra-curricular activities, part-time work and family life on top of her school work.

“All aspects of the deck design were considered in detail in the design process and when making the model it was evident that Milly had mastered a wide range of materials. She redid the flooring for her design the week the Cambridge portfolios were due. This was the same with her portfolio work – she redid pages until she gained a perfect mark for each one.”

Our Principal Nathan Villars said Milly was perhaps more talented than she gives herself credit for.

“Amelia was a top performing ACG Sunderland student across many disciplines. Not only was she outstanding academically, she also played many sports, coached a junior netball team, was a lifeguard at swimming sports and volunteered at our preschool. Basically, she gave back to the school wherever she could.”

With the hard work, study and exam preparation now out of the way, Milly will now decide which path to follow at university – her love of Art and Design or a career in Sport Science and Physiotherapy.

“At the moment I am interested in a variety of different areas that could each lead me to completely different places,” she said. “As well as Art and Design I have a keen interest in human anatomy, sport science and rehabilitation so I guess I’m looking forward to exploring all options and seeing where I end up.”