SHOCKED, stoked and excited is how Kaitlyn Gregory and Darcy Harris said they felt when they received their HSC results last week.

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And the pair from Bulahdelah Central School (BCS) had every reason to be thrilled, with their top marks earning them a place on the 2017 HSC Distinguished Achievers list.

Kaitlyn’s results put her in the top one percent of the State in the Standard English Course and the top two percent for Hospitality.

Darcy scored an almost perfect mark in Ancient History, placing him in the highest band possible for the course.

Kaitlyn said she received her results via a text message from the NSW Education Standards Authority at 5.45am last Thursday morning.

“I was really shocked, I didn’t expect two Band 6’s,” she said.

“I shouted a bit, had a second look to make sure it was right, woke Mum and Dad up and then shouted a bit more.”

For Darcy, the day was a little more relaxed, choosing to receive his results online.

“I forgot the results were coming out and I was at work all day, so I didn’t check them until 5.30pm,” he said.

“But I was pretty stoked when I saw the Band 6.”

Kaitlyn and Darcy said many of their classmates also achieved strong results, with several missing the top band by just a couple of marks.

ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank) scores were also released last week.

The pair said they couldn’t be happier with their ranks, but having early university offers took the pressure off the wait.

Kaitlyn, who attended BCS since Kindergarten, accepted an offer to study a Bachelor of Paramedicine at Charles Sturt University’s Port Macquarie campus.

She was also awarded a $5,000 accommodation scholarship from the Charles Sturt Foundation.

Darcy has been offered entry into Social Science degrees at both the University of Newcastle and the Australian National University in Canberra and is looking forward to a political career.

Almost 78,000 NSW students sat at least one HSC exam this year.

By Daniel SAHYOUN