The Victorian School of Languages (VSL) performed well at this year’s annual VCE Premier’s Awards presentation, with 14 students recognised for their achievements.
Run by the Victorian Department of Education and Training, the ceremony was held at Crown’s Palladium, where Premier Daniel Andrews presented awards to 289 students from 132 schools across the state.
Nominations for the Top-All Round VCE High Achievers category were based on study scores from the most recent academic year.
One of this year’s successful nominees was Sofia Vamvakidou, a student of Modern Greek at the VSL’s South Oakleigh campus who managed to obtain a perfect score of 50, topping the state.
The Thessaloniki-born 16-year-old is still in the process of completing her VCE at Glen Eira College, where she also received a score of 47 in French.
“Studying a language is beneficial as it allows you to understand the culture and beliefs of a nation,” says the high-achieving linguaphile, who adds that by pursuing Greek studies, she has been able to stay in contact with who she was and where she came from.
At the age of seven, Sofia lived in Belgium with her family, who spoke Greek at home, with a mix of French. It was in early 2015 that they made the move to Melbourne and she went on to complete VCE Greek while in Year 11.
Currently her plans are to study arts and to pursue a career in acting.
“I am a strong believer that people should follow their dreams, no matter what these are, and do what makes them happy,” she says.