Starting year 12 is daunting for almost every student, but Rosie Franzke will have to do it tens of thousands of kilometres away from home. The Victorian student is a champion cross-country skier and, for the next five months, will be training and competing across Europe. Australian cross-country skier Rosie Franzke training near her home at Mount Beauty.
Credit: Jason Robins For the 17-year-old from Mount Beauty, that means starting her final year of school next year from a hotel after she competes in Switzerland in the International Biathlon Union junior cup. “I’m a little bit concerned because I know the workload is going to be quite a bit on top of training and racing,” she said. But she’s confident she can manage thanks to her enrolment in Virtual School Victoria (VSV), a success story that has allowed students like Franzke finish school, and also help those with health or wellbeing issues for which mainstream schooling is not an option.
The virtual school is one of the biggest in the state, with around 5500 students enrolled. Since 2020, student numbers have increased by 46 per cent. VCE results data show the school achieved a median study score of 26 (out of 50) in 2023, while 3 per cent of students scored above 40.
One of Victoria’s top public schools, Balwyn High, had a median study score of 32 while schools that could be considered to have similar demographics to VSV, such as Craigieburn and Cranbourne secondary colleges, had study scores of 21 and 25, res.