William Broe’s academic results in the 2025 HSC reflect both individual excellence and the strength of the wider Year 12 cohort. Achieving six Band 6 results in a broad range of subjects, William was named Dux of the School, an SMGS Distinguished Achiever and a recipient of the NESA Distinguished Achievers Merit List.
Alongside his academic success, William served as Academic Co Captain in 2025, where his leadership was grounded in practical support, consistency and a strong sense of shared responsibility. He was also a member of the Senior Debate Team that claimed the National Australian Virtual Debating Championship, highlighting his ability to think critically, communicate clearly and apply learning across disciplines.
William also represented Snowy Mountains Grammar School at the NSW Legislative Council Regional Roadshow and Youth Forum, joining students from across Southern NSW for discussions on university and trade pathways, the housing crisis and the impact of artificial intelligence and social media. Together, these experiences reflect a student who approaches learning with curiosity, balance and a strong sense of community, helping to set the tone for an exceptional year for the entire Year 12 cohort.
In the reflections that follow, William shares insights into his approach to learning, leadership and collaboration during his senior years at Snowy Mountains Grammar School.
On Learning Across Disciplines
You achieved Band 6 results in a wide range of subjects, from Chemistry and Mathematics to English, Legal Studies and Modern History. How did studying such diverse disciplines shape the way you think and approach learning?
Diversity in one’s thinking is a key facet, in my view, when it comes to academic success. Interdisciplinary study allows for the use of key skills from some subjects to be utilised in others. For instance, chemistry is obviously chiefly a STEM subject, but the HSC and science in general use key humanities skills to express understanding. As a result, it is important to draw on skills from more written subjects. Doing well in the HSC is also reliant on the ability to keep yourself engaged. For me, this was switching periodically between different subjects and disciplines in order to keep my brain on.
On Consistency and Habits
Looking back on your HSC year, what study habits or routines made the biggest difference in helping you perform consistently across multiple subjects?
Two things stand out in my HSC year—firstly, the simple routine of just being physically present at school. It’s as simple as that. I wouldn’t go home until I was completely finished with what I had to do. It is also important to build a routine into your time at school and for me this was sitting in the same seat every day and doing my trademarked ‘chem hour’ every day from 5pm to 6pm. The other key thing for me was teaching content back to others as much as possible—whether that be to someone who didn’t get it or myself in a voice note. This helps to solidify the content in your memory and also helps to find parts of the syllabus you may be weak on.
On Leadership as Academic Co- Captain
As Academic Captain, how did you help foster a positive academic culture within the cohort, and what did leadership look like for you in practice rather than in title?
The Academic Captaincy for me looked like being available to Year 12, that’s it. It doesn’t take a genius to see that the HSC is a marathon, and the role of the prefects as a whole is just to act like the people who hand out water. In our case, this year that was just me cleaning the Year 12 kitchen, organising for everyone to bring in food and giving out notes for Modern and Legal. People who are given these kinds of roles often get in their own heads about what they can do and end up doing very little. I took this role with a view to address what Year 12 needs to do their best and that means chocolate in the kitchen and help with the printer.
On Debating and Transferable Skills
Being part of the Senior Debate Team that won the National Australian Virtual Debating Championship is a remarkable achievement. How did debating complement your academic studies, particularly in subjects like English, Legal Studies and History?
Debating very simply requires you to have a working knowledge of the status quo, including things like industrial relations, international relations and legislative reform. In this sense there is a very clear impact on a subject like Legal Studies or Modern History and the ability to perform in examinations where you have to improvise responses. It also requires an ability to concisely communicate information, handle pressure and co-operate with people who may have little knowledge of an area.
For instance, we got a topic on the rights of emergency workers to strike. This topic required that I drew on my knowledge of labour rights from Legal, and teach my team about the history of the ALP and union membership in Australia. The time pressure and complexity of the topic reinforced these key ideas for my Legal exam, where I answered a question on how legal measures protect human rights with a discussion of labour rights and the right to join a union.
On Reflection and Advice
If you could give one piece of advice to future SMGS students aiming to balance academic excellence, leadership and co curricular commitments, what would it be?
You will fail at some points. This year I got some poor marks and at times felt insane. It is important to be flexible and use routine to insure your processes. Take time for yourself. This year I watched 15 seasons of ER, all of The West Wing and at least six other shows in their totality. I also did my final debate the day before my Legal exam and became a top 0.01 per cent Beyoncé listener.
It is also key to think about the people that you can rely on and the people you need to show up for. Community is the key to individual success. For me, that looked like my friends who sat across from me at my spot, my many incredible teachers, and my family. You need to lean on others. This also means you have to be willing to be leant on. At points this year, I have spent hours trying to explain Le Chatelier’s principle and have taught people about CAFS, a subject I do not even study. My success is the result of the whole cohort’s success. That is a simple fact of the HSC. You are all in it together.
I leave you with the quote of my personal idol: ‘Don’t ever feel entitled to win, just keep working harder, surrender to the cards you are dealt’.—Beyoncé