Twins make the grade

High School students across the State are learning their fate as Australian Tertiary Admission Rank scores are released – and for Bunbury Catholic College twins Sam and Ben Cook the future is looking bright.

Ben received a score of 98.55, but was edged out by brother Sam who scored 99.25, giving these two young men some of the highest scores in the State.

The 17-year-old’s mother Janice Visser said she could not be more proud of her two boys, who did not always have it easy in school.

“Their start to high school was difficult when my sister was diagnosed with cancer and then passed away leaving her two boys with us, ” she said.

“They had to sleep in the television room for a year to give their young cousins their room until their dad built them their own room.

“They are both just so academically motivated, they worked really hard to get their scores.”

Both boys want to study Engineering at Curtin University in Perth and will now wait to see if their preferences come through.

Sam said as twin brothers there was always a level of competition between the two.

“It is good now school is done and it all accumulated to this, ” he said.

“There has always been some healthy competition between us, it makes you try harder.

“To see the score was just a mixture of happiness and relief.”

Ben said he agreed with his brother’s assessment on competition but did not always find it so hard when it came to academic pursuits.

“There is a bit of competition, it spurs me on to do better, ” he said.

“When people say they get 99 you think they do a lot of study, but I generally studied the night before a test.”

Ms Visser said both boys had always been similar in their success.

This included fairest and best and runner-up in football and dux and runner-up in Year 12.