Students from flood impacted schools on the Northern Rivers defied the odds and performed exceptionally well in the HSC.
The Rivers Secondary College had 15 students on the Distinguished Achievers list - two from the Kadina High Campus, four from the Lismore High Campus and nine from the Richmond River High Campus.
Among those was Richmond River's Niamh Montgomery, who was also named an All Rounder for 2022.
Mullumbimby High School made it into the top 20 comprehensive high schools, leaping almost 400 places to now rank in the State's top 150 schools.
Principal Greg Armstrong said he was exceptionally proud of his HSC students.
"Our Year 12s have been really determined with their schoolwork; they have worked incredibly hard despite so many challenges," he said.
"It's really good to see the students are actually smiling today; they're grinning actually.
"We haven't seen many smiles from many of them this year."
Department of Education Secretary Georgina Harrisson congratulated the State's HSC students, their teachers and families.
"We are so proud of our students today, whether they're from a small rural school or one of our large city schools, these great results show the diversity of public education and the quality of our teachers," she said.
