CALROSSY Anglican School student Safina Ireland has topped the state for primary industries in the Higher School Certificate (HSC) with a score of 96.
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From a family farm near Walcha, Miss Ireland hopes to one day take over the family farm where they usually run 700 Shorthorn and Angus breeders.
Miss Ireland transferred to Tamworth's Calrossy in Year 10 to study primary industries and agriculture and she said she liked being able to incorporate home life with school life within the subjects.
"We were able to do practical lessons on-farm and then relate that to what we learnt in class," she said.
She and a couple of close friends had studied together "so we could bounce off each other" she said, and her teacher Geoff Nielsen had also been instrumental.
"He had extra lessons leading up to the HSC that he offered to all of us," she said.
"I tried pretty hard for the HSC - I sat down in the holidays and did a minimum of four hours per day; I worked really hard towards it, so I'm just really happy with myself."
Miss Ireland also received a band six in agriculture.
Calrossy principal David Smith said the school was "over the moon".
"We're delighted we've also got one of our girls achieving such success in what is, in many ways, a male-dominated subject," he said.
"It's very exciting and I've got to say I think this is coming on the back of some very, very good results in the past few years."
Mr Smith said a common denominator was the "outstanding teaching" of Mr Nielsen.
"I think, with all the stuff going on in the curriculum review, it shows that teachers with a deep knowledge of their subject are worth their weight in gold," Mr Smith said.
Fellow Calrossy students Tessa Mitchell, Ellerston, and Megan Seis, Dunedoo, received the equal second highest result in the state for primary industries.
Miss Seis also gained second in state for HSC agriculture, with the top result going to Sydney's Barker College student Linn Charlotte Hendriks Movig.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said finishing first in a course was an outstanding accomplishment.
"These students have worked extremely hard and put in countless hours of effort and study, and they should be very proud of their remarkable academic achievements," she said.
