Congratulations, Nathan!

These days in Queensland, the pinnacle of your high school career comes after you finish year 12, and you get your OP score. Basically, 12 years of study boils down to a single number between 1 (highest) and 25 (lowest), which effectively determines your future. For example, all courses at university assign an OP which you must achieve in order to undertake the course – hence, the higher your OP, the easier it is to get into whatever course you want to do.

Anyway, for the students of 2004, their day of reckoning has come. Many were up in the early hours of the morning, checking their result online. One such young lad was Nathan (pictured), who MSN’ed me at 4 a.m. his time (1 p.m. my time) and told me he was up checking his score. Unfortunately I was enjoying lunch at the time, so I missed my chance of being the first person to find out he got an OP of 1, instantly becoming the smartest guy I know.

So now, he can revel in the unaccustomed leisure of a world without pressure, secure in the knowledge that he’ll get into pretty much whatever he wants. Congratulations Nathan – live it up!