'It's been a journey and a half': Orange students top the state in HSC courses

"I just didn't understand it," the now 18-year-old said.

"I didn't hate it, but it definitely wasn't my favourite."

Having spent the first three years of high school at James Sheahan, Ms Hayes transferred to Kinross at the beginning of year 10.

She needed to pick up an extra subject and after considering woodwork, decided to give textiles and design another crack.

The decision certainly paid off as the year 12 student earned a first in course across the whole of NSW for the textiles subject.

She was quick to thank her teacher, Penny Chandler, for all the help she'd received along the way.

"Ms Chandler has just been the best and I've come so far," she added.

"From not knowing anything, to making a fully tailored suit for my year 12 major work, it's been a journey and a half."

Going into final exams, Ms Hayes was top of her class and had been nominated for the 2023 Shape exhibition.

"I just wanted to get through the exams, but I did put a bit of pressure on myself for textiles," she said.

"I'd studied and studied like crazy and obviously it paid off."

But Ms Hayes wasn't alone when she received her first in course certificate on Wednesday morning.

Fellow Kinross student Xiaolu Fan - who moved across from James Sheahan prior to year 11 - finished top of biology in the state.

The phone call telling her she'd claimed the honour definitely came as a surprise.

"I thought it was a scam at first," she said.

Just like her fellow award winner, Ms Fan was nervous going into exam season.

She found it hard to sleep at night and admitted to feeling "quite burnt out" leading up to the HSC trials.

"After a lot of support from my parents and talking to my teachers, they helped keep things in perspective and helped me get through exams," Ms Fan added.

While the pair of Kinross students share many things in common, their roads to success could not be any different.

While it took Ms Hayes a few years to develop a love of textiles, Ms Fan's passion for the sciences was evident from day one.

"It's been my favourite subject throughout high school," she said.

"I tried to put a lot of effort into it, so I'm glad it worked out."

With ATAR results scheduled to come out on December 14, what's next for the pair of award winners?

Well, Ms Fan plans on doing a double degree in actuarial studies and science. She's received a couple early offers, but is holding out hope of studying at UNSW.

Ms Hayes on the other hand is looking forward to a well-earned break.

"I'm taking a gap year to try and figure out what I'm actually going to do in my life," she said.

"I'm mostly thinking about going into music, but after this award, textiles and design is something I'm looking into."