Australian College of the Arts Smashes ATAR Barrier in Fenton Stephens Campaign

Collarts, the Australian College of the Arts, has removed the ATAR barrier to entry in a bold initiative to shatter creative school leavers’ misconceptions that their score defines their worth, via Fenton Stephens.

The move is being announced as a quarter of a million Australian teenagers have been anxiously waiting for news today on whether they've ‘smashed their ATAR’, and is supported by a film directed by Christopher Tovo that sees creative students smash their ATAR in a different way, using the power of creativity.

Collarts CEO, Sam Jacob says, "The ATAR is a moment in time, not a life sentence. It’s time we stop judging the value of a young person by a number. Creativity is key to solving complex problems and our future workforce will depend on it. We care about the unique ways a student has contributed to their community, to caring for country, to honing their craft, not their tertiary rank. And it works: our students go on to be highly successful in their fields."

Fenton Stephens ECD Chris Ellis says, "Other universities reduce people to a single number – but with creative subjects marked down, the ATAR score is not a fair or accurate measure of creativity. That means potentially exceptional creative talent is slipping through the cracks and not even applying. So in an incredibly bold initiative, we’ve worked with Collarts to remove the ATAR barrier to entry, clearing the pathway and empowering creative students to realise their true potential. The message: ‘Creativity is not a number. Neither are you’. This isn’t advertising but a change that will help students put their creativity first and change their preference."

Ultimately, this is about changing the course of lives. 'Working with Collarts, it was found that there is very little correlation between ATAR ‘success’ and performance in creative course subjects.

Dr Kim Hazendonk, a clinical neuropsychologist, argues that the current ATAR system has the potential to negatively impact mental health, especially as it may not accurately reflect the diverse talents of students, particularly when it comes to those with creative skills. "We need to shift the conversation around education," she says. "ATARs can be a limiting way to assess a student’s potential. It is important to give credit to the creative and artistic intelligence that is crucial in today’s world."

Hijacking the conversation in the lead up to ATAR release today, the TikTok film has already gained nationwide news coverage. The initiative continues across social, led by Fenton Stephens with a PR push to continue education reform around the outdated ATAR system.