Byron Bay High<\/a> senior art teacher Margo Simpson \u2013 who is also Indigo’s mum \u2013 said the number of students choosing to study art in Year 11 has more than doubled this year, with 50 students now enrolled.<\/p>\n“Students are encouraged to play and have fun, but we set high expectations and they know that and they work towards it,” she said.<\/p>\n
“We have set the studios up like working art studios and the students like being in there. They’re often in there at lunchtime spending time completing their works.<\/p>\n
“We are also really connected to where we are on Arakwal land and we do a lot of exploration and walking through the bush.”<\/p>\n
The faculty is also heavily involved in the local community, with students entering work into competitions at events such as the Bangalow Show and Ocean Shores Art Expo.<\/p>\n
Rod’s works were inspired by his grief over the loss of his dog, Shadow, and the quiet presence she still holds in the places she once loved.<\/p>\n
The 17-year-old has been working three jobs to save for a gap year in Europe, with plans to study architecture at RMIT University in Melbourne when he returns.<\/p>\n
“It’s a really creative process designing buildings and the built environment,” he said.<\/p>\n
Ible painted four small, colourful artworks inspired by the different homes she lived in around the world throughout her childhood.<\/p>\n
“Both my parents are quite creative, but especially my dad who went to art school, and so they encouraged me to explore my creative side from a young age,” the 18-year-old said.<\/p>\n
“I might enter some sort of profession that uses the creativity, like design or fashion.”<\/p>\n
Indigo, also 18, painted three large self-portraits featuring a door, with surreal qualities lying behind each.<\/p>\n
While her mum has always encouraged and supported her, she said she never felt pressured to study art.<\/p>\n
“She knows that I have my own ideas and style so when I was doing my major work she knew I was going to find my own way with it,” she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BYRON Bay High School has excelled in the creative space in the HSC, with three visual art students making the 2025 Distinguished Achievers List. Sol Reya Ible, Indigo Simpson and Leo Rod were recognised for both their major artworks and high marks in art criticism and art history. Rod also made the list for Music […]<\/p>\n
Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":231,"featured_media":121237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-121235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nByron art students turn personal stories into HSC success - Byron Coast Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Celebrate the success of Byron Bay High School\u2019s visual art students! Three students earned spots on the HSC Distinguished Achievers List for 2025.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Byron art students turn personal stories into HSC success - Byron Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Celebrate the success of Byron Bay High School\u2019s visual art students! Three students earned spots on the HSC Distinguished Achievers List for 2025.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Byron Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-15T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/01\/KO-17.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Angela Saurine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Angela Saurine\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Angela Saurine\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c393b5d2392428dbc88edcb82bb5b6be\"},\"headline\":\"Byron art students turn personal stories into HSC success\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-15T17:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":427,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/KO-17.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\\\/\",\"name\":\"Byron art students turn personal stories into HSC success - Byron Coast Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/KO-17.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-15T17:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Celebrate the success of Byron Bay High School\u2019s visual art students! Three students earned spots on the HSC Distinguished Achievers List for 2025.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/news\\\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/KO-17.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2026\\\/01\\\/KO-17.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Sol Reya Ible, senior art teacher Margo Simpson, her daughter Indigo Simpson and Leo Rod with their artworks. Photo: DAVID COPE\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Byron Coast Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Byron Coast Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/f343f14532332583b8a6c7842fdd6156-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/29\\\/2024\\\/05\\\/f343f14532332583b8a6c7842fdd6156-1.png\",\"width\":948,\"height\":103,\"caption\":\"Byron Coast Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c393b5d2392428dbc88edcb82bb5b6be\",\"name\":\"Angela Saurine\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Angela Saurine\"},\"description\":\"Angela Saurine is a journalist at the Times News Group based in the village of Bangalow in the Byron Bay hinterland. She has more than 20 years' experience in the media industry.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/byroncoasttimes\\\/author\\\/angelasaurine\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Byron art students turn personal stories into HSC success - Byron Coast Times","description":"Celebrate the success of Byron Bay High School\u2019s visual art students! Three students earned spots on the HSC Distinguished Achievers List for 2025.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Byron art students turn personal stories into HSC success - Byron Coast Times","og_description":"Celebrate the success of Byron Bay High School\u2019s visual art students! Three students earned spots on the HSC Distinguished Achievers List for 2025.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\/","og_site_name":"Byron Coast Times","article_published_time":"2026-01-15T17:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/01\/KO-17.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Angela Saurine","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Angela Saurine","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\/"},"author":{"name":"Angela Saurine","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/c393b5d2392428dbc88edcb82bb5b6be"},"headline":"Byron art students turn personal stories into HSC success","datePublished":"2026-01-15T17:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\/"},"wordCount":427,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/01\/KO-17.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\/","name":"Byron art students turn personal stories into HSC success - Byron Coast Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/01\/KO-17.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-15T17:00:00+00:00","description":"Celebrate the success of Byron Bay High School\u2019s visual art students! Three students earned spots on the HSC Distinguished Achievers List for 2025.","inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/news\/byron-art-students-turn-personal-stories-into-hsc-success\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/01\/KO-17.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2026\/01\/KO-17.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Sol Reya Ible, senior art teacher Margo Simpson, her daughter Indigo Simpson and Leo Rod with their artworks. Photo: DAVID COPE"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/","name":"Byron Coast Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#organization","name":"Byron Coast Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2024\/05\/f343f14532332583b8a6c7842fdd6156-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2024\/05\/f343f14532332583b8a6c7842fdd6156-1.png","width":948,"height":103,"caption":"Byron Coast Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/c393b5d2392428dbc88edcb82bb5b6be","name":"Angela Saurine","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0380b0f3b4c1aa3e04e2ba45d223ab4fdf265752f84fd494a2b9b8941ef72eb3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Angela Saurine"},"description":"Angela Saurine is a journalist at the Times News Group based in the village of Bangalow in the Byron Bay hinterland. She has more than 20 years' experience in the media industry.","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/author\/angelasaurine\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/231"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121235"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/byroncoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=121235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}