Three triplets from a Melbourne family that has already sent five children to university are among the more than 47,000 Victorian students beginning their VCE exam period this week, starting with the compulsory English exam on Tuesday.
Savio, Saviya and Simon Eeso, all 18, attend Elevation Secondary College in Craigieburn and are sitting their final year exams together. Their family migrated to Australia from Iraq via Jordan when the triplets were nine years old, and all five of their older siblings have gone on to study at RMIT University. The three youngest are determined to follow the same path.
A Family Legacy on the Line
The Eeso family has 10 members in total, and the triplets' academic journey carries the weight of a well-established family tradition. "Everyone's finished and gone to uni," Simon said. "We have to keep it up."
Their father, Duraid, spent much of 2026 managing his businesses from Iraq, leaving their mother, Lamyaa, to handle the pressures of three children in year 12 largely on her own. Lamyaa said she was proud that all her children would soon have finished high school.
Saviya, who admitted English was not her strongest subject, said nerves were present but excitement about life after school was stronger. "I'm pretty excited," she said. She hopes to study pharmacy at RMIT next year, following in the footsteps of two older siblings, though she noted: "I want a vacation first though."
Simon is weighing up property and finance or pharmacy at RMIT, and said that despite the demands of year 12, it had been one of the best years of his schooling. "We've been having fun and studying as a group," he said. "Everyone is supportive of one another."
Savio will be the last of the three to finish exams, sitting the physics paper on November 12. He is aiming to study electrical or civil engineering at RMIT.
Scale of the 2026 VCE Exam Season
The English exam, held at 584 locations across Victoria, marks the official start of the exam period for most year 12 students. A further 3,100 students are sitting the English as an additional language exam, also from 9am on Tuesday.
The largest exam venue this year is Bendigo Senior Secondary College, with 968 eligible students. At the other end of the scale, just three students are sitting their exam at Goroke P-12 College in Victoria's Wimmera region.
Students undertaking oral language and performance exams began their test period earlier in the month, but Tuesday's English exam is the starting point for the majority. More than 880 international and Victorian students will sit VCE exams overseas during the exam period, with exams running across 17 countries.
In 2026, students can choose from 97 subjects within the VCE. The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, which oversees exam delivery and assessment, employs more than 700 people to write, check and analyse exam papers.
What the Eeso Triplets Are Studying
Elevation Secondary College, a government school that opened in 2020, had 144 year 12 students in 2026. For the English exam, Elevation students studied the 1950 film classic Sunset Boulevard and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, a 1962 psychological horror novel by Shirley Jackson.
Students in Victoria have several qualification pathways available, including the VCE, the VCE Vocational Major, and the Victorian Pathways Certificate, with Vocational Education and Training programs available as part of those certificates. High-achieving students who complete higher-level maths and a language can also receive recognition through the VCE Baccalaureate, while a small number of students opt for the internationally recognised International Baccalaureate.
For the Eeso family, the finish line is close. With three children sitting exams simultaneously, and a proud family record to uphold, the next few weeks will be among the most significant of the triplets' young lives.
