Teresa completed year 12 across two years through the Dubbo School of Distance Education.

"I'm really glad I went distance education," she said.

"People expect it to be much harder and it is for normal people, but I was home schooled until year 10 so I was already very independent with my learning."

Teresa's marks included a 96 in legal studies and 95 in chemistry, placing her in the top 1 per cent of the state.

Teresa was quick to admit she loved learning and embraced hard work. She said her chemistry teacher, Andreas Shepley, told her he had never known someone to do so many practice exams.

It is Mr Shepley's teaching that Teresa attributes a large portion of her success, alongside her supportive parents.

"There's a point in your studies when things get really heavy and he'd give me a boost. It's really great to be friends with your teacher," she said.

"One issue of distance learning is that you don't have that daily contact. You have a weekly phone call and email. Having that contact between student and teacher makes an incredible difference."

Going into her exams, Teresa had her mind set on a high achievement.

"[Other students] asked me when I went to the exam centre 'what are you aiming for?' and I said 'band 6' and they said 'are you being sarcastic?' They don't believe they can achieve band 6 or even band 5."

While she's planning to take a gap year in 2015 to "rest her brain", Teresa said she planned to study a double degree in law and computer science- also via distance.

She said she wanted to be able to maintain her lifestyle at home and work around her own schedule.