Ms Alfayadh, 18, who completed year12 at Isik College in East Meadows last year, achieved a perfect Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) score of 99.80 and last week was given a $25,000 Volkswagen Polo car by the school for her efforts.

Her score included a 50 out of 50 for English.

Ms Alfayadh, of Roxburgh Park, says she is excited about her new car. "I was really grateful; not every school does that. I'm so glad I got it. They told us if we got an ATAR of over 99.75 we would get a car. So when I got my ATAR I knew I was getting it."

Ms Alfayadh has a learner's permit and hopes to get her probationary licence soon.

She spent about 30 hours a week studying for the exam.

"I was definitely studying every night," she says.

"It just got so depressing at times, but I had a family that supported me and my teachers and all my friends as well; they'd pull me out of that depression."

In 2004, Ms Alfayadh's father died, a year after her family migrated to Australia from Iraq.

She says her dad would be proud of her today.

"He was an amazing man and he did help me a lot when we lived together.

"And all his friends and family are helping me now. They're continuing his legacy, so sometimes I don't feel like he's actually gone.

"I'm proud of my mum more than myself. She's worked so hard to get us to where we are."

Ms Alfayadh will study medicine and surgery at Monash University this year.