The ACT's joint top year 12 students share a love of maths, chemistry and physics, and their extraordinary abilities have resulted in an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank of 99.95 each - the highest possible score.
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But they have also made time during their final years of school for movies, cooking, swimming, canoeing, hiking and the odd game of Wii.
Canberra College student Jiheng Xu (Sunny) arrived in Canberra on her own more than two years ago from China, to complete years 11 and 12 in a city her parents thought would offer her a complete education.
She lived in a homestay with a family before moving out on her own once she turned 18.
There are currently 220 overseas students in the ACT government's homestay program, paying up to $14,800 a year to complete years 11 and 12 in the ACT.
The fact that Ms Xu had only basic English language skills when she arrived makes her success - her subjects include English, specialist mathematics, chemistry, physics, biology, visual art and food for life - even more outstanding.
Ms Xu, who heads to the University of Melbourne next year to begin a degree in actuarial studies, said she had enjoyed Canberra's open spaces to balance her time at the books. She was involved in scouting and tried to get outdoors most weekends for some bushwalking or canoeing.
She also expressed some relief in her results. "I did feel a little bit of pressure - I did not want to disappoint."
Canberra Girls' Grammar student Vanessa Ma similarly studied a heavy science and double maths load. She is not sure what or where she will study next year - although a career based vaguely in the health sciences sounds good.
Ms Ma's parents moved to Australia from Vietnam to study in the 1980s and now work in IT. They said it was important that Ms Ma and her younger sister Anne-Maree received excellent educations.
But Ms Ma's mother Hanh Nguyen admitted that the family had had to cajole her away from her desk at various points throughout the year.
"We sometimes encouraged her to take a break by playing a game of Wii," she said.
Ms Ma also took time out from her subjects for some extra-curricular activities based around indigenous and environment school groups, as well as tutoring younger students in maths.
Her school principal, Anne Coutts, praised her hard work and thoughtfulness, noting it was the fourth consecutive year Canberra Girls Grammar School had achieved a top ATAR.
Ms Ma and Ms Xu were among more than 100 year 12 students who were recognised for their academic achievements, extracurricular activities and community service at the annual Board of Senior Secondary Studies Recognition of Excellence Awards on Monday.
The ceremony also recognised students from international schools which have adopted the ACT curriculum and year 12 system. These include Coronation College Lae, the Port Moresby International School, Sekolah Cita Buana, Jakarta, the Australian International School, Indonesia, and the International School, Suva.
On Tuesday, students can access their ATAR via the University Admission Centre website, www.uac.edu.au.
ACT year 12 outcomes and a list of top scorers for each school will be available in Wednesday's The Canberra Times.
Correction: A previous version of this story stated the students' ATAR was 95.95
