YEAR 12 students across Tweed were finally able to breathe again on Wednesday after receiving their Higher School Certificate results.

Tweed River High School seniors gathered this morning with their teachers to share their news and plans for the future.

For school captain Katherine Alford receiving her HSC results was a moment of joy.

"I was so excited, just over the moon," she said.

"My ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) was 96.55 which I was really happy with and I was with my school friends when we found out our results.

"Today was a good chance to let our teachers know how we did and what we are planning to do now.

"Next year I'll be doing a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at the University of Melbourne and then do a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery."

Department of Education and Communities North Coast regional director Peter Haigh congratulated Tweed school-leavers on their HSC results.

Mr Haigh said the results showed some excellent outcomes for the area, with seven North Coast public school students on the All Round Achievers list (students on the Distinguished Achievers List for courses totalling ten or more units).

"Many young adults on the North Coast will be relieved to see their results, and my advice would be to have a proper break and take stock before getting back into their post-school careers, whether in training, work or tertiary education," Mr Haigh said.

"North Coast students can be very proud of their achievements.

"We had 11 Top Achievers by Course - these are students in the top five, 10 or 20 places in each course, depending on the size of the candidature and provided they also achieved a Band 6 or, in extension courses, Band E4.

"We had a total of 372 students on the Distinguished Achievers List (scoring Band 6 or Band E4), including 16 from Murwillumbah High, an increase of 14 from last year.

"Highlights include representation on the All Rounders list from the Great Lakes to the Tweed."

Mr Haigh said if students are unsure about what to do now that they have their results, they can contact the Department's Careers Advisory Service on 1300 300 687 between 9am and 5pm weekdays or via the website www.cas.det.nsw.edu.au .

The service opens tomorrow morning and will be running until 6 January, 2012, providing information about careers, study, employment and gap year options.