Scholarships and Awards

Our students can take advantage of the several scholarship and award opportunities.

NSW School Nanga Mai Awards

The  Nanga Mai Awards  are an annual event organised by Aboriginal Education and Communities Directorate. The awards recognise and celebrate innovation, excellence and educational achievement in Aboriginal education in NSW public schools, school communities and department directorates.

Premier’s Reading Challenge

This  Premier’s Reading Challenge  encourages students from Kindergarten to Year 9 to develop a love of reading and plays an important role in developing literacy. The NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge (PRC) is not a competition but a challenge for each student to read, read more, and read more widely. The program involves over 430,000 students and more than 2,600 government, non-government and home schools. The PRC booklists open doors to a rich collection of children’s literature representing a range of books, including fiction, non-fiction, picture books, poetry and drama, and a wide variety of Australian authors.

Premier’s Debating Challenge

The  Premier’s Debating Challenge  is open to students from Year 5 to 12. Teams compete in a round robin series of debates against other schools. The winners go on to compete at regional and state level to determine the eventual state champion.

Public speaking competitions

The Arts Unit offers  public speaking competitions  for NSW school students. Each competition is a great opportunity for students to develop their speech-writing and presentation skills while representing their schools in a state-wide competition.

• Junior Secondary Speaking Award
  Secondary students aged 14 or younger
  Successful speakers progress through local, regional and state rounds where they deliver both prepared and impromptu speeches, with the state champion and runner-up both representing NSW at a national final.

• Plain English Speaking Award
  Secondary students aged 15 or older
  The Plain English Speaking Award aims to encourage the use of clear and effective spoken English. The competition provides an invaluable opportunity for NSW senior students to improve their confidence and to develop their speech-writing and public speaking skills.

  Successful speakers progress through local, regional and state rounds where they deliver both prepared and impromptu speeches, with the eventual state champion representing NSW at the national final.

• Poetry Slam
  Years 5 to 11
  NSW Public Schools Poetry Slam is a competition for individual students in Years 5 to 11 attending government secondary schools.

Premier’s Anzac Memorial Scholarships

The  Premier’s Anzac Memorial Scholarships  gives NSW Year 10 History and Year 11 Modern History students the opportunity to travel on a study tour to develop their knowledge and understanding of the history of Australians at war. Accompanied by a military historian the tour includes visits to significant battlefields, war memorials, war cemeteries, museums, and historic sites to learn about and commemorate the service of Australian men and women in the World Wars and other conflicts.

The 2026 Premier’s Anzac Memorial Scholarship Tour will visit locations in Greece and Crete during the 2026 Term 3 school holidays.

Students to Register your Interest

Will you be a NSW Year 10 History or Year 11 Modern History student in 2027? Register your interest for the 2027 Scholarship to receive a notification when applications open.

Commonwealth Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA)

• Anzac Day Schools' Awards
  The Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) is proud to host the Anzac Day Schools' Awards. This national competition recognises the work of students and teachers in schools and other educational settings. The purpose of the competition is for students to:

  • engage actively with veterans or current-serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) members
  • research content related to a theme in Australia's wartime history.

  This national competition recognises the work of students, teachers and schools who engage with veterans and honour Australia's wartime history.

  The theme for 2026 is 'Women in service'. Entries close 5 pm AEST Thursday 28 May 2026.

  Your entry will consist of 4 parts:

  • engagement with veterans or current ADF members and your school group
  • a project
  • a bibliography
  • a student group reflection.

• National History Challenge
  The National History Challenge is open to primary and secondary school students across Australia. It is an opportunity for students to research and explore history in their own ways.

  This year's theme is ‘Voices’. Entries close on Friday 28 August 2026.

  Your entry could be:

  • a 3D model
  • a research essay
  • an audio visual presentation
  • a documentary-style video
  • a virtual museum
  • a website
  • another idea to impress the judges

  Visit the National History Challenge website to find out how to enter.

The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award - Australia

The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award - Australia provides an internationally recognised, self-development program for people aged 14 to 25. The program equips young people with the opportunity to undertake a variety of voluntary and challenging activities.

For more information go to our Duke of Edinburgh page.

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