Australian School of the Year

Winner: Gawura School (St Andrew’s Cathedral School) at the Australian Education Awards 2020

The only 100% Indigenous school in Australia that offers full tuition scholarships to local ATSI students from Kindergarten to Year 12, along with exceptional cultural experiences. Students receive outstanding opportunities to reach their potential at a high-quality private school and attain results well beyond national averages for Indigenous students
Gawura is pioneering a model which is actively providing exemplary opportunities for, and restoring the dignity of, local Aboriginal children and their families
Judges’ comments include: ‘An innovative approach to a First Nations lead education within a mainstream system. It’s great to see a greater emphasis on ensuring that the broader school community has a high level of respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and perspectives’; ‘Terrific school ethos with strong expectations in learning evidenced by supporting data’; ‘A lighthouse program in Indigenous education with wonderful almost unheard-of outcomes’