One Bega High School student is set for an unforgettable Anzac experience next year, with the school being drawn via a ballot to participate in the 2018 Premier’s Anzac Memorial Scholarship.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Twenty high school students from across the state will travel to Flanders in Belgium in late June and early July next year to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the Battle of Hamel.
The 13-day tour will also take in other significant Australian battlefields including the Ypres Salient, Passchendaele and the Somme.
Member for Bega Andrew Constance announced that Bega High School success in the ballot and said it was a sensational opportunity to represent the community and gain a better understanding of the Anzac legacy.
“The successful student will have a remarkable educational opportunity to walk in the footsteps of the Anzacs and enhance their understanding of a legacy that has shaped Australia’s military story,” he said.
“I look forward to meeting our local scholar when successful applicants are announced in 2018, and will be excited to hear about the experience upon their return.”
Bega High School HSIE head teacher Bindy Hayes said the school had begun the selection process, and was delighted to be selected for the scholarship.
“It’s always exciting when you put your name in a hat without knowing what the outcome will be, so to actually receive the call from Veterans’ Affairs was something else,” she said.
Although the history of World War One is taught in Bega High School classrooms, Ms Hayes said the trip would be a powerful experience.
“I want our student to get a lifelong education experience from the tour, to develop a respect and recognition for the sacrifice that was made,” she said.
“I think standing in that field, surrounded by acres and acres of white crosses, will be a particularly moving and memorable moment.”
Students interested in attending the tour will submit a piece of work on a theme or topic that relates to the Centenary of Anzac, which will be judged by a panel selected by the school. Essays, poems or short stories, video presentations and musical compositions are just some of the formats applications can be submitted in.
The 20 students selected for the 2018 Premier’s Anzac Memorial Scholarship will be announced next year.