Our students can take advantage of 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 Spelling Bee
The Premier’s Spelling Bee is an annual competition that encourages primary school students in Years 3 to 6 to develop their spelling skills in a fun and educational way. Students are selected at school level to take part in regional finals. Regional winners then compete in the state final.
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.
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.
Premier’s Anzac Memorial Scholarships
The Premier’s Anzac Memorial Scholarships are an opportunity to visit significant overseas sites associated with Australia’s participation in war for Years 10 and 11 students in selected schools.
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.
Duke of Edinburg Award at Parkes High School
Parkes High School is now a licensed award unit and can guide students who choose to accept the challenge and strive toward a Duke of Edinburgh Bronze, Silver or Gold award.
Students who are 14 or over can take part in the Duke of Ed which requires students to spend at least 6 months working on four areas: developing a skill, Physical Recreation, Service and The Adventurous Journey.
Completion of the Duke of Ed Award fosters many attributes which develop the student in positive ways and which are highly regarded by employers, eg resilience, tenacity, self confidence, and leadership.
The following You Tube video gives an overview of why a student might choose to do the Duke of Edinburgh award - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS3FLUCuIOk
Expressions of interest should be emailed to Mrs Helen Vere at helen.vere3@det.nsw.edu.au
