Skip to content
Education Training

Hunter, Central Coast and Central West students awarded for excellence in Public Education

NSW Department of Education 3 mins read

Media release

Tuesday May 30

Hunter, Central Coast and Central West students awarded for excellence in Public Education

 

Students from across the Hunter, Central Coast and Central West received scholarships at the 2023 Proudly Public! Awards night at Sydney Town Hall on Monday.

 

They are among over 700 public school students and educators from across Australia to receive scholarships administered by the Public Education Foundation in 2023.

 

Since the launch of PEF’s scholarships program in 2009 over 3,000 students and more than 120 educators have been supported with greater than $8.5 million in life-changing scholarships administered by the Foundation.

 

A list of Hunter, Central Coast and Central West student and teacher recipients is attached below, with full details in the link.

Department of Education Acting Secretary Murat Dizdar thanked the Public Education Foundation for its ongoing support of public education in NSW.

He said the scholarships helped to remove barriers to achievement created by social and economic disadvantage.

“These scholarships are about recognising student excellence, potential and ability and rewarding students so they can continue to reach their potential,” Mr Dizdar said.

“Behind many of these awards are extraordinary stories of resilience and a commitment to learning against the odds, especially during the pandemic, bushfires and floods.

“I am proud of our students, teachers and leaders who have attained scholarships. It is their efforts that combine to create the extraordinary public education system we have in NSW, one that believes in the individual no matter your postcode and as part of its DNA is determined that every individual connects, succeeds and thrives in public schools.”

Public Education Foundation CEO David Riordan said the awards celebrate the enduring values of Australian public education.

 

“Every student deserves the opportunity to achieve their full potential, and these scholarships will help make that possible,” Mr Riordan said.

 

The Public Education Foundation is a charity dedicated to enhancing the value and reputation of public education by providing life-changing scholarships to its students, teachers and principals.

 

For a full list of scholarship recipients visit: https://www.publiceducationfoundation.org.au/

 

 

Media contact: Sven Wright, Media Officer, [email protected], 02 7814 0069

 

 

Walter and Eliza Hall Trust Opportunity Scholarship

Isla Farr                                   Oxley High School

 

NSW Teachers Federation Primary Scholarship

Charlie Palmer                        Gwandalan Public School

Kua Swan                               Glendore Public School

 

Public Education Foundation Primary Scholarship

Levi Nicholson                        Scone Public School

Felicity Samuel                       Wadalba Community School

Levi Nicholson                        Scone Public School

Felicity Samuel                       Wadalba Community School

Niyahla Wright                        Glendore Public School

 

Waratah Education Foundation Primary Scholarship

Dhakota Hodges                     Glendore Public School

Kaitlyn Mulligan                       Woodberry Public School

Alana Newland                        Glendore Public School

Lily Nguyen                             Glendore Public School

 

Waratah Education Foundation Secondary Transition Scholarship

Eliza French                            Glendore Public School

Jakeisha-Lee McBride            Glendore Public School

 

Aboriginal Education Council Scholarship

Hannah Baillie-Angeles          Bulahdelah Central School

Kailee Good                            West Wallsend High School

Jie Matthews                           West Wallsend High School

Nakiesha Vickery                    Northlakes High School

 

Andrew Casey Indigenous Scholarship

Charlie Deacon                       West Wallsend High School

 

Connected Communities Scholarship

Destyni Bight                           Coonamble High School

Jordan Briar                            Coonamble High School

Braydon Dodd                         Coonamble High School

Madie Hodgson                       Coonamble High School

Rihanna McBride                    Coonamble High School

 

Public Education Foundation Indigenous Scholarship

Beau Hinton                            Coonabarabran High School

Yooralla Samuel                     Wadalba Community School

 

Una May Smith Scholarship

Ashlee Dawson                       West Wallsend High School

Tae-Lani Gordon                     Glendore Public School

 

NSW Teachers Federation Refugee Scholarship

Maryam Hossein Zadeh         Callaghan College Waratah Campus

 

Friends of Zainab Senior Secondary Scholarship

Maryam Hossein Zadeh         Callaghan College Waratah Campus

Narges Eftekhari                     Callaghan College Jesmond Campus

Madina Khanzada                   Callaghan Collage Waratah Campus

 

Unions NSW Jeff Shaw Memorial Scholarship

Caitlin Blanch                          Peel High School

 

VET in Schools Scholarship

Chloe Lund                              Denison College of Secondary Education, Kelso High Campus

 

Woodcock Family Scholarship

Harry Brown                            Singleton High School

Katie King                               Singleton High School

Hunter Mcloughlin                   Scone High School

Koby Newman                        Singleton High School

 

NSW Teachers Federation Award for HSC Excellence

Rebecca Oewns                     Gosford High School

Lara White                              Newcastle High School

 

NSW Cookery Teachers Association Scholarship

Emilie Coe                              Dunedoo Central School

Rilee Perry                              Whitebridge High School

 

Nurses and Midwives Health Scholarship

Anastasia Walsh                     Nyngan High School

 

Public Education Foundation Tertiary Scholarship

Dinara Jayarathna                  Taree High School

Alishea Rankin                        Coonabarabran High School

Hugh Shadwell                       Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School

 

Teachers Health Early Career Scholarship

Jessica Burg                           Oxley High School

 


Contact details:

Sven Wright, Media Officer, [email protected], 02 7814 0069

More from this category

  • Agriculture Farming Rural, Education Training
  • 10/07/2025
  • 08:00
Nuffield Australia

Scholarships spark innovation and growth in Australian agriculture

MEDIA RELEASE | 10 July 2025Scholarships spark innovation and growth in Australian agriculture A new report from Nuffield Australia shows that almost 90% of alumni have enhanced their farming systems and boosted production after completing the prestigious scholarship. The Nuffield Australia Impact Report 2025 highlights the powerful role the Nuffield program plays in driving innovation, leadership, and new business opportunities across the sector. Nuffield Australia CEO, Jodie Redcliffe, says the report demonstrates Nuffield scholarships deliver strong, tangible outcomes for participants both on- and off-farm. “We heard 87% of scholars saw an improvement in their farming systems and production, while 71%…

  • Contains:
  • Education Training, Indigenous
  • 09/07/2025
  • 11:03
Indigenous Allied Health Australia

Honouring Legacy, Investing in the Next Generation: Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarships Reflect NAIDOC 2025 Theme

As Australia celebrates 50 years of NAIDOC Week with the powerful theme “The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy”, the Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship Scheme (PHMSS) proudly stands as a living embodiment of that vision in its 23rd year of supporting the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health leaders and continuing the legacy of one of Australia’s most respected First Nations advocates, Dr Arnold “Puggy” Hunter. Dr Arnold “Puggy” Hunter a Yanyuwa man born in Darwin in 1951, Dr Hunter dedicated his life to addressing health inequity and empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities through self-determination…

  • Education Training, Science
  • 08/07/2025
  • 08:15
Astronomical Society of Australia

How galactic winds stopped star formation. Strange radio emissions. Hercules stars and the evolving Milky Way. Find gravitational waves with pulsar timing.

National recognition for astronomers from Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Perth. Galactic winds stopped big galaxies from growing, Dr Rebecca Davies, Swinburne University How the Milky Way and its neighbours have evolved, Professor Naomi McClure-Griffiths, ANU Models of galaxy formation across cosmic epochs, Associate Professor Claudia Lagos, ICRAR/ UWA Detecting gravitational waves with pulsars, Dr Matthew Miles, Swinburne University (now at Vanderbilt University, USA) Cosmic pulses and stellar bursts: a tool for decoding radio transients, Dr Joshua Preston Pritchard, CSIRO Our wandering neighbours – the Hercules stream, Li Yusen, ANU. The Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA) honours six astronomers at its…

Media Outreach made fast, easy, simple.

Feature your press release on Medianet's News Hub every time you distribute with Medianet. Pay per release or save with a subscription.