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.
Friends of Zainab scholarship
Holroyd High School donor trust funds to support the education of refugee students: Friends of Zainab, National Foundation for Australian Women Girls' Refugee Fund and Public Education Foundation.
The school's Friends of Zainab trust was established in 2002 to enable a young asylum seeker, Zainab Kaabi, to complete her schooling. Since then, the fund has supported Zainab and a large number of other young refugee students at Holroyd High School and the Holroyd High School Intensive English Centre (IEC) in their school education, and a small number of students at university. Friends of Zainab now supports former Holroyd High School refugee students at university.
In 2003, the National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW) granted preferred donor status to a fund within their organisation to provide support for the education of young women asylum seekers and refugees at Holroyd High School. The NFAW girls refugee fund provides scholarships for university education, to assist with tuition, textbooks, equipment and other associated costs. Donations to this fund are tax deductible.
In 2009, Friends of Zainab joined the NSW Public Education Foundation (PEF) to provide scholarships for young refugees who are entering senior high school or the early years of tertiary studies. The scholarships help refugee students to realise their potential in tertiary education. They are directed at refugee students in NSW public schools who need financial support to complete Years 11 and 12 and the initial years of university studies. The number of scholarships awarded each year will depend on the value of donations made to the fund. All donations are tax deductible.