Katherine High School in the Northern Territory (NT) has garnered support from Australian businesses to send their year 11 cohort to Sydney this week, for their inaugural business innovation trip.
The study tour, funded by partners in Katherine and NSW, aims to empower students with the confidence to try new things and broaden their perspectives on possibilities beyond school-life.
The students will visit Kiama High School, Deloitte Australia and Wollongong University during the week-long study tour, where they’ll develop practical business, innovation and leadership skills, supporting them to attain Year 12 completion. They will also step outside their comfort zone and learn to surf at Gerroa Surf School.
Katherine High School Principal, Nick Lovering said the trip will provide senior students with tangible opportunities and experiences to engage them in learning and broaden their perspectives on opportunities available to them post-school.
“This year’s year 11 cohort are on track to be the largest graduating class in the school’s history and the business innovation trip is part of a school-wide drive to empower and motivate these students to finish year 12 as they get to experience what opportunities are available to them after school” he said.
“This cohort also has the potential to have one of the biggest percentages of Aboriginal students finishing their final year in the Big Rivers Region. We’re really pleased to see this number increasing every year as research suggests an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student who completes year 12 is four times more like to make sure their children complete year 12”.
This study tour is the brainchild of Greg Miller, Katherine High School’s Head of English and Humanities, who prior to moving to the NT with Teach for Australia, was General Manager, Innovation Commercialisation for a large Australian-listed company.
Mr Miller has used his networks to create a trip of a lifetime for his students with the aim to support them to finish year 12 and develop practical business, innovation and leadership skills that will benefit the Katherine and Big Rivers regions for years to come.
“Katherine High School would like to deeply thank all the partners for the generous time and funding they are giving towards this trip, including Katherine Construction, Project Dry Hire, Connellan Airway Trust, Avcon, Deloitte Australia, Wollongong University, Kiama High School and Gerroa Surf School.”
Katherine High School is the only public high school in the town and services a region greater than the state of Victoria. There are currently more than 500 students enrolled from Year 7 through to Year 12.
