Showcase Awards celebrate Gold Coast's education excellence

Education Minister Grace Grace has today congratulated local schools recognised in Queensland’s 2022 Showcase Awards for Excellence in Schools, with Pimpama State School and Robina State High School being named South East regional winners and Mudgeeraba Creek State School receiving a commendation.  

Now in its 23rd year, Minister Grace said the Showcase Awards are widely regarded as the most prestigious educational awards in Queensland, showcasing excellence in education, innovation, and leadership.

“The South East region winners include Robina State High School, which has won the QSuper Showcase Award for Excellence in the Secondary Years for its Sports Academy, and Pimpama State School which has won the Network 10 Showcase Award for Excellence in the Early and Primary Years for its Pedagogical House entry,” Ms Grace said.

“One of the privileges of my job as Education Minister is to meet the outstanding teachers and educators delivering innovative and world class opportunities for our young Queenslanders.

“The Showcase Awards allow us to recognise and celebrate the great work that our schools are doing day-to-day to ensure that Queensland continues to innovate and develop new education practices.

“The quality of submissions for this year’s awards was once again exceptional and extremely competitive, making the task of selecting award winners all the more difficult for the regional judging teams.

“To be named as one of the 27 regional winners, or as one of the 24 to receive a commendation, is a significant accolade for these schools. It’s an important recognition of their contribution to the state’s education system.

“I congratulate each and every one of them, and wish them all the best in the next rounds which will determine our state finalists, and ultimately our state winners.”

Robina State High School Principal Ben Weeks said the award was a well-deserved recognition and affirmation for its Sport Academy staff, students and community partners.

“This motivates us to continue our work in developing our high performing athletes in both academic and sporting fields,” Mr Weeks said.

“It’s an incredible honour for our school to receive this award.

“Our sports academy strives to give our student-athletes the opportunity to achieve at the highest level in their chosen sporing domain whilst also striving for academic excellence.

“Students are guided by our experienced staff and expert coaching team and supported by our outstanding training facilities, community partners and sponsors.

“Our vision is to cultivate a cutting-edge sporting institution where high performance, motivation and success are demonstrated across all aspects of each young athlete’s growth at Robina State High School.”

This year there were 86 submissions for the Showcase Awards state-wide, representing 120 schools. Regional award winners and commendation recipients will share in $66,000 worth of development grants to further support their initiatives.

The 27 regional award winners will be whittled down to a smaller number of state finalists next month, before the overall winners across the 10 categories are announced at a conference in Brisbane in October 2022. Winners will receive up to $10,000.

Further information about the Showcase Awards for Excellence in Schools, including the full list of regional winners and commendations, is available at: https://showcase.education.qld.gov.au/

The 10 award categories are:

• The Network 10 Showcase Award for Excellence in the Early and Primary Years
• The QSuper Showcase Award for Excellence in the Secondary Years
• The TUH Health Fund Showcase Award for Excellence in Inclusive Education
• The RemServ Showcase Award for Excellence in Parent and Community Engagement
• The Showcase Award for Excellence in Global Engagement
• The Queensland Teachers' Union Showcase Award for Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education
• The Showcase Award for Excellence in Rural and Remote Education
• The QUT Showcase Award for Excellence in Teaching
• The Griffith University Jack Pizzey Award for Excellence in School Leadership
• The Bevan Brennan Every Child Needs a Champion Award.

ENDS

Media contact: Kate Talbot, 0439 803 211