RAS FOUNDATION SUPPORTS RURAL YOUTH
ROLLING OUT ROUND 7 OF EDUCATION FUNDING GRANTS
Educational opportunities for students living in country towns have been significantly enhanced with the recent announcement of grants by the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW Foundation (RASF), in conjunction with the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal (FRRR).
Funded by RASF and independently administered by FRRR, this seventh round of educational grants has directly assisted six rural and regional communities.
The schools from Armidale, Wee Waa, Forbes, Dubbo and Gunnedah, and Deniliquin Library, have shared in funding grants totalling more than $30,000 which has been distributed under the Foundation’s E³ Grants program.
RASF Chairman Mr John B Fairfax, AO, says the latest round of funding supports a variety of school and community projects.
“This current round of E³ Grants will help implement a range of programs for young people, including online tutorials programs for English, maths and science and a peer literacy program which will see TAFE teachers train Forbes High School year 10 students to tutor younger students”, said Mr Fairfax.
Grants Awarded;
• Armidale High School: “QuickSmart Numeracy” - $10,000
• Wee Waa High School: “Building Our Future” Numeracy and literacy programs - $8,000
• Deniliquin Library: “Your Tutor” online tutoring program - $2,393
• Forbes High School: “Volunteer Schools / TAFE Peer Tutoring Literacy Program” - $3,300
• Dubbo St Marys primary School P&F: “Encouraging Independent Readers & Writers” - $1,386
• Gunnedah Public School: “School Wide Literacy” - $5,793
Forbes High School Principal Craig Petersen says that the grant of $3,300 will ensure their program, which has provided success in improving the literacy and self-esteem of students, will continue to run.
“It (the program) has been at risk for a number of years. Without funding through grants, such as this one, we would no longer be able to achieve our goals and run the program as successfully as we have, said Mr Petersen.
“Part of the course involves TAFE training, which is very expensive for their expertise, and this grant helps to subsidize those costs. This funding grant is absolutely vital.”
Armidale High School Principal Anne Matley says their $10,000 grant will pay for the tutors necessary to run “QuickSmart Numeracy,” a program that has proven extremely successful for Year 7 and 8 students that require remedial assistance.
“The money will go to payments for the tutor’s time. If we only used what we could spare from our own funds, we could probably only cater for three or four students. However, the RASF grant will now enable us to cater for around 24 of our students,” said Ms Matley.
RASF Executive Officer Antonia Ruffell says the latest funding round will see the Foundation provide unique educational opportunities to young children in several agricultural communities in NSW.
