They may all be from regional NSW, but seven Year 11 students from The Armidale School will be spending part of the next school holidays globally focussed, attending a leadership and service conference in Kenya with hundreds of students from around the world.

James Collum (Port Macquarie), Neve Elliott (Lake Macquarie), Bella Fernance (Moree), Ruby Hyland (Blandford), Henry Kirton (Walcha), Isabella Lucas (Armidale) and Abbott White (Guyra) are looking forward to the international conference of Round Square, a worldwide organisation of around 200 schools.

While there, they will learn about the unique challenges being faced by Africa both from service work they will undertake in local communities and from keynote conference speakers.

“I am really looking forward to meeting students from all around the world and having meaningful discussions centred around the conference theme of ‘The New Africa’ with people from different walks of life,” said Bella.

“I am also excited to explore Nairobi and the surrounding areas and it will open up new perspectives and global understanding of social and political issues which I can bring back for my studies and later life.”

For 25 years TAS has been a member of Round Square, whose member schools share common beliefs particularly in the areas of adventure, leadership, service and international understanding. In that time, outbound and inbound school exchanges, conferences and service projects at regional, national and international levels have broadened the horizons of everyone at TAS.

“I was fortunate to attend a conference TAS hosted in 2018 when I was in Year 6, for more than one hundred and fifteen students from Malaysia, South Korea, Bangladesh as well as schools from across Australia,” Abbott said.

‘The theme was ‘Humanity in Action’ and as part of it we planted hundreds of trees. It really gave us a sense of satisfaction that we were doing something that can make a difference.”

With community values rooted in its regional setting, combined with opportunities that help prepare students to be engaged global citizens, TAS is well placed for a well-rounded and balanced education that builds resilience, courage and conviction. With half of all secondary students being boarders, it is also a dynamic community in its own right.

There are still limited places available for 2024; for more details call Enrolments Registrar Jo Neilson on (02) 6776 5800 or email [email protected]

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