LAKE Macquarie high school students have been invited to enter the ballot for the 2018 Premier’s Anzac Memorial Scholarship that will see students travel to France and Belgium to retrace the footsteps of the Anzacs.
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Students from years 10 and 11 at government, Catholic and independent schools could have the chance to take part in a 13-day tour of the significant Australian battlefields of Ypres, Passchendaele, the Somme and Flanders in Belgium for the centenary of the Battle of Hamel.
Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald welcomed the opening of the 2018 Premier’s Anzac Scholarship ballot and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity this program offers to local students.
“It is an incredible chance for students to visit key Australian memorial sites, and to witness first-hand the fields upon which our young men and women fought and forged the Anzac spirit,” Mr MacDonald said.
“The tour will bring to life the stories of the First World War and the Western Front that we read about in history books and hear of at Anzac Day ceremonies.”
Minister for Veterans Affairs, David Elliott, said the 2018 pilgrimage to the Western Front would encourage this new generation to better understand the service and sacrifice of our Anzacs on battlefields half a world away from home.
“During the Centenary of Anzac, it is important that the service of Australian men and women, and their contribution to our nationhood and identity, are honoured and remembered,” Mr Elliott said.
School principals should lodge an expression of interest by 5pm on August 17 at veterans.nsw.gov.au.
The successful schools will be announced after August 20.
Students from the 20 successful schools will then prepare a piece of work based on the Centenary of Anzac. Each school will select one winner to participate in the tour.