We are honoured to announce that Snowy Mountains Grammar School has been selected as an Excellence Awardee across multiple categories in the 2021 Australian Education Awards. These awards are a testament to the tireless work by our team to create innovative programs and an inspiring, supportive, learning environment.

SMGS was announced as an Excellence Awardee in the following three categories:

• Best Use of Technology
• Regional School of the Year
• Primary School of the Year – Non-Government.

Excellence Awardees’ selection is based on achievements in 2020 across criteria such as:

• demonstrated commitment to innovation and continuous improvement;
• consistently high standards of teaching and learning, and effective leadership;
• engagement with the parents and wider community;
• use of technology to fulfil a need in or outside the classroom; and
• impact of technology on the school.

While the submissions included a deep dive into the people, programs, places and ethos that make us who we are, some of the themes that came to the forefront included:

• our strong foundation of nurturing a culture of progressive expertise and collaboration;
• our digital infrastructure and the digital literacy of staff;
• our strong connections with families;
• an unwavering commitment to provide our students with a diverse range of real-world learning opportunities that are enabled through a modern and innovative approach to education, where every student is truly known; and
• our co-curricular programs, which are influenced by our unique surroundings.

Of our selection as a 2021 Excellence Awardee, SMGS Principal, Dr Andrew Bell, said, “This is an exciting achievement for our whole school community and I am thankful to our incredible staff who work to further optimise learning for our students every day.”

Winners will be announced at the Australian Education Awards evening, being held at Doltone House, Darling Island, Sydney, on Friday 27 August.