The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs celebrated the achievement of the NRL School to Work students from the region by hosting a lunch to celebrate their achievement of completing Year 12.
This year more than 96% of the participants engaged in the NRL School to work program achieved their HSC, which highlighted Indigenous excellence across the region.
Students were given the opportunity to come into Belmore to watch the players work through their preseason training, as well as engage with a number of corporate supporters of the program and find out more details about employment opportunities and pathways into their chosen fields.
Many of the students were joined in their celebrations by both their family members and long-term supporters from their schools.
The graduation was an opportunity for the students to check in with their support workers from the NRL and continue to reinforce to them the ongoing support of the program as they transition towards their adult futures, as well as to take the opportunity to be recognised for their achievements to date.
The day also saw four students attend who represented the club back in 2018 from the Festival of Indigenous Rugby League youth summit. They shared their experience of the summit with the next cohort of young people selected to represent the club at the 2020 Summit in the Gold Coast.
The NRL School to Work program supports young Indigenous Australian boys and girls to complete their schooling and then help them transition into education and employment pathways after high school. The NRL and the Australian government support the program which has seen more than 2000 Indigenous youngsters placed into education and employment pathways since 2012.