Fifty-two of the top-performing students of the Coffs Coast region have been awarded scholarships in their pursuit of excellence through their gifts and talents to attend Bishop Druitt College in 2026 and beyond.

Recipients reflect our diverse community and in 2025 they were awarded to students from Brierfield to Woolgoolga, from Bellingen and west to Coramba. We celebrated character traits including connection to culture and Country, perseverance, integrity, empathy, and creativity by each individual in our diverse student body. Today we also recognised these high achievers and individuals who are performing above and beyond in culture, dedication and expertise. Our scholarship focus areas include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Scholarships, Academia, All Rounder, Branson-Ackland Scholarship for the Study of Language Arts and Humanities, Performing Arts, Sporting Performance, Textiles & Design, and Visual Arts. We hope our younger recipients continue to aspire towards the Excelsior Pathway in Years 10, 11 and 12 and thank our senior students for showing them the way.

We were impressed by their dedication at school, service and connection to the community. They are future-minded and pursue excellence in at least one area of expertise. We also acknowledge and thank all applicants, including those who were unsuccessful this year.

The recipients for 2026, range from new families, current students and from Kindy to Year 12. Principal Simon Doyle asked our scholarship holders to consider the family that supports them, the vision of the Anglican Diocese and foundation Principal Victor Branson and every student that has walked through the gates leaving a legacy that they are a part of and can see today.

Mr Doyle says: "I am delighted to warmly welcome these scholarship recipients and applaud their dedication. Their admirable qualities of grit, tenacity, curiosity, steadfast commitment, and a pursuit of excellence deserve our sincere recognition."

To gain a scholarship at BDC, students need to excel in several different areas, such as positive character traits, ATSI, dedication to learning, sport, music, drama, dance, visual arts, textiles and design, academics, language, arts or STEM. The selection includes a rigorous application process, including endorsements from public referees, auditions or portfolios. This year, there were 143 outstanding applicants, some who applied for multiple scholarships.

Congratulations to the following Bishop Druitt College 2026 Scholarship recipients.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander: Mikaylie Atzori, Coco Baechtold, Riley Bursle, Will Bursle, Nala Carey, Gretel Carpenter, Ziggy Carpenter, Daisy Cummings-Hart,
Halle-Rose Kelly-Hart, Hayden Kelly, Ruby Knight, Leah Lynwood, Natalie Nawauwi, Reuben Timmins and Oscar Townsend.

Academic: Jarrah Elliott, Anise Lee, Angela Li, Samuel Mee and Elicia Oxenbridge.

All Rounder: Lila Barber (combined All Rounder and Sporting Performance Scholarship), Jasper Brooks, Solomon Day, William Hodgson, Finnley Johnson, Hope Mengel, Caroline Mostert, Sienna O’Brien, Milla Powell, Chloe Pulman, Ari Tarleton-Grant and Lily-Mei Wong.

Branson-Ackland Scholarship: Kye Beckton, James Quodling and Sophia Walraven.

Performing Arts: Sally Bartlett (specialising in Drama), Iris Greenwood (specialising in Dance and Drama), Sienna Hain (specialising in Drama), Zakiah Hibbard (specialising in Dance), Isabella Mellalieu (specialising in Music), Mia O’Reilly (specialising in Drama), Isla Taylor (specialising in Dance) and Callum Walraven (specialising in Music).

Sporting Performance: Lila Barber (combined All Rounder and Sporting Performance Scholarship), Nate Butcher, Millie Cook, Bobbi Matthews, Valla Parsons, Evangeline Sutton and Brodie Ward.

Textiles & Design: Hannah Gallagher.

Visual Arts: Naomi Corser and Oliver Ehemann.

Bishop Druitt College is the leading co-educational K-12 school in the greater Coffs Coast region, proudly independent, inclusive and wellbeing focused. Bishop Druitt College boasts the top academic benchmarks for the region and is known for our academic focus and innovative practices.

Bishop Druitt College also offers the High Performance Program (HPP), for outstanding achievers in sport and the performing arts, supporting students to meet their true potential through flexible and responsive classes and learning programs, designed to enable our students to continue to strive at the highest levels.

If you are interested in applying for 2027 scholarships all information is available on the college website www.bdc.nsw.edu.au/join-our-school/scholarships