Pat Conroy (Charlton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Recently I visited Alesco Senior College, a Hunter based education provider which is helping young people who have had some difficulty in their lives to complete their Higher School Certificate. I was truly humbled and impressed by the work of the college and its teachers, who create a supportive environment and focus on each individual student and their unique learning needs. The young men and women I met there are remarkable people, each of whom has enormous capacity but each of whom, for a range of reasons, has been prevented from finding success through traditional education pathways.

I was truly privileged to have them open up and tell me their personal stories about why conventional schooling had not worked for them. It was remarkable how open and honest they were. I was also treated to some very impressive performances, including a Heavy Metal rendition and a folk song written by the great grandson of Smoky Dawson. They were great performances, and I thank all the students who presented.

I take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of Ben Grushka, Rowan Radvan, Theresa Pantalone and all the staff at Alesco. I thank Kim Parkinson, Mitchell Webb and Shea Oakley for taking me on a tour of their college. You are all achieving great things. You are all a tribute to this great institution which is giving people a second chance. It is great to see education in action.