Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate a teacher in my electorate—Mr Brett McKay from Kirrawee High School—who last week received the Prime Minister's prize for excellence in science teaching in secondary schools. Mr McKay has had great achievements at Kirrawee. Enrolments in physics classes have actually increased fourfold under his watch. This year about 60 per cent of Kirrawee High's year 12 students will sit at least one HSC science exam and in year 10 about 140 kids, or 70 per cent of that year, are actually doing science thanks to Mr McKay's great work. Mr McKay said:

Every kid as a child asks questions but when they get to high school, they've stopped …

… we've got to get them starting again.

Mr McKay, I'm sure, teaches them that science is not advanced by consensus but by informed dissent. It's also very pleasing to see that Mr McKay has embraced the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor, where many students from Kirrawee High School go and actually learn about nuclear science. I would encourage them to do that. Whatever our future holds, I'm sure that nuclear science and technology will have a very big part in it. Again I congratulate Mr McKay on the great work that he is doing at Kirrawee High School.