Students Awarded Educational Scholarships for 2026 Academic Year
- intouch Magazine
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Hunter based not-for-profit organisation, Mentor Support Network (MSN), has awarded educational scholarships to a group of more than 50 financially disadvantaged students as they enter their senior years of high school or trade college studies.
MSN has just announced its 2026 scholarship program with students from 18 Hunter Region high schools and trade colleges receiving a 2026 Educational Scholarship each valued at up to $2,000.
MSN Chairperson, Julie Rich, said she was excited at the standard of applications which resulted in 51 successful students from Year 10 who will enter Year 11 or the final year of their trade studies in the 2026 academic year.
“It’s one of the largest number of scholarships that MSN has awarded and we are extremely grateful for teachers who nominated students and also for our sponsors and donors without whose assistance our scholarship program would not exist,” said Julie.
MSN is a dynamic not-for-profit organisation that assists young students experiencing significant socio-economic difficulties or family challenges and each year the organisation conducts a growing scholarship program.
“We work very strongly with regional high schools and education institutions as our scholarships are designed to mainly assist eligible students who must be 15 years of age entering Year 11 studies in 2026,” explained Julie.
“We also have TAFE students and students from independent colleges apply for scholarships which are granted to those applicants who demonstrate the drive and determination to achieve educational goals, despite experiencing financial need.
“The scholarships are not necessarily awarded because of academic achievement, but rather because of a student’s demonstrated desire to succeed.
“The overall goal of the scholarship program is to assist disadvantaged young people to stay in senior years at high school or in vocational training and reach their potential in terms of individual education and career goals.”
The successful group of 51 students, who must be nominated by support teachers or similar personnel to apply for a scholarship, underwent interviews in October and have just been notified about their result. Many students are already preparing for the 2026 academic year with the purchase of new personal computers, work-related tools and equipment and school uniforms being popular items.
The list of high schools and trade college from which students were successful includes:
Cardiff High School
Cooks Hill Campus
Hunter Trade College
Hunter River High School
Hunter Sports High School
Lake Macquarie High School
Lambton High School
Maitland Grossman High School
Maitland High School
Merewether High School
Newcastle High School
San Clemente Catholic College
Singleton High School
St Josephs College Lochinvar
Toronto High School
Wallsend Campus Callaghan College
Waratah Campus Callaghan College
West Wallsend High School
Program Extension
In other good news, Julie said that MSN was extending its educational scholarship program this year and building on its base program to help existing scholarship holders in their Year 12 studies. The initiative sees MSN implementing a Senior Educational Scholarship Program and a future Tertiary Scholarship Program.
“The Senior Educational Scholarships are valued at $500 and MSN has already invited existing 2025 Year 11 scholarship holders to apply for the new opportunity,” said Julie.
“We’ve already had an enthusiastic response from current Year 11 students and intend providing a small number of the senior scholarships in our first year.”
Further details about the Tertiary Scholarships will be released next year.
