Rostrum Voice of Youth SA / NT State Final
Year 11 student Keziah recently showcased her exceptional public speaking talents at the South Australia / Northern Territory Zone Final of the Rostrum Voice of Youth competition. From a field of more than 160 students who competed across the state in 2026, Keziah was one of just four Senior speakers selected to progress to the prestigious State Final, held at Parliament House. Reaching the Rostrum Voice of Youth State Final is an outstanding achievement and places a student among the very best young public speakers in South Australia. It reflects exceptional skill in speech writing, critical thinking, persuasive communication, and the confidence to excel through multiple highly competitive qualifying rounds. Keziah represented Concordia with distinction, demonstrating outstanding poise, eloquence and intellectual maturity. Congratulations to all the incredible young people who participated.
Brain Bee State Final
On Friday 24 July, seven Year 10 students represented us at the State Final of the Brain Bee Challenge at Flinders University. Our students collectively answered close to 18,000 questions about the brain and neurodegenerative diseases in the lead up to this event. What a mammoth effort! At the end of the individual round of testing, 50% of the top 10 students in South Australia were from Concordia. Our extraordinary team of Lyla, Lucy, Noah and Zoe competed in the Team Challenge, with two rigorous rounds of questioning. The day concluded with a series of fascinating presentations from PhD neuroscience students before the much-anticipated results were announced. We were delighted to learn that our students had achieved outstanding success.
Congratulations to our team who placed first in South Australia in the Team Challenge. In a very special moment, we also celebrated Lucy who placed second and Noah who placed first in South Australia in the individual challenge. Noah will now progress to the national final round. Congratulations to every student who participated. With neurons firing and neural pathways strengthening, these students have shown that great minds are built by embracing a challenge.
Oliphant Science Awards
A total of 17 students from Concordia’s secondary campus (Years 7–12) have submitted entries into the 2026 Oliphant Science Awards, the largest science competition in South Australia. Formal judging of all entries will take place this week. On the weekend (8–9 August) there will be an Oliphant Science display of student work from across the state at Science Alive. This is an immersive event where visitors discover the science behind all aspects of our day-to-day lives. There will be a diverse range of exhibits and interactive displays to spark curiosity. The Oliphant Science Awards celebrate curiosity, creativity and scientific thinking, and we are incredibly proud of every student who entered. Preparing an entry requires significant dedication, perseverance and a willingness to challenge oneself.
Junior and Senior Academy Learning Conferences
We are looking forward to hosting the Junior and Senior Academy Learning conferences in Week 5 of this term. The Senior conference (Years 10–12) will be on Tuesday 18 August and the Junior Thinkers Conference (Year 7–9) will be on Wednesday 19 August. This is the 13th year Concordia has hosted these important events on the Adelaide gifted calendar. They provide our highly able students with exposure to a wide range of topics aimed at stimulating thought beyond the constraints of the curriculum. The content is fast-paced, and students will benefit from university lecture style learning. The day will be facilitated by Julie Arliss, a well-known international educator of gifted students. She is on the examining team for Cambridge International Examinations and is a Farmington Scholar from Oxford University. There will be a cost of $45 for participating students to attend the conference, which must be paid via the school website online payments system.
Emma Rieger
Enrichment and Extended Learning
