The Chris Wild (ON 1991) Indigenous Scholarship was established in 2012. Chris, the son of the late Rob (ON 1964) and Jenny Wild, was a teacher and his passion was Indigenous education.
Following Chris' death in 2011, the Wild family, their friends, and a number of generous Old Newingtonians established the scholarship, named in Chris' memory. The scholarship is one of the most significant managed by the Newington Foundation. From its corpus, the investment earnings cover the tuition fees for Indigenous scholars. The College works with local Indigenous communities surrounding La Perouse, Redfern and beyond to identify suitable students who are aspiring leaders within their local community.
In 2021, Harrison Marsh, one of our Wild scholars, matriculated with his Higher School Certificate – our first Indigenous scholar to achieve this benchmark. Harrison is now studying to become a primary school teacher.
As a community, we want to see more Wild scholars matriculate from Newington with the HSC or International Baccalaureate. The Wild Scholarship currently supports five Indigenous students. Our short-term goal is to increase this to six Wild scholars. We have not set a benchmark on the number of scholars at the expense of providing the best pastoral care for every Wild scholar.
Your gift now ensures that we can meet the evolving aspirations of our Wild scholars, now and in the years ahead.