The Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) is proud to host the Anzac Day Schools' Awards. This national competition recognises the work of students, teachers and schools who engage with veterans and honour Australia's wartime history.
Annual theme
The theme for 2024 is:
Discover the Stories of Veterans in Your Local Community.
Your entry must focus on learning about the experiences, service and stories of veterans from your local community. This will support students as they develop a deeper understanding of Australian involvement in wars, conflicts and peace operations.
Entries close at 5 pm AEST Friday 31 May 2024.
Download the Anzac Day Schools' Awards poster (PDF 4.4MB) to promote the competition in your school.
How to enter
Step 1: Plan your commemoration
Plan how students at your school will learn about and commemorate the service of Australian personnel who have served their country.
Commemoration is one way we remember and honour Australia’s service men and women. Many schools hold special ceremonies or assemblies to commemorate significant dates such as Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.
We encourage you to consider other creative and innovative ways for students to commemorate and be involved in learning about the experiences of veterans in your local community. Your entry should show how students engaged with veterans and and reflected on their own learning.
Some ways that students may present the stories of their local veterans are through:
- A podcast with veteran interviews for students in other year levels.
- A museum exhibition design for a gallery walk or virtual tour.
- A video chronicling the life and contributions of Australian veterans.
- A website to share veterans' stories and student investigations.
- A class artwork, mural, garden or memorial to reflect an aspect of service and commemoration.
Step 2: Research the stories of veterans in your local community
Historical research using credible sources is important for students to develop a good understanding of veteran experiences and Australia's wartime history. These pages may help your students:
Other helpful websites:
- Australian War Memorial
- Australians at War Film Archive
- National Archives of Australia
- National Sound and Film Archive
- National Library of Australia and state libraries
- Virtual War Memorial Australia.
Step 3: Check the entry requirements
Carefully read these entry requirements early in your preparation to avoid difficulties later. Your entry must focus on discovering the stories of veterans in your local community to be eligible.
Each school is limited to one entry. If a school submits multiple entries, only the final submitted entry will be assessed by the judging panel.
All entries should be coordinated by a teacher or school leader.
There will be 2 parts to your entry: a rationale and a submission.
- Your entry must include a rationale (up to 500 words) of the activities and learning undertaken by students about the theme. It would help your entry to include how your submission meets the award criteria. This is in addition to the word or time limits for the format that you choose.
- You may choose one of the following formats for your submission:
- A PowerPoint presentation or similar (maximum of 15 slides). This may include a 2-minute video if embedded.
- A 2-minute video or podcast (in an acceptable file format).
- Written content and images, such as poems, artworks, creative writing, or a link to a website. A maximum of 10 text or web pages will be accepted, including images. Images must be in JPEG format.
Your entry must be in one of these acceptable file formats: gif, jpg, jpeg, png, txt, pdf, doc, docx, mov, mp3, mp4, zip, ppt, pptx with a file size of no more than 100 MB. Entries in Google Docs and Google Slides WILL NOT BE accepted for judging due to accessibility issues.
Step 4: Submit your entry
Make sure you submit your entry before 5pm AEST Friday 31 May 2024.
If you have any questions or experience technical difficulties when submitting your entry, send an email to education@dva.gov.au
Prizes
- National School Award ($5,000)
- State/Territory School Awards ($3,000 each)
- Brigadier Bill Rolfe AO Award for Veteran Involvement ($2,000)
- Award for Innovative Commemoration ($2,000)
- Award for Creative Use of Technology ($2,000)
- Remote Schools Award ($2,000)
- Specialist Educational Settings Award ($2,000)
Awards criteria
A panel of judges who include veterans, teachers and DVA staff will assess all entries.
To be eligible for an award in the 2024 Anzac Day Schools’ Awards, your entry must focus on the theme, Discover the stories of veterans in your local community.
Entries are judged on these criteria, which are evenly weighted:
- Commitment to the 2024 theme: Discover the stories of veterans in your local community.
- Engagement with veterans or current-serving members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) - in person, virtually or using primary source materials, such as video interviews with veterans like those in the Stories of Service section on the Anzac Portal or letters from service personnel.
- Evidence of student-led learning.
- Quality of research using credible primary and secondary sources.
- Innovative learning activities.
- Demonstrate understanding and empathy through reflection.
- Overall quality and presentation of entry compared to others.
Our judges will be looking for high-quality entries that show evidence of:
- extended learning and engagement over a longer period (for example, across multiple weeks or a term, as opposed to a single assembly)
- engagement across several classes or year levels.
Special category awards
Brigadier Bill Rolfe AO Award for Veteran Involvement
An entry that includes significant and relevant involvement by veterans and/or current serving members of the ADF.
Award for Innovative Commemoration
An original and creative learning activity that engages students in commemoration.
Award for Creative Use of Technology
The strongest entry using technologies in a creative and thoughtful way to engage students in learning about commemoration, including apps, websites, stop motion and movies.
Remote Schools Award
The strongest entry from a remote or very remote school. This includes School of the Air or similar institutions.
Specialist Educational Setting Award
The strongest entry from a school that provides specialist and intensive support in a dedicated educational setting.
Certificates of Excellence
Awarded to entries that meet one or more criteria to a high standard but do not receive a major prize.
Winning entries will be showcased on the Anzac Portal, including photos and a description of their submission.
Get in touch
If you have any questions about the awards, please email education@dva.gov.au.