Media Release

Northern Territory Government

Department of Education Areyonga School celebrates its 50th anniversary

15 June 2023

The Areyonga School is celebrating 50 years of educating the children of the Areyonga/Utju community today with events highlighting the positive work the school has done in progressing educational outcomes, community engagement and strong attendance records.

The school’s principal Toby Brown says the school developed from humble beginnings in a makeshift building with the superintendent’s wife as the teacher to a school that focusses on progressive education pathways for the students.

“Areyonga School is a small school that promotes the importance of teaching students bilingually and bi-culturally, so that they grow up strong and can walk in both worlds,” Mr Brown said.

Areyonga/Utju is a small Pitjantjatjara-speaking community located in Central Australia about 220 kilometres west of Alice Springs and is home to about 250 Anangu residents.

“The small community school was one of five government schools to first commence teaching vernacular language and an English bilingual program in the Northern Territory in 1973,” Mr Brown said.

“The community is proud of the school that provides a welcoming, engaging, rich bilingual leaning environment for the children of Areyonga.”

The school has a long history of strong community involvement, Indigenous and non-Indigenous staff working closely together as ‘teaching teams’ to support students achieving good progress with learning in maths, Pitjantjatjara, English and other curriculum areas.

“Utulu Kutju Nintiringanyi, ‘Learning Together’, is the motto of the school and it represents the vision of the school as a learning community where parents, community members, teachers work and learn together,” Mr Brown said.

“Having the input and expertise of Elders in the running of the school is invaluable. The whole community is engaged in the students’ education and they ensure that students language and culture is celebrated daily.”

The Elders of the Community set the example by delivering the fortnightly Utulu Kutju Nintiringanyi program during which they lead the students on cultural excursions with the knowledge is brought back to the classroom where the Elders, teachers and students discuss and record the traditional knowledge, language and culture in Pitjantjatjara using a variety of genres and technology.

The Elders’ leadership in the classroom not only provides rich first language literacy experiences, it is essential to mentoring and passing on the knowledge to the staff and students so they can become leaders of tomorrow.

In 2019 Areyonga School students were the recipients of the CSIRO STEM School Award for its work incorporating traditional knowledge with modern science as part of their two-way bilingual program. This national science award recognised the work students did after learning western science in the classroom and then combining it with traditional knowledge taught out bush.

“Living and working in Areyonga is the dream and the community is so welcoming and proud of their culture it is a true honour to be part of it,” Mr Brown said.

Media contact

Gail Turner | 0437 699 940

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