The Kooralbyn International School

[EduCativ]

The original TKIS opened in 1985 as a secondary boarding school in the school's Lower Campus. The new school opened as a Prep to Year 12 coeducational, day and boarding school in 2004. The school's official name is The Kooralbyn International School, but lately, it has come to be known locally as just: 'The Kooralbyn School.'
TKIS has always been a small school. Being small has its advantages and disadvantages, but TKIS has strived to be a school dedicated to excellence in both academic and sporting pursuits throughout its history. This can be demonstrated by the significant number of state and national representatives and successful school graduates. Taking 2010 as an example, the school boasted eight secondary school students who represented the state in various sporting endeavors. This is a fantastic result for a small school and represents something like 44 times more state representatives than a school its size should statistically be entitled to.
THIS is the only school in Australia to have produced TWO 'Young Australian Of The Year' recipients (Olympian Cathy Freeman and scientist Scott Hocknull). There have only been thirty Young Australians of the Year awarded, and TWO have come from this tiny little school in the Gold Coast hinterlands.
At the 2011 US Masters golf tournament, two young Australian golfers were vying for the championship lead on the last day of the event. Both golfers (Adam Scott and Jason Day) were former TKIS students and former members of the school's world-famous Golf Mastery program, which still produces state and national student representatives today. According to the USPGA, never before in history have the final two contenders of any significant international golf tournament been former students of the same school.
In 2007, the school graduated Michael Kelly, who, at 12 years of age, was the youngest student ever to be officially enrolled as a full-time student at an Australian university. Michael, who majored in mathematics and physics while completing his Senior Studies here at TKIS, was a member of the school's early university preparation programs. These programs have recently been formalized into the school's SUPr (Specialised University Preparation) Program, which offers students the opportunity to engage in a comprehensive and enriched study while at high school.
We are often asked, how does such a small school continue to produce such a great list of successful students year after year? We believe the answer is simple: 'attitude.' Kooralbyn is not the school for everyone. We expect our students to work hard, strive for excellence, and maintain the highest dress, behavior, pride, respect, and work ethic. Understandably, in today's 'the world owes me a living' kind of culture, these demanding standards are not always popular with children. But for those students who ARE prepared to take on the challenge of wearing our famous 'Maroon, White and Grey,' we remind them daily that: 'Anything is possible when you are the best that you can be.'

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