Canberra's youngsters are a healthy and clever bunch, according to a report released yesterday. And Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in the ACT are achieving at much higher levels than the national average for indigenous young people.
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The ACT government's A Picture of the ACT's Children and Young People 2012 provides a snapshot of territory young people across a number of measures and shows them outperforming their interstate peers in reading, writing and literacy.
Most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in the territory are staying in school, with the apparent retention rate for years 10 to 12 nearly 25 per cent higher than the national average. The report says that getting accurate retention rates for these years is difficult, and the figures do not account for students who move interstate, repeat a year or leave school then return. However, according to the measure, 78 per cent of indigenous students in Canberra who were in year 10 in 2009 were in year 12 in 2011, compared with 53 per cent nationally.
At Erindale College in Wanniassa, 35 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are studying in years 11 and 12, and their number is growing.
Daniel McDougall, 17 today, moved to the capital from Dubbo at the end of last year to be part of the Canberra Raiders under-18 squad. He is in year 11 studying mathematics, English, biology and human movement and is part of the college's talented sports program, for students aspiring to be elite sports people.
His friend Reuben House is about to finish year 12 and is considering his options. ''I was thinking of moving to Queensland with my uncle to be a diesel mechanic but I don't know if I want to move straight away because I still want to play football down here,'' he said.
