Trinity Grammar School
119 Prospect Road Summer Hill NSW 2130
Renee Payne
Alumni and Development Co-ordinator
Tel: +61 2 9581 6192
Email: rpayne@trinity.nsw.edu.au
https://development.trinity.nsw.edu.au/
Trinity Grammar School | Growth for better communities
Trinity is where boys grow into good men who will go out into the world to make a difference.
We believe it is their education that offers them the most transformational potential to shape just and sustainable futures.
Education is a shared endeavour and a common good.
Trinity seeks to create a wider School community infused with a growing spirit of generosity and open heartedness. A community that is characterised by and motivated to offer Trinity’s remarkable educational opportunities to those less advantaged.
We are committed to raising and increasing the amount of funding being directed to scholarship students to attend Trinity. We are transparent that everyone in our community has a role to play in achieving this culture of philanthropy:
- Old boys
- Past parents
- Current parents
- Current students
- Current and past staff
- Council and Foundation Members
Australia ranks in the bottom third of OECD countries in providing equitable access to quality education. The students who often miss out are from disadvantaged families. This includes:
- young people with disabilities
- First Nations peoples,
- those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds,
- students in regional and remote communities,
- young refugees and asylum seekers.[1]
The Trinity Annual Giving Appeal
Each year, the wider Trinity community gets together to make a remarkable difference for those less advantaged. Generous gifts of time and money enable scholarships to be awarded. As a school community, we remain committed to generous giving, so the gates of Trinity are widened to those who have the merit but not the means to attend.
Scholarships change more than one life
Ky Willoughby (‘20) is a prime example of a student whose Trinity life was kick-started by a scholarship.
“It’s given me the whole world to be able to do what I want,” he said. “For Aboriginal people, it’s just about getting the opportunity and once we get that opportunity, we take it with both hands and just go with it.
“Being able to share my culture, where I’m from, with the new friends I made when I came to Trinity was really important. I wanted to demonstrate to the Trinity community how beautiful aboriginal culture is, and in turn my friends shared their cultures with me – we all grew and benefited.”
He says that his experience has already inspired other members of his family to pursue similar scholarship opportunities.
The Suli Niulala Scholarship
Trinity’s way of honouring a teacher who gave so much to many
Mr Niulala, 54, taught at Trinity for 15 years before his death in 2022 after a brief battle with liver cancer. He himself was a scholarship beneficiary who left his native Tonga as a 15-year-old to study in New Zealand, where he met his future wife at university.
The Suli Niulala Memorial Scholarship, for disadvantaged boys of indigenous or Pacific Island heritage, helps transform lives in his name.
Mr Niulala’s wife, Debbie, said it was sometimes difficult for boys of indigenous or disadvantaged backgrounds to enter a school such as Trinity. “Yet the wonderful thing about Trinity is there is so much support, and that constant reaffirmation that you belong here – you will learn and excel if you engage.”
She said her husband’s experience was testimony to the power of a scholarship to transform lives.
Mr Niulala was the eldest of six children, and his family knew that if they were able to get him a scholarship to pursue an education out of Tonga, doors would open for the rest of their children, too. When he succeeded in gaining an academic scholarship, he headed to Christchurch for his senior years of school. That move opened a career path in education where he could improve the lot of young people in his orbit.
For Debbie, the Suli Niulala Scholarship fund is a way that Suli can continue to have that impact for years to come.
“I hope that in 10, 20, 30 years’ time, I will still be receiving word from students and recipients of this scholarship, sharing where life has taken them and how their Trinity education has shaped their life.
“Be grateful for the environment at Trinity. Don’t take it for granted. This is not accessible for so many people in Australia, and when you think about that, think about giving that opportunity to someone else.”
Giving paves the way
Trinity’s parents also pave the way for educational philanthropy by committing to improving and maintaining our built environment. Gifts made each term are tax deductible. Parents are not only investing in bricks and mortar, but in the future success of Trinity boys. Their generosity helps creates our built spaces for future educational growth.