Premier’s ANZAC Spirit

HTASA invites you to enter…

HTASA is pleased to promote and support selected contests which invite students to engage with History on a personal level. Participants find the contests rigorous but also satisfying.

While the prospect of joining a national or state contest can seem daunting it need not be so in reality.  HTASA can provide assistance with every step of the process.

Competition details

• The competition provides the opportunity for young South Australians to examine and empathise with the remarkable sacrifices of South Australian service men and women during the 20th century.
• Following a selection process, students will be invited to participate in the State Government’s fully funded study tour to Vietnam during the October school holidays in 2019. The costs of travel, accommodation and meals are covered during the fourteen day escorted tour of Vietnam.
• The students will be accompanied on the tour by a representative of the SA Branch of the Returned & Services League (RSL) of Australia, a representative of the Department for Education and appointed teachers.
• Selection of the students to participate in the tour involves the submission of an entry as outlined below and an interview for those students shortlisted.
• Prior to the study tour the student awardees and their parent/s or carers will be required to attend an orientation briefing in Adelaide during July and undertake preparation activities related to the Vietnam War.
• Teachers also will be selected to accompany the students on the study tour. Teachers are eligible to apply if they have worked directly with students entering the 2019 Premier’s Anzac Spirit School Prize.

Entry details

• The prize is open to all South Australian students in Years 9 and 10 in 2019.
• To enter students are required to respond to the following two questions:

• Part A

  Using a range of sources, research the experience of a South Australian service man or woman who served (Navy, Army, Airforce or Nursing) during either World War 1 and/or World War 2. (Maximum 1500 words).

  Worth: 14 marks

  Students will be judged on the quality of their response to the following aspects of the question above. Please note the mark scheme:

  1. Describe the context of the battlefront the service man or woman participated in during World War 1 and/or World War 2. (2 marks)
  2. Describe his/her background and life before departing for war. (2 marks)
  3. Describe his/her service during the relevant World War/s. (3 marks)
  4. Either discuss the circumstances of the death of the service man or woman during the war, or if they survived the war/s, their life after the war/s. (2 marks)
  5. Use a range of primary and secondary sources such as photographs, maps, artefacts, diary entries, books and archival materials and ensure that they are correctly cited in the list of references. (5 marks)

  Part B

  The Anzac Spirit is generally considered to be comprised of courage, perseverance, mateship and resourcefulness. Using evidence drawn from your research in Part A, choose two of the characteristics of the Anzac Spirit and describe how the individual you researched demonstrated these two characteristics. (Maximum 500 words).

  Worth: 6 marks

  The responses can be in one of the following two formats:

  1. A written piece (between 1000-1500 words, presented as a typed document and as an electronic copy on a USB) or
  2. A multi-media presentation to a maximum of 6 minutes (submit on a DVD or USB).
  • Only four entries from a school can be submitted via the school competition. The expectation is that each school will determine the four entries to be forwarded for judging by the Premier’s Anzac Spirit School Prize judging panel. The judging of the school entries is expected to be based on the judging criteria shown above. All entries forwarded must be accompanied by the Student Entry and Declaration form.
  • Students in Year 9 or 10 may enter the competition through a community group e.g. Australian Defence Forces cadets. The entry has to be submitted through the student’s school and can be in addition to the four entries submitted by the school.
  • Students are required to write a personal statement (500 word maximum) highlighting:
    • their extra-curricular contributions to the school and/or community
    • their interest in history
    • their civic mindedness
    • other personal information relevant to the judging process.

  Advice to applicants when researching and writing their submission:

  1. The study of lesser known individuals is a general expectation of the competition i.e. a person whose experiences in World War 1 and/or World War 2 have not been the subject of considerable publication.
  2. The individuals profiled in previous winning entries that appear on the Veterans SA site at https://veteranssa.sa.gov.au/themes/premiers-anzac-spirit-school-prize cannot be the subject of your submission.
  3. Entries must adhere to the word count (Part A to be a maximum of 1500 words and Part B a maximum of 500 words).
  4. Appropriate referencing in the text and a list of references is required as part of the entry.
  5. Sources such as photographs, tables and maps must be described, referenced ( i.e. Figure 1) and referred to in the text or referenced in appendices.
  6. Students should use the mark scheme to guide the depth of their responses to each section.
  7. It is suggested that students should present their research in the order of the questions asked.
  8. A range of primary and/or secondary sources must be used as evidence to support the analysis in Part B.
  9. Students are advised to use between 3 and 6 sources that are referred to in the text and evident in the reference list.
  • On the basis of the submitted entries and the personal statements, the judging panel will select finalists to be interviewed. The interview will determine which students are selected to participate in the study tour.
  • All entries submitted to the judging panel will receive a certificate of participation. Students achieving 14/20, based on the mark scheme above will receive a Certificate of Merit and Premier’s Anzac School Spirit Prize awardees will receive a Certificate of Excellence.

  When and how to submit entries

  • Only four entries will be accepted from a school (unless that school also has a student/s submitting entries on behalf of a community organisation).
  • Five copies of each entry are to be received no later than Friday, 17 May 2019 at 5 pm. Late entries will not be accepted.
  • The entries must be accompanied by the Student Entry and Declaration Form.
  • Teacher applications using the Teacher Application form must be submitted with the student entries.
  • Applications not following format guidelines will not be considered in the judging process.
  • Schools are to indicate on the Student Entry and Declaration Form the number of students who participated in their school based Anzac Spirit School Prize competition in 2019.

  Download Forms

  • Download Student Entry and Declaration Form.
  • Download Teacher Application Form

  Applications to be forwarded to:

  Attention: Malcolm McInerney
  2019 Premier’s Anzac Spirit School Prize Application
  Department for Education
  Learning Improvement Division
  GPO Box 1152, Adelaide SA 5001