Student Achievements

Lions Youth of the Year Winner

Congratulations to Grace T (Year 12), who was the 2026 winner of the Waverley Region of the Lions Youth of the Year competition!

Huntingtower was represented in this year’s competition by Grace T (Year 12) and Mia P (Year 11). The Youth of the Year competition is open to all students in Victoria and requires participants to present a detailed application, undergo an interview with Lions members who delve into their various achievements, community involvement and test their general knowledge, before finally presenting a prepared persuasive speech and two impromptu speeches before the local club.

After being quizzed on her experiences with ADF programs and the WAFL draft, Grace delivered a moving prepared speech on the need for youth hospices to help care for terminally ill young people, before delivering some thoughtful impromptu responses on whether AI will our friend or foe and the challenges of explaining the visual world to the blind. In an outstanding achievement, she was named the overall winner after results from all four sections of the competition were combined.

Well done to both Grace and Mia for proudly representing Huntingtower admirably and maintaining our strong performance in our region, and congratulations to Grace on being named the winner of this year’s Waverley round of the competition.

Mr Matthew McDonald

Director of Student Communication and Engagement