Published on: 21 August 2015




On Thursday 20 August, 300 mothers, grandmothers, friends and boys gathered in the Refectory for the annual Year 10 Mother/Friend and Son breakfast. In the company of their loved ones, the boys enjoyed a delicious breakfast while listening to Young Australian of the Year for Sport (1999) and World Champion Paralympic swimmer, Priya Cooper, OAM.

Despite being in a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy, Priya has become one of Australia’s leading Paralympians. From her first appearance at the 1991 National Wheelchair Games, at which she won a staggering nine gold medals, she went on to win three gold and two silver medals, and break two World Records at the Barcelona Paralympics in 1992, her first international competition.

At the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Priya led the charge for Australia with five gold, a silver and bronze, the highest number of medals of any Australian athlete. She also set three world records and five Paralympic records.

At the Sydney 2000 Paralympics, despite recovering from major shoulder surgery, Priya won a gold medal and three bronze medals. She has since retired from competitive swimming and is now involved in raising awareness for people with disabilities to be involved in sport, and is on various government and corporate boards and committees.

Priya spoke to the boys about passion and desire and how these attributes are fundamental in achieving dreams. She encouraged them to focus on what they can control, rather than those factors out of their control, with the largest being their attitude. “With the right attitude anyone can succeed,” she said.

Priya acknowledged her mum for always being an optimist and teaching her to focus on things she ‘could do’ rather than things she ‘could not do’.

Headmaster, Garth Wynne concluded the morning by encouraging the boys to respect the leading ladies in their lives and encouraged mothers and friends to be upstanding role models for their boys.

Thank you to Samantha Goebel and the Parents’ Auxiliary for hosting this special event and to the Year 9 parent volunteers who were there, bright and early, to set up and serve the breakfast.