Academy Team finishes in the Top 3% of Australia

The Central West Leadership Academy Future Problem Solving Team has come 9th for the Nationals competition. With 254 teams in their age bracket, the Academy’s Stage 4 team has come in the top 3% nationwide. In the drama section, they came 4th, which places them in the top 1% of teams. This is the first time a team from the Central West has made it to the Nationals level in this highly revered international competition.

The Academy team, consisting of Carrigan Baker, Imogen Bassett, Finn Randell and Noah Randell, has competed for three years and through their hard work and dedication have been deemed as one of the best Future Problem Solving teams Australia-wide.

Principal Mandi Randell stated, “Our team trained for over 40 hours to be ready for this round of the competition and they went toe to toe with the finest thinkers in Australia. They worked hard, achieved and are ready to train for next year. The represented our region with pride”

Future Problem Solving is a competition where teams research a problem and are then presented with a future scenario that they need to solve. Students have 2 hours to identify 16 problems from a variety of categories, identify an underlying problem, create 16 solutions to the underlying, evaluate and rank their solutions and make an action and implementation plan. The event will be held remotely this year due to COVID.

Future Problem Solving is a research-based, academic program that teaches problem-solving strategies, collaboration, critical and creative thinking, and effective communication. The interdisciplinary approach helps develop ethical leadership skills and provides a unique opportunity for students to learn and apply essential life skills in the 21st century. The program has been operating in Australia for over 30 years and this year, over 6000 Australian students from primary and secondary schools participated in the program