By Madeleine Crabtree
With only 25 high-achieving school-leavers selected each year, it is undisputed that the Tuckwell Scholarship is one of Australia’s most prestigious scholarships. However, debate has recently arisen as to whether this “life-changing” scholarship is going to those who need it most.
The Tuckwell Foundation was founded in 2013 by ANU alumnus and philanthropists Graham and Louise Tuckwell. They welcomed their first cohort of scholars in 2014.
The Tuckwell Foundation initially committed $50 million to establish the program, expanding this to $100 million in 2016 for the building of two on-campus residential halls, Bruce and Wright. The revenue from the halls is expected to provide around $200 million for the program over thirty years.
Lasting 3 to 5 years and valued between $82,800 to $138,000, the scholarship itself is awarded based on intellect, character, leadership, and commitment to Australia. It covers on-campus residential costs, books, and general living expenses, alongside a $1500 relocation grant introduced in 2024.
The scholarship also grants students access to the $10 million Scholars’ House, the “academic, pastoral and social heart of the Tuckwell Scholarship Program”, hosting a range of Tuckwell gatherings and events.
The program labels itself as “the most transformational undergraduate scholarship program in Australia”. However, The Canberra Times recently published an article questioning whether it goes to the students whose lives it would change the most.
Current Tuckwell scholar Will Cassell has provided data analysing scholars’ high schools since 2014.
According to data on the My School website, 52 percent of Tuckwell Scholars were educated at private schools. Moreover, out of the 147 scholars who have come from public schools, 43 studied at selective entry high schools, with all but one of these being in the most affluent quartile.
This is represented in the fact that 72 percent of the total number of students were found to have come from schools in the most affluent quartile, and the same percentage represented students coming from urban schools.
In response to this, Cassell has launched a petition to change the criteria of which the Tuckwell Scholarship is awarded. He calls for the Board of the scholarship to “address the systemic barriers for students from low-income and disadvantaged backgrounds to receive this scholarship”.
Cassell suggests this can be done by funding outreach programs to these students and introducing quotas so that the Tuckwell scholar cohorts can represent the whole of Australia.
In response to The Canberra Times’ article and Cassell’s petition, recent ANU graduate, Harry Wu, commented on how ANU has the lowest proportion of low-SES students in Australia. The university published a report in 2022 indicating that students from low-SES and low-income backgrounds formed only around 4 percent of the total undergraduate population. A previous report examining the equity in Australian higher education suggests this number has seen little change since 2013.
The report also suggested that the university experience, including academic success and social engagement, of such students was negatively impacted by their socioeconomic status.
Wu argued that the ANU “categorically fail[s] to provide equal access to education,” with scholarships based solely on ATAR and academic results. In reference to the Tuckwell Scholarship, he stated that even though it tries to account for contextual factors, “circumstance isn’t accounted for”.
Wu’s comments raise concerns beyond the equity of the Tuckwell Scholarship and suggest that changes need to be made university-wide to create a more even playing field for students from all walks of life.
More to come.
Graphics by Anushkaa Ahuja
Disclaimer: Will Cassell is also a reporter at ANU Observer
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