Clontarf Academy
In 2019 Vincentia High School partnered with The Clontarf Foundation to start an academy at school. The Clontarf Foundation exists to improve the education, discipline, life skills, self-esteem and employment prospects of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, and by doing so, equips them to participate meaningfully in society.
Clontarf provide full time mentoring and support to young Aboriginal men throughout their high school years and assist them with their transition to further training or employment. Brock Balgowan & Jackson Webb are our full-time Clontarf staff mentors who are based in the Clontarf academy room to support the 95 young Clontarf men currently enrolled at Vincentia High.
The mentors counsel students on a range of behavioural and lifestyle issues whilst the school caters for their educational needs. Using a comprehensive approach of supportive relationships, a welcoming environment, and a diverse range of activities, the students develop improved self-esteem and confidence. The Foundation believes that failure to experience achievement when young, coupled with a position of under-privilege can lead to alienation, anger and more serious consequences. As a prelude to tackling these and other issues, participants are first provided with an opportunity to succeed and in turn raise their self-esteem.
The Foundation’s approach has been very successful, not only in attracting young men to school and retaining them but also in having them embrace more disciplined, purposeful and healthy lifestyles, developing them into respectable young men.