The Academy is a not-for-profit, independent school in Dubbo, NSW

Our values

We are dedicated to developing our region’s high potential students of today into the principled leaders and innovators of tomorrow and empowering them to make a difference to their community and the world.

Innovation

We encourage forward and lateral thinking.
We embrace creativity, communication and collaboration.
We drive innovation and foster skills which are relevant now and into the future.

Learning

We focus on the individual as a whole; imparting academic, social, emotional and cultural skills for the future.
We strive for excellence through continuous improvement.
We enable our students to learn how to become life-long learners.

Respect

We commit to treating others equally with dignity and honour because together, we are strong.
We promote self-sufficiency, self-regulation and self-motivation as life skills.
We provide a safe, supportive environment in which everyone is valued and encouraged to grow.

Community

We believe that an investment in our children is an investment in our community.
We develop leaders who inspire, contribute to and drive change in their communities.
We promote local and global mindedness.

Academy Prospectus — School prospectus

Education is key to developing your child to their fullest potential. But how do you choose a school that is best for your child? What criteria do you consider? How does one form of schooling differ from another?

Download (1.8MB PDF)

School fees

Tuition fees are to be paid by the term in advance before the commencement of that term. Flexible payment plans are available by request.

2024 fees

Kindergarten Tuition - $5000 per year
Years 1-2 Tuition - $5240 per year
Years 3-4 Tuition - $6160 per year
Years 5-6 Tuition - $6580 per year
Years 7-8 Tuition - $7120 per year
Years 9-10 Tuition - $7640 per year
Year 11 -12 IB Tuition - $7640 + $1450 IB Fee per year
Activity Levy - $400 per year

25% of tuition is payable upon acceptance of letter of offer.

Individual ad-hoc incursions and excursions to paid as they arise.

There are no mandatory uniform fees - the Academy operates on a student dress code.

All students are required to purchase a Chromebook (~$450). Monthly payment options are available.

Sibling discounts

The Academy is pleased to offer the following sibling discounts:

2nd child - 15%
3rd child - 30%
4th+ child - 60%

The sibling discount applies to the Tuition fee only - not the Activity Levy.

Scholarships

A limited number of scholarships are available for students who would not be able to attend The Academy without financial support.

Please contact us at office@theacademy.nsw.edu.au for more information.

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other”

— John F. Kennedy

School board

The Academy is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of local business and community leaders. We have an Advisory Board and Advisory Groups who provide additional support.

The school principal is Mandi Randell. She is an experienced educator with two Master's Degrees, who came to teaching through underprivileged schools in New York, spent 8 years as 2IC in Newington College, and 2 years as Head of Teaching and Learning in Dubbo.

David Duffy - BBUS, CPA, GAICD, JP

Chair

David is a Director/Founder of Business DNA and as a Business Catalyst, leads the business and personal development division in Dubbo servicing regional NSW. David is a specialist who focuses on assisting businesses and leaders to proactively address change and implement strategies through actions to achieve their personal and business objectives. He has a real understanding of business and leadership issues. He has spent the last 30 years as a business consultant, accountant and investment advisor in both public practice and the corporate environment, working with clients throughout Australia, specialising in regional NSW business for the past 15 years.

David is a qualified company director and has extensive company director experience working with private companies. He has been a director of international and national consulting and accounting companies; financial and investment planning company; regional development board; Dubbo Chamber of Commerce; two farm management and training company and numerous other private companies.

David specialises in strategic thinking and planning leadership mentoring and development, business development and redesign, marketing and sales development and business financial performance.

For the past 20 years David has a strong community involvement with children sports and education. He has either coached and/or being a former board of a Dubbo and District Preschool, Dubbo Junior Rugby Club, and is the current president of the Dubbo Horse and Pony Club.

Mandi Randell

Principal

Mandi first came to Dubbo in high school on Rotary youth exchange and attended Dubbo High School where she met her husband Fred Randell. Mandi returned to the US and completed her BA in Theatre and English.

Mandi became a teacher through Teach for America and taught in inner city NYC schools for four years while completing her two Master’s degrees (Master of Science in Secondary Education and Master of Arts in English).

In 2005 Mandi emigrated to Australia and worked for Links to Learning, a DET program for at risk high schoolers and The American International School before gaining a position at Newington College.

Mandi worked at Newington for 8 years as Assistant Head of English, Coordinator of Teacher Accreditation and Head of Sustainability. She then secured the position of Director of Teaching at Learning at MAGS in Dubbo in 2014 and completed 2 years in the role before leaving to join the Academy.

Angela Schuster

Angela is the co-founder and director of Schuster Consulting Group Pty Ltd, a consultancy that provides services to public and private organisations including industry bodies, state and federal government departments and private enterprise within the agriculture and food production sectors within Australia and overseas.

Prior to establishing Schuster Consulting Group with husband Peter, Angela was the international marketing manager for ASX-listed Integrated Research where she was responsible for the development, project management and implementation of global marketing strategies and systems in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Australia.

Having relocated their business from Sydney to Dubbo, Angela, together with Peter and their two children, own a mixed farming operation south of Dubbo NSW where they manage approximately 700 cattle, 1,400 Merino and first cross sheep and 52 hectares of specialised irrigated cropping across a total of 1,000 hectares.

Angela holds a Masters of Business, majoring in Marketing from the University of Technology Sydney, Australia and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand.