A Year 10 history student from Knox Grammar School will take part in the trip of a lifetime as one of the successful recipients of the 2017 Premier’s ANZAC Memorial Scholarship.

Nicholas Trobec will visit battlegrounds on the Western Front with other students from across the state to further enhance their knowledge of the ANZAC spirit.

“I’m really passionate about history!” Nicholas said. “I think it’s really important that we understand history so that we can overcome the problems of the past. I remember a quote from my history teacher Ms Doubé's classroom that said, ‘Those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it’.”

“My dad had made some historical models when I was a kid that were interesting at the time and then I started watching documentaries, reading books and played video games, especially about WW2, that have kept me interested in history.”

More than 130 Government, Catholic and Independent schools across the State entered the ballot. The 21 successful schools have all chosen one student to take part.

Member for Ku-ring-gai, Alister Henskens, and Minister for Veterans Affairs, David Elliott, today visited the school to congratulate Nicholas.

“It is exciting to listen to Nicholas speak so passionately about history,” Mr Henskens said. “The ANZAC spirit truly lives on through young people like him who are committed to learning about the sacrifices made by previous generations during times of conflict.

“I am certain this tour will be something all the students will be able to draw upon in their studies as well as being something they will remember for the rest of their lives.”

Mr Elliott said the tour will provide students with a greater understanding of Australia’s wartime history and the birth of the ANZAC legend.

“This is a unique opportunity, one that offers scholars like Nicholas an insight into Australia’s involvement in the First World War and the ANZAC spirit,” Mr Elliott said.

This 12-day tour will visit significant Australian battlefields on the Western Front in Belgium and France, including Villers-Bretonneux, Bullecourt, Fromelles and Ypres.