Tongala continually proves its the little town that could, with Tongala Primary School’s students consistently “batting above their average” in state and regional competitions.
While Tongala Primary School has 150 students in its classrooms, a good portion of the cohort has gone on to compete at a high level in a range of sports such as soccer, lawn bowls, cross country, football, tennis, netball, cricket and athletics.
In 2024, three Tongala Primary School girls teams made it to the regional finals in Swan Hill in team tennis, netball and cricket.
The school’s lawn bowls team made it all the way to the state finals in Sunbury, while individually, Tilly Forde competed in state athletics, while Ella Forde was crowned Victorian School Sports Triple Jump Champion for her age group.
Halfway through 2025, some of these teams and individuals have backed up their success with some new individuals shining through.
The girls soccer and lawn bowls teams were crowned Campaspe champions and will play in the regional finals in Swan Hill in August and October, respectively.
Five students participated at Regional Cross Country in St Arnaud, with two students, Tippi Holyman and Ella Forde, qualifying for state cross-country.
Not only are Tongala Primary School students excelling at regional levels, but Enrique Dos Santos was selected for the IBER Holiday Cup soccer tournament in Brazil in July.
“We bat well above our average regarding how we go with our sport, which is great,” Tongala Primary School principal Rob Hogan.
“I’m really proud of all of their achievements because they try really hard through our sport and PE programs, they’re just really passionate about their sport.
“They give everything a hundred per cent, and they represent the school well and play with teamwork and sportsmanship, so that is really nice to be able to send them off and compete at the higher levels.”
Hogan outlined the school’s approach to its sporting programs and pointed to the array of sports offered as one of the reasons for student success.
“Our attitude to our sport program is that if the kids want to do a particular sport, we will put a team in for that,” he said.
“Our sport teams and individuals are really well-supported by our families, who volunteer to take our students to get them to higher level competitions.
“We have that really positive approach to our sport, we’ve seen for many years, going back to Harley (Reid), the kids want to be the best they can be, they try really hard, and the parents are really supportive of that.”