History

The first of its kind in Australia, Alice Springs School of the Air has seen much growth and many changes in its more than 70 years.

From the initial idea by Miss Adelaide Miethke, the trial process and the official opening to the building of a specialised premises, and the more recent switch from radio to broadband satellite technologies, the Alice Springs School of the Air has educated thousands of students.
Facilitating daily contact between students, home tutors and teachers, the school has always strived to find new and better ways of enriching the education of Australia’s most remote children and young people.

For more information about the Alice Springs School of the Air’s history see our Visitor Centre page.

A Message from our Principal

We offer innovative and engaging learning programs delivered by our highly qualified professional team of staff. Our school proves that distance is no obstacle to learning and in fact distance encourages diversity and innovation.

At ASSOA we provide a differentiated program that enables your child to develop into a productive and thoughtful member of the community who can make the most of every opportunity presented to them. We work closely with your child to develop them into well informed students who can set and achieve goals in their learning that gives them great options for their future.

I look forward to meeting you and welcoming you and your family to our school.

KERRIE RUSSELL
Principal, Alice Springs School of the Air


ASSOA proudly belongs to AADES, the peak professional organisation in Australasia representing school level distance education.

Thank You!

Thank you for providing a world-class education to three separate grades of my kids over the last seven years.
Thank you for the endless patience, wisdom, tolerance, advice and professionalism that ASSOA has displayed through the years: from the early years with Mrs Scoss to the Middle Years with Mr Newman.

Through all the good times and bad, ASSOA has been one of the most amazing parts of our time in Central Australia.

Once again, but never enough, thank you.

*Lightly edited for brevity and anonymity.
ASSOA Parent (name withheld)

Three Generations of ASSOA Students

The Driver Family were amongst the first students to join ‘on air’ radio lessons at Alice Springs School of the Air (ASSOA) in the 1950’s.* Three generations of the Driver family have now benefited from the education offered by this amazing school of Distance Education, experiencing technology advance from the Pedal Radio to high speed internet access. From 2009 to the present, Alice Springs School of the Air has helped provide our two boys, Sonny & Ruben, a well-rounded education, even though we live over 400km from town!
 
ASSOA encourages its students to become independent and inquisitive learners, implementing unique techniques to help engage the children; Counting cattle can be a great way to learn the times tables and help the kids put their maths skills into practice.
 
The ‘Home Visit’ program provides vital insights and opportunities for class teachers to travel to the students’ home, cattle station or community, experiencing first-hand the challenges and conditions which remote students and families are faced with: 4WD access only dirt roads, limited resources, limited power (not everyone has 24hr power or aircon!)
 

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 *Sonny & Ruben’s Great Uncle, Arthur ‘Mick’ Driver, also officially opened ASSOA on June 9, 1951 as Administrator of the NT.
 
Three Generations of Driver Attendance at ASSOA:
Dennis, Penny & Roy Driver   c.1950’s 
John, Clark & David Driver   c.1980’s
Sonny & Ruben Driver           2009 – current
Amber Driver – Elkedra Station

“…there is honestly so much to write, I had to cut it short!”

Having started with only two students to a -now busy- classroom of four students, I’ve watched the school grow from strength to strength.
 
Each student is regarded and respected as their own individual being (I have twins) and then shown, regardless of geographical separation, how they can be bought together as part of a larger, unified family.

The teachers and staff have always been approachable and I’ve always felt my opinions were valued. It has always felt like a collaborative approach to educating my children with all the required resources plus resources you’d never think you’d need. The units of work are easy to follow and feedback is constructive.

The school is consistently coming up with innovative ideas to support and teach both students and home tutors and I am extremely proud to be part of the ASSOA family!
Janice
  • Please note that some testimonials have been lightly edited for brevity or anonymity.