Lawyer Andrew Penfold banked on indigenous education

ANDREW Penfold has devoted himself to changing the lives of Australia's most disadvantaged children.

HAVING achieved dizzying success as a lawyer and investment banker, Andrew Penfold has devoted himself to changing the lives of Australia's most disadvantaged children.

In 2007, Mr Penfold founded the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation to provide indigenous children with scholarships to board at private high schools.

The foundation has grown from offering one scholarship in 2008 to 150 at 15 schools in 2010 and, last year, 230 scholarships at 24 schools.

The students supported by the AIEF are nearly twice as likely as other indigenous students to finish Year 12, at 84 per cent compared with 47 per cent.

With nearly $50 million raised through private donations and government support, Mr Penfold now plans to use his expanded resources to establish some 2000 permanent indigenous scholarships to private schools.

Readers of The Australian have one more week to nominate their choice for this newspaper's Australian of the Year.

Other nominees have included cyclist Cadel Evans, soldier Benjamin Roberts-Smith and physicist Brian Schmidt.

The Australian of the Year has been celebrating our top achievers since 1971. Winners have included former prime ministers Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke, John Howard and Kevin Rudd, along with Eddie Mabo and Sir Gustav Nossal.

Readers are invited to submit nominations by mail, fax or email. Nominations close next Monday and the winner, to be decided by a panel of senior editors, will be announced in The Weekend Australian on January 21.