Avoca students triumph in big race

Avoca Primary School tell us all about their victory in a 14-hour pushcart race.

It took dust, sweat and tears, but students from Avoca Primary School claimed victory recently in a pushcart race that lasted for 14 hours, as part of the annual Energy Breakthrough extravaganza. Taking turns to pedal their homemade human-powered vehicle (HPV) at speeds of up to 60km per hour under the blazing Maryborough sun, the Grade 5 and 6 students were ecstatic to win first place for the 10th year in a row.

“It was pretty cool!” enthused Grade 6 student Zeva. “It gets pretty hot in the carts, but when we get out, we get ice jackets and icey poles. Energy Breakthrough is a great opportunity – it’s so much fun. You get to work as a team with all your friends and your mates. It’s just incredible.”

But according to acting principal Tom Elliot, the highlight is seeing how hardworking the students are – and how humble they remain after a win. “I think we’ve won every year so far because of the effort and determination from a small school’s worth of kids who give their absolute all to everything,” he said. “They all work together and they rise to the occasion. But we’re not arrogant about it; we don’t shout it from the rooftops. We just get on with it, but we do have a great sense of pride.”

And it seems that pride and mutual respect are a big part of how things work at Avoca Primary. “I’m not a big fan of letting the kids down, and the kids reciprocate,” Tom explained. “It’s almost like they get together and see how much work the teachers are putting in and they think: we can’t let them down!”

In fact, the entire Avoca community gets behind the school’s Energy Breakthrough team every year, with local businesses offering sponsorship and everyone lending support. A victory lap through town has become a cherished tradition, with shop-owners and residents lining the streets to cheer on the students. “We do a big walk through the town, through the kinder and through the nursing home,” Tom said. “We get a photo in front of the community bank and then we have a BBQ where we invite all our sponsors. Ninety per cent of them are family businesses from around Avoca, and a lot of them are directly related to the kids.”

It’s a modest way to acknowledge a giant win – and the perfect way to say thank you to a community that backs its local school every step of the way. And according to Tom, you couldn’t pick a better event to back. “Energy Breakthrough is the greatest educational experience for school children that exists,” he said. And it seems the children would agree!

Education & training

Updated 27 March 2026

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Avoca students triumph in big race

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Avoca students triumph in big race

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