FOR 30 years, some of Oxley High School's best athletes have been part of, or benefited from, the school's sports council.
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Sporting stars such as Josh Hazlewood were among a raft of athletes to benefit from the council's fundraising during the past 30 years.
However, since its inception, the council has branched out into more fundraising endeavours, including Relay for Life, World's Greatest Shave and R U OK Day.
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Oxley High School leadership co-ordinator Heath Pett said the council had raised more than $20,000 in the past three years alone.
"The council has grown from about 15 members to 30 members in recent years and you honestly couldn't ask for a better group of kids," Pett told the Leader.
"The council has supported athletes for the past 30 years for a variety of things such as travel, equipment and things like injury rehabilitation.
"However, in the past five years I've been involved, we have incorporated more non-sports-related fundraisers because there has been a surplus of funds.
"All of the fundraisers we have done have been student-driven and all of our kids have gone above and beyond. Honestly, these kids will be leaders of the future."
The council is made up of students from years 7 to 12 from sporting and non-sporting backgrounds.
"Only one other school in the state has a sports council and it is a private school in Sydney," Pett said.
"To me, that's what makes this group so special.
"All of the kids are involved because they want to be, and go above and beyond because they want to. They are a top-shelf group of kids."
Pett said the highlight of his involvement with the council had been its running of Tamworth's Relay for Life events.
"It was great because the kids founded and ran the biggest Relay for Life in country NSW in the history of the Cancer Council," he said.
"We gained a lot of recognition from the Cancer Council for that and, since then, we have continued to support them as well as Ronald McDonald House, R U OK Day, the Disability Olympic Foundation and others.
"We are lucky to have a group of really selfless kids who work alongside our SRC and CAPA council.
"Together, they have achieved a lot of success in their charity work and I'm really fortunate to be their co-ordinator."
The council will now turn its attention to fundraising for the Ronald McDonald House charity.
"The kids will be at Centrepoint Tamworth selling fundraising wrapping paper to help the cause," Pett said.
"Our kids are great country kids who love to get there and help. We have several state- and national-level players in a number of sports - but they, too, love to get out and help."
Pett said he was confident the council would go "from strength to strength" in 2020.
"The interest from the kids is there, so I have no doubt they will continue to keep getting better and better," he said. "It's exciting to see and I'm sure the school will be right behind them."