Year 9 student Bruce Ru is the first recipient of the Gold Certificate of Global Competency (CoGC) – Knox Grammar’s innovative credentialing program pioneered in 2021, which offers students the opportunity to challenge themselves and gain the courage and confidence to contribute to their school and community.
Students are able to log their participation and successes in a multitude of nominated events and activities. Different levels of involvement correspond to different levels of points. Each commitment is worth 10, 30 or 50 points, depending on the time commitment and activity.
Ms Margie Raymond, CoGC Co-ordinator, said Bruce had engaged in the program since its inception.
“Bruce’s commitment to many of the diverse domains and credentials needed to complete 800 points across the units of Agency and Entrepreneurship, Altruism and Advocacy, Responsible and Active Citizenship, Deep Learning and Agility is a testament to his character and skillset,” Ms Raymond says.
Bruce said he was attracted to participating in the CoGC as a way to explore his interests, contribute to the community and open up future career paths.
His completed tasks range from academic-related to music to sport to leadership and meet all four domains of the certificate.
Academically Bruce took part in Future Problem Solving, Debating, Model United Nations and da Vinci Decathlon. He is also a member of several student boards and as a violinist, Bruce is involved in numerous musical groups, through which he is able to perform at hospitals and aged care homes. Outside of school, he also uses physical activity as a means to perform charitable works.
“Aligning with the Knox value of Compassion, the CoGC places emphasis on using a student’s own skills to give back to society. By performing music at hospitals or aged-care homes and participating in charitable fun runs, I found my value as an individual who can have a positive impact,” he says.
Leaning into his love of music, Bruce takes courses at the Open Academy of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and engages in a variety of music competitions
“Through completing these activities and persistent logging throughout two years, I was able to achieve the Gold Certificate.”
The CoGC has been designed to equip students for life outside the gates of Knox, which Bruce recognises as a benefit of participation.
“The leadership, compassion, perseverance and global awareness gained from the certificate would allow me to be a responsible global citizen in the ever-changing world. The future workplace needs multidisciplinary people who can adapt to technology and have the willingness to tackle the world’s big issues such as Climate Change and Human Rights, the exact skills the certificate trains,” he says.
Click here to read more about the program.
12 August 2026
Staff and visiting guests gathered at Knox on 12 August for a Twilight Networking Event. Bringing leaders together for an evening of connection and conversation, attendees later heard from internationally bestselling author, former state champion boxer and business owner Luke Kennedy.
10 August 2026
Last Saturday’s final rounds in 2026 Winter Sport season marked the conclusion of another outstanding chapter in Knox Sport.
07 August 2026
“Visual Arts deepens our understanding of ourselves, our communities, and the world around us,” says Wendy Shearer (Visual Arts Teacher and Head of Department, Senior School). “Through creative practice, students explore ideas, communicate experiences, and develop personal ways of seeing and interpreting the world. Art becomes both a form of expression and a means of connecting across time, place, and culture.
