Students Rub Shoulders With Royalty and Gain Rare Work Experience at Easter Show

Princess Anne views cattle on the Cattle Judging Lawn at the Bicentennial Sydney Royal Easter Show in Sydney, Australia on April 9, 2022. (Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Hospitality students from rural New South Wales (NSW) gained a unique work experience and also encounter Princess Anne, who was on tour at the Royal Easter Show, an iconic celebration of Australian rural culture that sees the city and country come together for two weeks every year.

One hundred students from rural NSW got to work at a student-run cafe for two days of the show, in the joint initiative between the department of education and the Royal Agriculture Society of NSW.

Attracting up to 80,000 visitors a day, the students helped to cater to a crowd that was, in many cases, bigger than their hometowns.

The students worked from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and were in charge of all aspects of the cafe from food preparation to front of house service, closely monitored by experts in the field.

Monaro High School student, Liam Stewart, said the event was critical for a hospitality student.

“We were able to see the inner workings of a kitchen and work at such a highly regarded establishment,” Stewart said.

“It was also an incredible opportunity to bond with peers outside of the context of school.”

Monaro High School principal James Armitage trekked 400 kilometres to give ten students from his school the invaluable opportunity.

“Students based in metropolitan Sydney often have many options to complete required work experience for subjects like hospitality, but in rural and remote areas, options are limited,” Armitage said.

“Not only did they get to complete the work experience component of their hospitality course, but they were also given the opportunity to be leaders, make decisions and mistakes, and experience what it’s like in the ‘real world’ workplace.”

Finley High School students Amy Ventrella and Sophie Roe passed the pressure test when Education Minister Sarah Mitchell dropped in to see their work. (New South Wales Department of Education)

Another highlight for the students was meeting Princess Anne, who put the Royal in the Royal Easter Show when she visited the student’s cafe.

“There were many nerves, however, the Princess was lovely and very down to earth. It was so exciting to meet her, not only as a rural student but also as an Indigenous person, and it really solidified to me that my education is worth it,” Stewart said.

The show has run every year except in 1919 during the Spanish flu outbreak, 1942-46 during World War II, and 2020 during the 2020 CCP virus pandemic.