The Nawarddeken Academy offers a unique model of bicultural, community-driven education in remote Indigenous communities in west Arnhem Land. The Nawarddeken Academy was established at the request of local Indigenous elders, who wanted desperately for children to be able to access full-time education in their home communities.

Our Story

Based in the Warddeken Indigenous Protected Area (IPA), the Nawarddeken Academy began in 2015 at the community of Kabulwarnamyo as a one-teacher classroom under a tarp, with minimal resources. Since these humble beginnings we have grown and thrived, now operating four registered independent schools at Kabulwarnamyo (registered in early 2019), Manmoyi and Mamardawerre (registered in late 2021) and Kunmayali Secondary (registered January 2025).

If we want children to get an education which is cross-cultural, which helps them to learn the culture of their own community, but also get the tools they need to succeed outside their community, then schools like this in the most remote parts of Australia are important.

— Jason Clare, Federal Education Minister (Kabulwarnamyo, June 2022)