Rushworth P-12 College Year 9 and 10 students Xander Snelling, Aleisha Ablett, Kaley Knight, Sam Finnigan, Lucas Jones and Aiden Porter with their merino wethers as part of the Victorian School Merino Wether Challenge.
Gerald, Stumpy and Sir Butt-A-Lot were named as three of the six merino wethers given to Rushworth P-12 College Year 9 and 10 students this year.
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Named completely by the 10 agriculture students as part of the third annual Victorian School Merino Wether Challenge, the students discovered that raising lambs is about far more than just giving them a name.
Rushworth P-12 agriculture teacher Leah McCloy said it’s about learning, taking responsibility and seeing a project through from start to finish.
“The Victorian School Merino Wether Challenge is designed to allow high school-aged students to experience what the sheep and wool industry has to offer them,” she said.
“Alongside that, it gives students a better understanding of the animal health, husbandry and handling techniques that can help them start to build a foundation to further their potential careers in industry.”
There were 14 schools from across the state that were given six wethers from the Kerrilyn Merino Stud, Dunluce, to care for over the past six months.
While the wethers are at each school, students and teachers were tasked with duties around nutrition, feeding, foot health, teeth and wool characteristics.
The schools will now compete in Clunes on August 25 for the Grand Champion title.
Their six wethers are judged on highest value fleece, highest value carcase, best presented, most engaged school and of course the all-important broad sashed Grand Champion.
“We were lucky and had some very well-behaved sheep,” Mrs McCloy said.
“Our students broke into two teams of five and raised three lambs each.
“To watch the students grow through this challenge and learn so much about the industry was very rewarding to witness.”
Not only do the students get to present their sheep and showcase their hard work, but they will also get the opportunity to discuss future education and career options.
Longerenong College, University of Melbourne, Fox and Lillie Rural and JBS will all deliver talks to students throughout the day.
The program is supported by AWI, Australian Sheep Breeders Association and Victorian Merino Sheep Breeders Association.
For the past two years, Greater Shepparton Secondary College has taken out Grand Champion, so the question is who will take it out for 2026.
However, Mrs McCloy said although they were aiming to win, they just hoped they positioned better than last year, and she was very proud of how far the students had come through the challenge.
“Some of the kids hadn’t handled animals before, and then to be able to lead them around and care for them, it was an incredible difference to their confidence,” she said.
“It’s made a difference to their futures, first in confidence and second in life choices.
“For me, seeing the students succeed is the win. That’s the real win.”
Rushworth P-12 College Year 9 student Lucas Jones with one of the merino wethers he has been caring for as part of the Victorian School Merino Wether Challenge.
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