New data has demonstrated the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys’ Try for 5! program is driving sustained improvements in school attendance as students progress through year levels.
As the 2025 school year ends, the initiative is celebrating a major milestone—10 years of boosting attendance and building positive behaviour across participating North Queensland schools.
Cairns West State School has achieved excellent results since joining the program in 2019. Principal Jason Evert praised the program’s role in transforming the school’s attendance culture.
“This data reflects the program’s long-term influence, particularly for students who began Year 1 in 2019 and are now completing Year 6 with their highest attendance rates yet, ready to step up to high school,” he said.
“Try for 5! has been an excellent motivator, our students talk about it all the time - it’s created a sense of excitement and pride around attendance. Involvement of Cowboys players and the incentives have made a real difference for our families.”
Other positive results for the school include:
- Overall Attendance: Up 1.0 percentage point (pp) year-on-year, compared to a slight decline statewide
- Since 2022: Attendance has surged 2.3pp, nearly four times the state equivalent increase
- Indigenous Students: Attendance year level trend (From year 1 – 6) has climbed 4.2pp since 2019, significantly outperforming the state result of 0.7 pp
- Most Valuable Player (MVP) Students: Average attendance jumped from 65% to 74.8%
With the support of National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA), Regional Express Airlines, the Queensland Government’s Youth Development Partnership Fund as well as schools who self-fund delivery, the program delivered 65 in-person school visits to 18 schools plus one-on-one focused work with MVP students.
Overall, the data shows positive year level trends (From Year 1 – 6) across the board - up 2.3pp compared to the 0.3pp state average. For schools classified as outer regional (9 schools) the year level trend is up 2.4 pp, and remote schools (3 schools) have demonstrated 3.9pp improvement.
Try for 5! leverages the strong Cowboys brand and player profiles, plus a unique incentive program to drive up school attendance rates and help foster positive behaviour and learning environments, improve academic outcomes, and build strong, connected school communities.
“It’s wonderful to know that 10 years of Try for 5! will continue to make a difference to young people’s lives for many more years to come,” Cowboys Community Foundation CEO Fiona Pelling said.
“Good attendance at primary school is crucial. It lays the foundation for academic success, social development, and long-term opportunities. By working together with school communities, parents, and students, we’re building excellent education habits that set children up for future success.
“We are incredibly thankful to our funders for their ongoing support and commitment to help us deliver such impressive results for North Queensland school communities.”
For more information or to enquire about the Try for 5! Program at your school visit cowboys.com.au/community/try-for-5
