As many year 12 graduates nervously awaited their university acceptance notices yesterday, Ali Foster (left) was relaxed and confident, having been accepted into the Conservatorium of Music in the preliminary round offers. However, Ali has an even greater confidence " a confidence that comes from knowing God.
Ali was one of the 25 students from the Year 12 class of 2004 who became Christian while at St Paul's Grammar School, Penrith.
"I wasn't brought up in a Christian family," Ali says. "I heard about God in Year 7 and became a Christian that year."
Ali became convinced of the truth about God at school after hearing the gospel taught clearly for the first time.
"He created me, he loved me, and he had a plan for me. It was something I had never heard about before and I thought that was just amazing."
St Paul's " the latest school to join the Anglican Schools network " aims to minister to students from the Nepean Valley, the Hawkesbury area and the Blue Mountains. Ali says that being in a school with strong biblical teaching and strong Christian support networks helped her Christian growth.
"All my friends were Christians, so it was easy to pursue Christianity. My friends helped me keep strong in my faith," she says.
"We had senior girls' Bible studies together and shared our hearts with each other. It's been really good. Lots of my close friends became Christian during that time."
Ali is also a gifted drummer and will study a Bachelor of Music (Jazz Performance) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music this year. She was one of only two students chosen from the forty who underwent the arduous audition process.
Ali recently started attending Glenmore Park Anglican Church and her mother has also started attending a church in the past few months. Surprisingly, Ali currently doesn't play the drums in the church band, but she hopes to start soon.
"I have only really settled into Glenmore Park so I hope to start playing in the church band from next term," she says.
St Paul's Grammar School has strong evangelical Anglican connections. The principal John Collier is a member of the Anglican Education Commission, three staff have been clergymen in Anglican parishes and the school's Christian youth worker is a graduate of Youthworks College.
