Western Australia’s Sarah Cassell named AWARD School 2024 national top student

Sarah Cassell from Perth has been named AWARD School’s national top student for 2024.

The announcement was made at The Gold Pencil Award Party, held at This Way Up at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, which celebrates the year’s best creative work and brightest new talent.

Sarah was nominated ahead of more than 200 students from across the Asia Pacific and received a coveted AWARD School Black Pencil. She was also named the winner of the national Outdoor/Poster brief for creative that was derived from an incredibly simple idea, and which was visually striking.

State finalists announced last week include Brooke Wiggins from New South Wales; Jess Gough from Victoria; Harrison Coates from Queensland; Albert Hopkins from South Australia; and Dominique Powe, who topped AWARD School’s online program. All students’ work can be viewed on the AWARD School website.

Other 2024 national brief winners include Montana Hein for Film/TVC, Spencer O’Connor for Audio, and Anna Kikuno O’Leary who took out the top gong for her creative response to this year’s Social Media brief.

AWARD Chair Mandie van der Merwe, Chief Creative Officer at Saatchi & Saatchi, praised the work of all national state and brief winners, and Sarah’s portfolio, as truly exceptional.

“Congratulations to all of you. The judges were particularly blown away by Sarah’s creative thinking across the board. Her work was not only strategic but also consistently unexpected and surprising—qualities that set her apart from the rest.

“Her portfolio showcased flashes of brilliance and lateral thinking, making her the clear choice for 2024’s national top student prize. She is incredibly deserving of the honour,” she remarked.

AWARD and Advertising Council Australia would like to thank this year’s school heads, tutors, and speakers for continuing to make the AWARD School program a success, and all its sponsors – Meta, AWARD School’s principal partner who has come on board for the seventh consecutive year, as well as Nine, OMA and CRA for their support of this year’s creative briefs and more broadly, the next wave of creative talent.