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We checked in with alumna Phoebe Britten (2022) on her journey from high‑achieving student to nationally recognised education advocate.

As the 2022 Dux, Phoebe’s path after school has been shaped by ambition, gratitude, and a deep belief in the transformative power of opportunity. 

In 2025, at just 21 years of age, she was named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for her work reshaping access to tertiary education for disadvantaged young Australians; a remarkable achievement for someone also studying a law degree.

Phoebe is studying law at the University of Sydney and has founded a not‑for‑profit - Inspire Tomorrow Education (ITE) - that is changing the educational landscape for students facing a range of challenges.

A clear vision from an early age

Phoebe reflects how early her career goals took shape. “I was intent on doing law from Year 10 onwards”.  

However, the competitiveness of the degree entry meant the goal felt distant at times. She credits her teachers at Grammar with helping her believe it was possible.

“I had so many wonderful teachers who backed my decision to do law,” she says. “They pushed me to pick a course that felt out of reach. Having people in my corner who genuinely believed in my ability to take that step, even when I wasn’t sure I could, was really special.”

A school community that invested in her success

Now a tutor herself, she sees how rare it is for students to receive the level of personal investment she experienced at Grammar.

“My teachers pushed me to go beyond the course content; to take a deeper look at what I was learning, even outside of class,” she says. “They took time out of their day to mark my extra work, have conversations with me, sit down during their lunch break and talk about how I could improve.”

With a close-knit school environment, Phoebe said she felt fortunate that her teachers knew her strengths, weaknesses, and aspirations intimately. “They knew what I wanted to achieve. When I came to them with a problem, they always took more time than they probably needed to help me succeed.”

The moment that sparked a movement

The idea for Inspire Tomorrow Education arrived suddenly, in a moment that Phoebe still describes vividly.

It was her very first law lecture. She sat in a theatre with students from across Australia and around the world. A former High Court Justice, known for his advocacy for public education, asked the cohort to raise their hand if they went to a public school.”

“In a room of 400 people, maybe 12 to 14 hands went up,” Phoebe recalls. “It’s one thing to see that statistic on paper. It’s another thing to see it in person.”

Looking around, she felt a jolt of clarity. “Every person in that room is going to go on to be a future leader, policymaker, someone with influence. Yet the room didn’t reflect the true diversity of Australia. That was a huge issue for me.”

She thought about her own educational journey and the opportunities she had, the teachers who invested in her, and the reality that many young people never receive that chance early in life.

“My ethos has always been that we lift as we climb. If I’m able to access social mobility, then I see it as my responsibility to give those transformative opportunities back to others.”

Building Inspire Tomorrow Education

From that moment, Phoebe began building what would become Inspire Tomorrow Education (ITE), a not‑for‑profit dedicated to supporting students from underrepresented backgrounds to access tertiary pathways.

The organisation has grown rapidly and now engages 90 volunteers. To date, it has supported more than 150 students on their journey to university, with many securing significant scholarships and further opportunities.

For Phoebe, one statistic matters most. “Every year we do an annual survey, and 100% of the students who work with us say they are more likely to consider going to university after finishing our tutoring program.”

That outcome goes straight to the heart of her mission. “When I started ITE, it wasn’t just about improving grades. It was about showing people what’s possible beyond the environment they grew up in.”

ITE now receives applications from across New South Wales and Queensland, and the stories that come through the organisation are often challenging and confronting.

Applications come from high school students who may have recently lost a parent, young people fleeing domestic violence, students unable to attend school due to disability or being in remote regional areas where local schools have closed due to structural issues.

“We get some really heartbreaking stories that make you realise the value of what we do,” Phoebe says.

While the organisation has defined categories of disadvantage, they also leave room for compassion.

“If you don’t fit into an ascribed category, but you can make the case that you need help, we will do everything in our power to support you. We try to step in where we can and figure out how to support students who are going through something that isn’t an explicit category of disadvantage,” she says. “Where can we step in? How can we help?”

A legacy of leadership

Phoebe said she hopes her actions reflect the values she learned at school: aspiration, resilience, and a commitment to making a difference. She remains connected to the school community, returning as a guest speaker and mentor to inspire the next generation.

For current students, her message is clear: “With the right support and a willingness to push yourself, you can achieve things that once felt out of reach, and you can bring others with you.”

Looking ahead: a career in human rights

Phoebe’s long‑term ambition is to become an international human rights lawyer. She is already taking steps toward that future, currently interning with a Cornell University professor looking at the intersection of law and AI systems.