Cambridge Gardens Public School teacher Simon Bale was acknowledged with a Minister’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at the 2026 Public Education Awards, held at Sydney Town Hall on Monday, August 3. The awards night came on the opening day of Public Education Week 2026, with public schools across the State already celebrating the year’s theme ‘Inspiring Excellence’. Secretary of the NSW Department of Education Murat Dizdar said the awards recognised the extraordinary stories of achievement unfolding in public schools every day.