HOPE Morton's son Boston, 10, was both "excited and nervous" to attend his Children's University Newcastle graduation.
"He said as we were leaving 'I can't wait for my real graduation', so this is instilling [the desire for] a little bit of further study down the track," Ms Morton said.
A total of 1150 students attended five graduation ceremonies in the University of Newcastle's Great Hall this week, after reaching 30 hours of extracurricular activities and new learning experiences outside of the classroom, in their community and on campus.
Program manager Selina Darney said the initiative had grown from five schools and 190 graduates in 2016 to 41 primary schools and 1561 students this year. She said the program was running in eight regions.
Ms Morton said Boston, who is in year five at Nulkaba Public School, included community sport in his tally but also tried activities he normally wouldn't be interested in, including art.
She said he had become a more independent learner.
"He's quite curious and inquisitive about how things work and why things are the way they are, so that prompted him to look a bit further beyond what was happening at school," she said.
"When kids have a little bit of say in what they're learning about they are more engaged and more willing to participate, because they have some control over what they're learning about."
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