The power and possibilities of sport will be on full display for 27 NSW public school alumni and two current students as the Commonwealth Games begin in Glasgow on Friday (AEST).

Competing across nine sports and representing 29 different schools, the Games showcase not only the best athletes in the Commonwealth, but how much the NSW public education system provides an early platform for budding athletes.

Nurtured in public schools from Kingscliff in the north to Albury in the south - and plenty of places in between - most representation comes from regular co-educational schools, showing that opportunity is available to every student in the system.

"These athletes are proof that talent can be found in every corner of the state, and that our public schools continue to give students a genuine pathway to elite sport,” Leader School Sport Unit, Peter Banks, said.

Two athletes will be putting their studies on hold as they go for gold while still at school.

Swimmer Sienna Toohey is the name on everyone's lips. The Year 11, Albury High School student made the world championships in 2025 and came within a touch of Olympic qualification in Year 9. The breaststroker has been supported all the way by her father and school principal, Damian Toohey, who will be poolside cheering her on in Glasgow.

Lexie Brown (Nambucca Heads High School) will also have her school and community behind her as she competes in the Women's T45-47 100m. A Gumbaynggirr and Kamilaroi woman who lives with limb difference, the 15-year-old, Year 9 student has shown consistent improvement to represent her country.

The current school connections don't end there. Lawn bowler Ellen Fife not only attended Goulburn High School but returned to work there as a School Learning Support Officer (SLSO). At the Birmingham 2022 Games, she became the first person in the event's history to win both singles and pairs at the same Games. She'll partner fellow alumnus Dawn Hayman (Keira High School) in the women's pairs in Glasgow.

Emma-Sue Greentree (Morisset Public School and Hunter Sports High School) balances her time as an SLSO at Narara Valley High School with her boxing career and will compete in the Women's 75kg division.

When it comes to true global sporting stars, it's hard to go past Jessica Hull (Albion Park High School), who took silver on the track at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 1500m. Her head-to-head race in the specially designated mile against Kenyan great Faith Kipyegon is set to be one of the highlights of the Games.

Elsewhere, look out for Desleigh Owusu (Blacktown Girls High School), the first Australian woman to compete in triple jump at a global world championships and gymnast Ritam Malik, whose mother Niraj teaches at Riverbank Public School.

Then there is wheelchair basketballer Georgia Munro-Cook. The former Newtown High School of the Performing Arts student showed just how broad the possibilities are in the public system, achieving at the highest levels in sport after attending a school renowned for its arts program.

In a nice touch, her father Murray Cook – one of the founding members of the Wiggles – did the opposite. The former public-school teacher finished his schooling at what would become Endeavour Sports High School.

NSW public school representatives at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games

• Luke Boyes – Penrith High School – Athletics (800m)
• Lexie Brown – Nambucca Heads High School – Para Athletics (100m/200m, T/F47)
• Lianna Davidson – Hills Sports High School – Athletics (Javelin)
• Ellen Fife – Goulburn High School – Lawn Bowls
• Jessica Hull – Albion Park High School – Athletics (Mile, 5000m)
• Emma-Sue Greentree – Hunter Sports High School – Boxing (Women's 75kg)
• Desleigh Owusu – Blacktown Girls High School – Athletics (Triple Jump)
• Jemma Pollard – Whitebridge High School – Athletics (400m)
• Elizabeth McMillen – Killarney Heights High School – Athletics (20km Race Walk)
• Georgia Munro-Cook – Newtown High School of the Performing Arts – Wheelchair Basketball (3x3)
• Sienna Toohey – Albury High School – Swimming (Breaststroke)
• Thomas Cornish – Lucas Heights Community School – Track Cycling
• Tinka Easton – Bomaderry High School – Judo
• Tru Hagens – Glenwood High School – Artistic Gymnastics
• Ritam Malik – Castle Hill High School – Artistic Gymnastics
• Lara McSpadden – Swansea High School – Basketball (3x3)
• Eve Bryson – Kurri Kurri High School – Boxing (Women's 65kg)
• Dawn Hayman – Keira High School – Lawn Bowls (Women's Pairs)
• Daniel Bos – Warners Bay High School – Para Powerlifting (Men's Lightweight)
• Damien Delgado – Kingscliff High School – Para Lawn Bowls (Men's Pairs)
• Kalani Anitelea-Launiu -Randwick High School - Boxing
• Ridge Barredo - Woolooware High School - Weightlifting
• Sarah Carli - Keira High School/Illawarra Sports High School - Athletics
• Alyssa Gillespie - Narrabeen Sports High School - Para Swimming
• Luke Pople - Figtree High School - Wheelchair basketball
• Gemma Sellick - Mackellar Girls High School - Para swimming
• Jackson Sharp - Springwood High School - Athletics
• Liliyana Tatarinoff - Kincumber High School - Cycling
• Corey Wedlock - Bellingen High School - Bowls