Alex Richter (OKG20) and Duncan Wallace from SpinalCure Australia were special guests at today's student assembly, sharing their stories of spinal injury and about the exciting trial that may give them more independence.
Alex was a keen mountain biker when he was involved in an accident which fractured vertebrae in his neck and spinal cord damage, resulting in paralysis.
After spending ten months in hospital, Alex returned to Knox in time to take his HSC exams and is now studying human sciences at Macquarie University.
Both Alex and Duncan will soon take part in the innovative SpinalCure 'Project Spark' trial, which will aim to restore some movement to spinal injury patients by using electricity to stimulate the nerves that control muscular movement from the spinal cord itself.
"If we could get a little bit of movement back...it would make a huge difference to my independence," Alex says.
He said that, if successful, the trial would help to restore quality of life to spinal injury patients, telling the Sydney Morning Herald: "If I could get even a little bit of finger movement back so that I could pick up a fork or cut my own steak, or type on a computer … it would be a massive, massive improvement to my life."
Knox Prep students will raise money for SpinalCure by purchasing special Ride With Richter caps and will bring their bikes and scooters to school on Monday to participate in fun races.
On the 21 November Senior School students will have the opportunity to wear their Ride With Richter cap, enjoy a barbecue lunch, listen to live music, watch a Mountain Biking demonstration on Knox 1 and participate in a cycling challenge activity on the Boulevard.
To give students an idea of what the challenge would entail, School Captain Zoltan Reed and staff members Beth Goddard, Greg Nunan, Elizabeth Ruff, James Norman and Vicky Cowell competed in a live demonstration at Assembly, pedalling the equivalent of up to 1km in just one minute!
Parents and carers can order a cap and lunch for their son until 12 November. Boys will also be collecting gold coin donations at the school gates on 21 November.
15 October 2026
On Thursday 15 October, we welcomed parents, students and staff to the Great Hall for our Respectful Relationships Education community event, 'Growing Up in the Age of Algorithms'. The evening reflected the School’s commitment to partnering with families on some of the most significant issues facing young people today, creating space for informed discussion, shared learning and meaningful engagement around the challenges and opportunities of life in an increasingly connected digital world.
15 October 2026
Participants of the Knox Leader Development Program recently gathered in the Bryden Room to present their leadership projects and reflect on their development as leaders. It was an inspiring occasion, with staff sharing their vision and purpose, achievements and future goals, leadership journey, and key learnings gained through the process.
08 October 2026
Year 12 student Nathan represented Australia for the third time in the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI), travelling to Uzbekistan in Term 3 to compete with hundreds of students from dozens of countries across the globe.
