Textile and design students from NSW public schools rode on the sheep’s back at the Australian Wool Fashion Awards with their prize-winning designs.

Two students, Joshua D from Ulladulla High and Jessica W from Grafton High, took out the top prize in their categories, and were joined by Emma T from Quirindi High in receiving scholarships to leading design schools.

Jessica, a Year 12 student, won first place in the secondary school donated fabric category for her 1950s-inspired oyster grey and black twill dress.

She also won the overall secondary school award and the prestigious Raffles College of Design and Commerce scholarship. The scholarship provides half of Jessica’s tuition for the college’s three-year bachelor of design degree.

Jessica said she was so excited about the first prize that she didn’t hear her name called as the scholarship winner.

“I wasn’t even paying attention until my dad said, ‘That’s worth $25,000’ and I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to design school!’”

Emma, a Year 10 student, received the special Whitehouse Award for her modern interpretation of a 1960s mod-style dress, entitling her to two weeks’ tuition at the Whitehouse School of Design.

Quirindi High technology and design teacher Shelley Deegenaars said Emma’s win had meant a lot to the drought-stricken community.

“Our students really appreciated the donation of fabric as it lightened the financial burden for those students wishing to enter. Some families are really against the odds out here, and Emma’s win has sparked a buzz in the whole school.”

Joshua, in Year 12 at Ulladulla High, beat out competitors from tertiary institutions when he won the open menswear section with an outfit that included jeans, shirt, scarf and corduroy coat.

Joshua also received a Whitehouse scholarship and up to half his fees for a three-year design course at the Academy of Design in Sydney.

The Australian Wool Fashion Awards, which were held at Armidale High School earlier this year, are a major wool industry event.

Students from Armidale, Wauchope, Port Hacking and Macintyre high schools were also honoured in the awards.