Your child is a high academic achiever, kicks goals on the sports field, or is practising to be a concert pianist.
But can you afford to fund their education and help them to realise their dream?
Parents can seek assistance for their children's education through a range of fi nancial scholarships and award programs.
Students who show initiative and passion in a range of fields can apply for a host of programs funded by schools, government departments, universities, community organisations and industry.
Some provide cash grants to assist students at school or to help fund their tertiary studies after Year 12.
For example, there's the State Government's annual TJ Ryan Memorial Medals and Scholarships scheme which rewards outstanding Year 12 students.
This year's recipients included, from left above, Zemma Holmes-Story, Thomas Power and Samantha Jones.
There are also the Bid O'Sullivan Teaching Scholarships, which give rural and remote students the chance to study teaching and work with Education Queensland.
Queensland's Indigenous students can apply for one of the Pearl Duncan Teaching Scholarships, named in honour of Ms Pearl Duncan, Australia's first tertiary trained Indigenous teacher, and awarded annually.
Young sports people benefit from the State Government's Young Athlete Assistance Program, which helps students meet travel and accommodation expenses when they're selected to compete in major sporting events away from home.
The Queensland Cancer Fund runs an awards program that helps meet the costs of post-secondary school courses for young Queenslanders who've had a personal experience with cancer.
If your child is academically gifted and you've decided to send them to a non-state school, you should know many offer scholarships to academically gifted students to assist families with the cost of school fees.
The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) runs a cooperative scholarship testing program for nonstate schools across the country, including more than 30 from Queensland.
General Manager Assessment Services with ACER, Deirdre Jackson, says students selected from the testing program are among the brightest in their age group.
Ms Jackson says while a scholarship can be a huge financial benefit to some families, parents need to be realistic about their child's ability.
"It can be quite disheartening to take an exam because they're given a report on how they performed against the whole group who took the exam," she says.
"But I think it's good for parents to keep their eyes open. If you've got a child who has a lot of potential ask about what opportunities there are."
Queensland Catholic Education Commission Executive Director, Mike Byrne, says students in Catholic schools are encouraged to apply for a number of awards and scholarships on offer.
"Catholic schools are conscious of keeping students and families well informed about the various scholarships and bursaries and encouraging them to apply," Mr Byrne says.
"Many Catholic schools offer scholarships on the basis of academic achievement or financial hardship."
Dr John Roulston, Executive Director of Independent Schools Queensland, says many independent schools also provide financial assistance to students and their families.
"Scholarships and bursaries are often granted in particular fields such as music, sports and also on the basis of general academic ability," Dr Roulston says.
Mr Byrne and Dr Roulston say parents can contact individual schools for details on the scholarship opportunities available.
For a list of the major awards and scholarship programs available to all Queensland students go to the website.
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© The State of Queensland (Department of Education, Training and Employment) 2008.