Aurukun State School, on the Gulf coast of Cape York, is one of the most complex for its size in Queensland. Situated in a community that is arguably the most traditional in orientation in this state, the well equipped and staffed school is a symbol of cultural change. Children,who at home lead largely unregulated lives centred on their families, encounter in the school another language, anotfyer culture, another set of values and attitudes - often very different from those they have learned from birth. The school’s achievements are defined and its goals shaped by its adaptation to this clash of expectations in forging an education that draws on the best of both cultures.