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White opened the first school in the late 1850's in a room in Mrs Rea's house; later it was transferred to a shed of Dr Ewing's. Children had to pay to attend.
About 1861 a Common School was built of stone on a site in front of the present school residence, next to the present post office; it contained three rooms and the schoolroom. The first teacher in this school was G. Launder, a fine scholar and athlete. He taught in this school till 1869, when the existing school was built on a new site, then carried on till 1872 in the new building which became a State School. Among the 50 or so enrolled Launder found several young men and women. J.Whyte who became Headteacher in 1883 conducted night school for the district folk unable to read and write. The school came under the jurisdiction of the Board of Advice for District No 260 in the North Riding of Warrnambool Shire. The school served for all local functions, both religious and social, until the hall and church were built. Site improvements date from the 1890's. After the 1939-45 war, several large tracts of land were acquired for the settling of ex-service men on farms; the first was Boortkoi Estate in 1948. From 1948-58 school enrolments trebled, 105 children (1970) being on the roll. The old bluestone building became inadequate and two extra classrooms, together with modern facilities have been added for children and staff. A very large percentage of pupils travel to and from school in buses provided by the Department to serve outlying areas. The decade 1958-68 has seen school attendance rise to a peak, taper and fall. During 1965-68, when the school was raised in status to Class II, many improvements occured, the grounds were extended and a headteachers residence bought. Now Class III, the school, with its many acquisitions and modern equipement, provides a broad educational service to this rural community. Source - Department of Education, Corangamite Region. |