Grevillia school forced to close

THE primary school at Grevillia, north-west of Kyogle, is being forced to close down this year due to a lack of numbers.

THE primary school at Grevillia, north-west of Kyogle, is being forced to close down this year due to a lack of numbers.

Only two children were enrolled to attend the school this year and they were both from the same family. In 2008 the total student body consisted of just 10 students.

Education Department spokesman Sven Wright said Grevillia would be placed ‘under review’, starting today. It will be the last day of teaching at the school.

However, a final decision on the school’s future will not be made until later in the year.

In the meantime, the department will continue to maintain the school.

If a decision is made to close the school permanently, it will have to be signed off by the Education Minister.

The two students who had planned to attend Grevillia will now attend the Risk Public School, another small school in the same area which has just over 30 students.

Mr Wright said the department aimed to offer students the ‘best educational and development opportunities’.

“Therefore, when numbers at a school become very small, the school, the department and the community must consider the future of that school, given there is strong evidence to show that students’ social and other development benefits from interacting with more of their peers,” he said.

“The students will enrol at the Risk Public School, where they were involved in a joint schools program all of last year.”

Mr Wright said Grevillia would have ‘reduced staffing’ for the remainder of this term. It is understood the two teachers will then be transferred to other schools.

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Originally published as Grevillia school forced to close