Twelve years ago, Hoddles Creek Primary School rang with the laughter of 50 children. This year, only four are studying at the school, but nobody is complaining.
The school in the Yarra Valley is among 30 in Victoria that have fewer than 10 students, including seven with five or fewer, as the changing demographics of country towns transform the rural education experience.
Hoddles Creek Primary School principal Leanne Timoney with students (from left) David Bentley, Jupiter Thomsen, Indy Kirk and Nathan Woolley.Credit: Joe Armao
At Hoddles Creek, about 90 minutes east of Melbourne, Leanne Timoney is teacher and principal to the four children enrolled, and mum to one of them at the town’s 150-year-old primary school.
“The students definitely get one-on-one support. They have a lot of options for student voice,” Timoney said.
“We really listen to what they want; excursion-wise, we are lucky to be able to put them in the car and drive them around.”
Hoddles Creek, home to the vineyard of the same name and fruit farms Rayner’s Orchard and Nerrigundah Berries, is an expensive area to buy a home.
In her 23 years at the school (eight as principal), Timoney has had three of her children attend. She has seen enrolments dwindle from 50 children in 2013.
“There’s not a lot of young families here any more,” she said.
Another issue keeping numbers at the school and elsewhere in the Yarra Valley low is the tendency of locals to age in place, leaving limited housing options for the young families who might otherwise settle near the school and send their children there.
“Our enrolments come from outside of Hoddles Creek. They want the academic one-on-one and the nurturing side as well,” Timoney said.
Excursions are easy for Hoddles Creek Primary School, where students fit in one car.Credit: Joe Armao
“We really know our students and what they need. I guess staff are really well-trained in neurodiversity, ADHD and autism. So that’s a bit of a drawcard as well.”
Students spend a day a week at nearby Don Valley Primary School, which has 37 students, for socialisation and sometimes sports competitions. “We don’t want our students to miss out on anything a big school may have,” Timoney said.
The school has a full-time teacher, a part-time teacher and an integration aide.
Timoney is comfortable with its size.“We don’t want to get too big because we feel like the programs we are providing now are because we have a small number,” she said.
“We have basically been told as long as we have enrolments we are open.”
At Bealiba Primary School, which has been open since 1856, there are five students, two of whom are currently attending. Student numbers are down since 2019, when there were 12 enrolled.
Principal Lynne Nisbet said her school was proud to take a different path in a sector which sometimes prioritises numbers over names.
The region was known for agriculture, mainly wheat and barley and there weren’t many young families left, Nisbet said. The town of Bealiba, west of Bendigo, has a population of 213 (based on the 2021 census) and an average age of 61.
“We had 20-plus students a few years ago [but] families have moved away or sold properties to people without young families,” Nisbet said.
Students at the school are in prep and grades 2, 5 and 6.
“I’m just really lucky to be in such a small school because you can nurture and value the students, you get to know one-on-one what their hobbies are, what they like, what they don’t like. You know exactly what’s happening behind the scenes,” Nisbet said.
“It’s a powerful place to learn. Kids can thrive in a smaller school, their personalities shine through.”
Being part of a cluster of five schools means the students can connect with other students from schools as far as 15 minutes or an hour away to take part in sport, athletics carnivals, camps and incursions. The other schools have upwards of 20 students.
At June 3, there were 11 non-operational primary schools: Panmure, Edi Upper, Stanley, Lake Charm, Gruyere, Nullawil, Devenish, Seaspray, Tooborac, Ultima and Dhurringile.
Neerim District Rural Primary School re-opened this year with 15 new students. It was non-operational since the end of 2019 but was never formally closed.
Guildford Primary School re-opened in 2022, having been non-operational since the end of 2017.
School closures only go ahead if recommended and requested by the school council as a result of no current or expected future enrolments, and provided there is community support.
According to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, the number of government schools in Victoria decreased from 1625 in 2001 to 1568 in 2024. In that time, the number of Catholic schools increased from 491 to 496, and the number of private schools went from 205 to 228.
The state Department of Education reviews enrolment trends, forecast population demand and capacity of schools annually and has a process to ensure demand for schools is properly planned.
A department spokesperson said every student had the right to attend their local government school.
“We are continually planning for and responding to changes in enrolment trends, so all students can be accommodated in fit-for-purpose teaching spaces,” the spokesperson said.
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