Erskineville Public School has four new classroom teachers in 2007: (from left) Rosie Zammit, Sally Eastley, Sally Kim and Juanita O’Connor.

School thrives out from under closure-cloud

By Kerri Carr

A school once ear-marked for closure has had its student numbers increase seven-fold.

Erskineville Public School principal Gai O'Neill said the school currently has 219 students, which leaves the school bordering on a 10th class.

In 2001, when the school faced closure under the NSW Government's Building the Future plan, the school had just 29 pupils in two classes.

A sustained community campaign protesting against the closure was the precursor to then Education Minister John Watkins finally announcing on October 17, 2002 that Erskineville Public School would remain open.

Ms O'Neill was relieving principal at the school in 2001.

"When I came to the school, the school had been under a school closure cloud for some time."

She said enrolments were down because of this.

"It is no longer under a cloud, and people are choosing for their children to go to their local school, which is great."

"We've gone from having a quiet playground to a very busy one," she said.

The school has already had inquiries for enrolment for 2009 and 2010.

Ms O'Neill reported other local public schools also have increasing student numbers.

"There's been a positive demographic shift," she said.

"The area is dominated by young, new families."

The multicultural resource library, the State Equity Centre, is to vacate the school's heritage building so classrooms can be re-established in that building.

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February 2007 contents