SEVERAL families are facing an uncertain future following Shoalhaven Anglican School’s shock decision last week to close much of its secondary program.
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And it is not only the students and their families facing tough questions about education, as several teachers also have their futures on the line.
Some teachers are already looking for other jobs and are leaving the school, well ahead of the planned changes to classes at the end of next year.
Executive principal of the Shoalhaven Regional Anglican Schools, Lorrae Sampson, said one of the school’s teachers had already secured another job and was leaving.
Regardless of possible teacher losses, she said the school had a commitment to the year 11 students to help them complete their Higher School Certificate in 2015, and was working to hold as many teachers as it could.
With 33 students, the current year 11 was the school’s largest cohort but student numbers had been steadily dropping over 10 years, Ms Sampson said.
That brought about the decision to close much of the school’s secondary program, with years seven to 10 students being bussed to the Nowra Anglican College from 2016, along with students seeking the regulation ATAR-based HSC.
Students focused on trades subjects for year 11 and 12, including some being bussed from Nowra, will undertake classes at the new trade skills centre at the Milton campus.
The school has decided to run its own bus service with a direct route to NAC, as existing bus services visit many other schools in South Nowra and Nowra before travelling to Bomaderry.
Ms Sampson said the decision to make the changes was not easy.
“It’s been very difficult and it’s very sad that people have been affected by it,” she said.
However the primary and pre-school section would continue to offer top quality education, Ms Sampson said, with programs going through a rejuvenation to improve educational results.
“It’s a fantastic primary school, and it’s a bit of a secret that it’s such a beautiful school,” she said.
Parents have in recent days been told about improvements being made in the primary classes, moving to project-based learning and something dubbed genius hour, giving students time to work on areas and subjects they were passionate about.
Head of the junior school, Anna Carswell, told a meeting of parents the genius hour program saw one student researching World War II while another started a fashion blog, and while researching other fashion blogs got feedback from one of the world’s top fashion designers.
“I’ve never seen a 12-year-old smile so much,” Ms Carswell said.
Meanwhile parents have been faced with difficult choices not only about whether they want to send secondary students to Nowra, but also whether they want to leave primary students at the school not knowing whether their school friendships would survive into secondary school.
However several parents of primary students said this week they hoped the situation would change, and the secondary classes would be reinstated, before their children were ready to start year seven.
