IT'S boom time for smaller schools across the Bathurst region as student numbers continue to grow.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
This year a total of 2399 students are enrolled at the region's public primary schools, according to data released by NSW Education and Communities.
The department's annual report into public education enrolments showed that since 2010, primary student numbers jumped 10.2 per cent (222 students) from 2177 to 2399.
Over the same period, though, public high school enrolments grew by just 0.7 per cent.
Perthville Public School is just one of the smaller schools to have recorded steady growth over the past five years.
Since 2010, enrolments have jumped by a whopping 25.8 per cent, up from 97 students to 122 this year.
Other smaller schools to benefit from the boom include O’Connell Public School, whose enrolments grew from 59 five years ago to 74 this year (25.4 per cent), while Meadow Flat, Raglan, Sofala, Trunkey Creek and Wattle Flat Public Schools also experienced significant growth.
The only smaller schools to drop slightly in numbers were Black Springs Public School, with numbers dropping from 15 in 2010 to 13 this year (13.3 per cent), and Rockley, which fell 30.8 per cent from 13 to nine.
But it was one of the larger schools, Kelso Public School, that had the greatest fall in total student numbers, down from 308 to 273.
Meanwhile, Eglinton Public School remains the largest primary school in the region – but only just.
Student numbers grew from 423 in 2010 to 489 this year (15.6 per cent), but Bathurst Public School is close on their heels after growing from 425 to 486 (14.4 per cent).
However, it is a very different story at local high schools. The report found the number of students attending Denison College rose by just 0.7 per cent, from 1782 students to 1794, but revealed a growing gap between enrolments at the Bathurst and Kelso campuses.
Bathurst High School’s enrolments grew by 4.9 per cent from 921 students to 966, but Kelso enrolments dropped by a similar figure – down from 861 to 828 (3.8 per cent).
Overall, the city’s public school student enrolments grew 5.9 per cent from 2010 to 2014, jumping from 3959 students to 4193, and showing a higher growth than the statewide trend.
The report showed in NSW, enrolments increased from 749,948 in 2010 to 768,766 this year, showing a jump of 2.5 per cent (18,818).
“Factors affecting NSW public school enrolment trends include parent choice, retention rates between grades and overall population changes in the number of school aged children,” the report said.