BACK in 2006, the public school in the tiny village of Rugby had 19 pupils.
That was before the then enduring drought forced three families to leave the district, robbing it of nine students.
Today, the struggling school - two years shy of its 125th birthday – has just four. And two of them, in Year 6, will leave for high school at the end of the year.
Though the one-teacher school remains determinedly upbeat, it faces an uphill battle to remain open. Unless it can increase its enrolments to close to 10 by the end of the year, it will go into recess for 12 months.
Rugby Public School would then have a year to try to find the required pupils to stave off closure.
Its two Year 2 pupils, twins Dylan and Jakobe Howard, 7, would probably attend school at Reids Flat in the event it went into recess about a 40- minute drive north of the village.
And its teaching principal Mem Brougham’s future would be uncertain.
She could transfer to a school in another part of the state, but would prefer to remain in the region.
The community is desperate to sell Rugby’s virtues in the hope of attracting families with school-age children. Not necessarily farm workers, but perhaps the selfemployed, able to utilise computer technology to work from home, or those with jobs in nearby towns.
In part, it’s a case of bridging a gap of a couple of years. The village is already home to some prospective pupils.
They’re just a little too young at the moment.
The sign welcoming visitors to the picturesque village halfway between Boorowa and Crookwell optimistically puts its population at 60. It may be the case if surrounding areas are included.
A quick drive through the town uncovers an Anglican church, fire brigade sheds, war memorial, community hall and a closed general store.
The village is set in grazing territory and last week, as water lay on the ground, it showed all the signs of decent rain returning to the district.
Inside Rugby Public School, a painting of the bushranger Ned Kelly adorns a door in its little library. And there’s a computer room, interactive whiteboard and television, kitchen for cooking lessons and plenty of room for pupils to play out the back.
There is also an awning out the front, landscape gardens and upgraded toilets funded by the controversial Building the Education Revolution scheme.
When asked to sell her school to prospective families, Ms Brougham, currently on maternity leave with two children, made the obvious point it had “excellent staff-to-student ratios”.
“We’re very, very well resourced,” she said.
“We’re not isolated in any sense in terms of communication, because we can communicate online with other
schools.”
Ms Brougham said there was a strong network among schools in the area and Rugby’s pupils met on a regular basis with those from other schools.
Beyond its core functions, Ms Brougham said the school provided services to the community, for instance, fax and photocopying machines.
“[It’s] a social thing, too. People pop in. They know when we have our recess and our lunch breaks, so people will often come in and have a cup of tea and chat to us and students and things like that,’’ she said.
“[It’s] important in a small community, especially going through drought.”
If you would like more information or would like to enrol your child into Rugby Public School please contact Secretary of the Progress Association, Margaret Kelly, on 4835 7216.
Email a friend