Boorowa Central School is celebrating 155 Years of operation this year, to start the anticipation juices flowing, I thought it would be good to share a summary of our wonderful school’s history.
A brief history of Boorowa Central School:
Boorowa Central School was established in 1870.
Mr William J Quick, the school’s first Principal, welcomed 50 students to the then ‘Burrowa Public School’ on its first day.
Secondary schooling became available at Burrowa Public School in 1927 and this was largely accredited to, according to the Burrawa News article from December 16, then P and C secretary Rev. Gibson and Parliamentary member Mr J.M Tully.
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When addressing the school in 1927 at the ‘Annual Prize Distribution Ceremony’ or what we call the Presentation Night now, Mr Tully strongly urged parents to make whatever sacrifice was possible to give their children higher education so that in after life those children who had made good and were occupying high positions could look back and remember with gratitude what their parents had sacrificed to give them their opportunity.
He then went on to say to the boys and girls ‘take the fullest advantage of the opportunity given to you and fit yourself for the battle of life’.
Boorowa Central School, as it is now known, officially became a central school in 1944 and ‘secondary accommodation’ was built in 1967
Boorowa Central School has had 36 principals in 155 years and I am the 37th.
Mr William Quick was the first, Mr George Redmond was the principal when the school expanded to include secondary schooling and more recently Mr Col Whitchard was the longest serving principal with his tenure lasting 17 years.
Whilst student enrolment figures and staff numbers are unavailable, my calculations lead me to believe that between 20 and 30 thousand students have been educated at Boorowa Central School by approximately 2000 teachers.
The most notable change throughout these years have been the school grounds and buildings.
These have changed significantly over the years with growing student numbers and the expectation of completing what’s now known as the Higher School Certificate.
A comparison of school then and now:
I found that learning about our schools past helped me build a stronger connection with our schools heritage and proud history.
To build on this view of the past, I thought it would be fun to show a comparison between schooling then and now, in some key areas.
When considering teacher to student ratios, a portion of the current advice reads: "No Kindergarten class need exceed 26 students and no Year 3 to Year 10 class need exceed 30 students and so on."
Around the time Burrowa Public School opened, one teacher was allocated for every 100 students.
An assistant teacher could be appointed if average student attendance passed 100.
100 students are equivalent to all of our Kindies, our year 1/2 class, our 2/3 class, our 4/5 class this year!
If we compare the expectations around attendance, currently in Australia a student cannot leave school until they are 17 and are expected to have an attendance record above 85 percent.
In 1880 the Public Instruction Act determined that children between the ages of 6-14 attend school for no less than 70 days every half-year.
However, exemptions to this attendance could be applied for circumstances included living more than 2 miles from school.
School fees are currently voluntary contributions at $55 a year, per student.
In 1848, local school boards were to set the rate per child per week between 1 penny and 1 shilling per week.
After some currency conversation and inflation adjustment I managed to calculate that 1 shilling in 1848 is the equivalent to $7.22 in 2025, 1 penny is about 60 cents.
Therefore, per year a family could expect to pay the equivalent of $12-$144 a year per child for public education.
And lastly, Teacher training:
Teachers today are now required to complete a minimum of four years of tertiary study that includes a teaching qualification.
This includes several teaching placements where the aspiring teachers learn their craft alongside experienced teachers.
Up until 1905, most teachers in NSW were trained on the job as pupil teachers who usually began their four-year course between the ages of 13 and 16.
These same pupil teachers taught an individual class full time and were instructed in teaching method and content by the head teacher outside of school hours.
What a fascinating look into our past and that of Public Education.
Celebrating155 Years of Boorowa Central School:
On 20 September 2025, Boorowa Central School will be celebrating 155 years of operation.
The organising committee, and school, are well underway with the organisation of this event, collecting memorabilia, ordering merchandise and much more.
Invitations will be sent out in the coming months but put a ‘save the date’ in your calendar now so you can celebrate with us.
If you have Boorowa Central School memorabilia that you would like to share for display purposes during the celebrations, please email 155ofBCS@gmail.com.
A member of the organising committee will get in touch to make arrangements.
The organising committee would also like to collect as many email addresses, or mailing address, for any past students or staff of Boorowa Central School.
Please email 155ofBCS@gmail.com to provide information so you can receive a formal invitations to our celebrations.
More information about the celebrations will be published soon.
GRAHAM JONES - Boorowa Central School Principal
