One-teacher schools

FEBRUARY 2009
By Andie Gatti

Since the 19th century, many young Queenslanders in remote areas have been educated in one-teacher schools.

In many instances these schools were the only way isolated children could receive an education before a correspondence school was established in 1922.

In 1940 there were 890 one-teacher schools. With better roads and transport and more centrally located schools, many of these old bush schools were closed from the 1950s onwards.

In 2009 there are 131. One of these schools is Peek-A-Doo State School in south-west Queensland, about 55 km west of Taroom.

Peek-A-Doo State School students

Peek-A-Doo State School is not part of a township.

In July 1963, Mr D Somerset offered the education department five acres of his property Peek-A-Doo Station.

On February 3 the following year, the doors opened to 14 students while the school was still standing on removal scaffolding.

Current principal Sharon Lynam lives in a house on the school grounds and teaches seven Prep to Year 6 students from the surrounding farming and grazing properties, some of which are 40 km from the school.

When the children reach high school, they either study via correspondence or attend boarding schools.

Students catch the Eurombah Creek School Bus to Peek-A-Doo each day.

Ms Lynam said now the drought had broken in the region, wet weather was the school's biggest problem.

'Some of the road to Taroom is still gravel,' she said.

'When it rains the floodways fill up and the road is unsafe so the road is closed.

'On those days the children do a work program at home. I'll ring them in the morning and send them a fax.'

Ms Lynam said even though Peek-A-Doo was a small school, the students did not miss out on the facilities of a larger school.

'We've got a tennis court and an oval which has just been upgraded, a sports shed, and two sandpits with shade cloth sails.

'We've got a number of laptops and desktops, a Smart Board, and a number of digital cameras and recorders.'

A language other than English teacher from Miles State High School teaches the children Japanese via teleconferencing twice a week and visits the school once a term - if the road is open. A music teacher visits once a fortnight for specialist music lessons.

Peek-A-Doo and three other small schools compete yearly in cross-country, athletic and swimming carnivals.

The only thing the school doesn't have is a pool.

To ensure the students receive swimming lessons, they participate in a week of intensive lessons yearly as part of a camp.

Ms Lynam said the school community was like a close family.

'The kids are just lovely - so well mannered,' she said.

'They want to achieve and they want to please.

'They try their hardest and will ask for help if they need support.

'Parents and community members join in working bees and general grounds maintenance.

'If something needs to be fixed, we just put up our hand and someone will come straightaway to help us.'