Community
28 November, 2025
Community condemns Penrose school closure
Members of the Penrose community have condemned the NSW Government’s decision to place Penrose Public School in recess, describing it as “heavy-handed, callous and legally deficient”.
Members of the Penrose community have condemned the NSW Government’s decision to place Penrose Public School in recess, describing it as “heavy-handed, callous and legally deficient”.
Parents say the Department failed to comply with the Education Act and its own protocols by closing the school without proper consultation.
The school currently has six students – but other families have indicated they would enrol their students for the 2026 school year.
Some parents are now considering home schooling their children given there is no public transport to the nearest schools in Wingello and Bundanoon.
Parents were informed by letter on November 20 that the school would be placed in recess from the conclusion of Term 4 this year.
The letter came from the Director Education Leadership, Goulburn Principals Network Public Schools, Regional South and Connected Communities Directorate, Vicki Stokes.
“Placing a school into recess means that, while the school grounds and facilities are maintained, there will be no staff or students attending the school,” she said.
“Should prospective enrolments rise substantially, the decision to put the school into recess can be reversed, at which point the school will become fully operational again.”
Another school in the Wingecarribee Shire, Avoca Public School, closed earlier this year with 11 students while Terrara Public School near Goulburn suffered the same fate.
All three schools – Penrose, Avoca and Terrara – have active websites that give no indication that they are in recess or about to go into recess.
Parent and secretary of the Penrose Public School P&C Association Ellie Egan told The Southern Wire earlier today (Friday) that the community would continue its fight to keep Penrose Public School open.
She said the community would press to get its submission in front of Premier Chris Minns and hopefully to meet with him face to face.
She said their treatment by the NSW Department of Education had been “appalling”.
“They haven’t listened to us,” she said.
She said the Department had failed to adequately respond to community questions for more information, had failed to adequately respond to a 25-page arguing against the closure and had failed to acknowledge the community’s efforts at a recent working bee in the school grounds.
It had also ignored a petition signed by more than 1000 people protesting against putting the school into recess.
In her letter to parents, Ms Stokes said the department would support current students to continue their education at another school.
“The principal and staff will assist students and their families with the transition and the department will provide learning and wellbeing support, as well as uniforms for the selected public school.”
Ms Egan said the Department’s decision to place the school in recess contradicted comments made three weeks ago that the NSW Government was delivering ‘world class education’ for children across NSW “right where they live”.
The same message has been shared in one form or another by Government MPs across the state.
Ms Egan believes the decision to place the school into recess was made long before September 9 when parents were advised by a departmental employee of its potential closure.
She said everything that parents and members of the community had done since then had been to no avail.
The P&C has issued a statement saying the impact of the school’s closure on neurodivergent children in particular would be “severe”.
“Small schools like Penrose are safe places for neurodivergent kids,” the statement says.
“They thrive here because it’s calm and supportive.
“For children already struggling with anxiety or school refusal, shutting their school is not just disruptive, it’s cruel.”
The P&C says the closure will weaken Penrose at a time when its set for growth.
“The school is the centre of village life. Removing it makes it harder for families to move here and harder for the town to grow,” the statement quotes one parent as saying.
Another said: “It feels like the government is hiding behind a flawed process and allowing public education to die in small communities.”
The P&C has accused the Education Department of turning away prospective students before a decision was made, of providing incorrect enrolment information and of invalidly relying on a shortened process when an 18-month full consultation was required under section 28 of the Education Act.
Ms Egan’s office has referred all enquiries to the Department of Education’s media unit.
The Southern Wire is still waiting for a response to a number of specific questions but a spokesperson said the school was simply being “mothballed” and the Department would continue to keep and eye on the area’s demographics.
Read More: Southern Highlands, Penrose