Our Education

DID YOU KNOW?

The first school was a “Dame school” run by Christine Calderwood in Baum’s old house at Stony Creek, Forest Range.
Mr James Clarke was the first teacher at the Slab Hut School on Cold Store Road. After Clarke left the area John Brock Fry was appointed headmaster at the “Slab Hut” school on Cold Store Road (Jerry’s Flat) Dear Old Slab School.
Later JB Fry was headmaster the new school at the top of the “School Hill” for 30 years. When the building was erected it was to be school rooms and a headmaster’s residence, although JB Fry never lived there. It was named Forest School
On Wednesday 14 August 1895 a meeting was held at Givendale, Swamp Road (at that time Forest Range) to discuss a school for that region. An acre of land was donated and the deputation to the Education Department argued that there were 29 children of school age (and 56 under 13) within a 3 mile radius.
In January 1930 a meeting was held at Forest Range to discuss a new school for that region.
The Forest School was renamed Lenswood School in 1961. The reason most commonly given is that Jublilee medals (given to each school child in 1951) went to Forrest in WA by mistake (see http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article45721846).
See Lenswood Primary School Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lenswood-Primary-School/1689079841314867.
See photos of the school and students through the years at