Currambena School is an independent primary and

preschool A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...

Lane Cove Lane Cove is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Lane Cove is nine kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

History

The school was established in 1969, when the then Woodley Preparatory School was purchased by the founders. It was one of a number of alternative schools that pioneered the application in Australia of the ideas of progressive educationalist A. S. Neill. The school commenced with 116 students in January 1970: 72 in the preschool and 44 in the primary. The school expanded to include a second adjacent building in 1971. In 2003 the school had 71 students; in 2004 this had grown to 88 students in 2006 the school had 93 students. The Commonwealth government uses a measure of socio-economic status of independent schools to help determine their funding; Currambena has scored highly on this scale (meaning its students live in high socio-economic status locations). As an alternative school, Currambena experienced external pressures from increasing standardisation of curricula, and from reforms to student assessment. Representatives of the school were prominent in criticising developments in education policy such as the introduction of national standardised tests.

Organisation and activities

The school is administered by a council comprising six parents and three teachers; it has no school principal. The board is democratic and responsible for curriculum, facilities and employment decisions. The original articles of association stipulated a maximum class size of 25; this was subsequently reduced to 22, with classes split into three age groups. The school emphasises creativity and flexibility in responding to the needs of individual children.

Alumni

* David Heilpern, author and magistrate

References

External links

* {{Authority control School buildings completed in 1969 Alternative schools in Australia Private primary schools in Sydney 1969 establishments in Australia Educational institutions established in 1969 Lane Cove, New South Wales