In 1944 post war shortages and the village's remote location meant that students had to cut pencils and books in half so that they had enough for one each.

As her own family grew so did the numbers at the school with her own children and grandchildren beginning their education journey on a school site that was established 144 years ago.

In 1923 the current school building was built and Mrs Molloy hopes that it will spring back to life for it's centenary.

"The advantage of small classes cannot be emphasised enough when the students have access to one-on-one teaching in certain circumstances," she said.

With the joint forces of zoning being removed which allowed parents to send their children to any school, and the changing demographics of the village itself, the numbers worked against them.

With only two students enrolled in 2022 the decision was made by the Department of Education to put the school into recess.

Mrs Molloy believes that the decision is devastating and damaging to the community.

"There are children in the village and the outlying areas of Mandurama who would be greatly advantaged by attending this school," she said.

"It is sincerely hoped that parents and carers can recognise the unique quality that is available to them for their children that is not provided in larger classes and larger schools."

"This school has a future as it has had a very successful past," Mrs Molloy said.

"The school's in recess, it's not closed. Unfortunately it could remain like this during 2022 but it's in the hands of the whole community to activate a reversal of the current situation."

On top of the Mandurama recess, the Euchareena Public School will remain in recess for the 2022 school year also.

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