Page 13 - J Delaney - City of Cessnock Education and Schools

8.

E DUCAT I 0 N

At the Federation of Australia into a Commonwealth in 1901, it
was firmly established that the responsibility for EDUCATION remained ·
with the individual States. The development of Education since Federation
is a natural growth and extension of the system that had been evolved.

Further changes were made in 1911, with the introduction of
District Schools. These District Schools were really superior 'Superior
Public Schools'. By 1913, Superior Schools were being re-fashioned to
provide for Commercial, Junior Technical and Domestic Science Schools or
a combination of all three. The introduction of the Qualifying
Certificate allowed the Department of Public Instruction to have some
choice of selection of students to advance to higher levels of education.
The new Evening Continuation Schools offered courses in technical,
commercial and domestic science subjects. After 1920, Intermediate High
Schools gradually replaced District Schools.

The 'Provisional School' was eliminated in 1957. The comprehensive
trend for · schools has been further extended by . the 'Correspondence Schools'
and the 'School of the Air', which now reaches geographically isolated
children. The one-teacher-school in the bush, which predominated for
over a century is now dropping dramatically, and is being overshadowed
by the larger staffed schools.

From the broad history of the Education System, now to the saga
of our local schools.

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