Project: Formal and informal networks in rural areas

02Feb2015

The horizon for gifted students living in the bush is widening dramatically, with the opening of the Australia's first virtual specialist school.

Aurora College is a selective school for students living in regional and rural New South Wales. Today, the doors of the college were opened to 160 children from years seven to eleven.

But there's a catch; the school has no doors and its blackboards take the form of a web conference that is accessed by students sitting hundred of kilometres apart.

Principal Christopher Robertson called Aurora College "the school with no walls".

"So instead of attending the physical classroom in their home school, they go to an area of the school which has been set aside and they can connect with their classmates right across the state," Mr Robertson said.

"We have 160 students in our first year of operation and they are joining Aurora from 49 schools, as far north as Mullumbimby, as far south as Eden-Monaro High School and as far west as Broken Hill."

Mr Robertson said the main aim of the facility was to close the gap in educational opportunities for city and country students, as a part of the NSW Government's Rural and Remote Education Blueprint.

So while the children get straight to work in their individual specialist classes, teachers at smaller rural schools are excited about the opportunity this college will give its top students.

Principal of Molong Central School, Michelle Barrett, was happy kids like Caitlyn Campbell would get to experience a higher level of learning. "The advantage of Aurora is the teachers with specific skills from all across the state," Mrs Barrett said.

"So for country students such as Caitlyn, the opportunity to interact with her city counterparts is a real advantage in terms of sharing knowledge the ways in which things might be done differently."

Photo: Skye Manson