As the heart of the Panmure community, Panmure Primary School is responsible for shaping the next generation of children.
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In celebrating its 150th anniversary, previous students from all walks of life returned to the place where it all began and relished in each other's company.
At the close of a busy weekend including the school's open day and an anniversary dinner event, principal Mark Antonio was overwhelmed with the support the school had received.
"It's been amazing. People have a connection to the school as a part of the community and they want to come back and celebrate," he said.
"It's something we try to instill in our students and hopefully they will come back in 25 years to celebrate the 175th anniversary."
Currently Panmure Primary School has 15 students, two full-time teachers, a music and arts specialist, a teacher's aid and are part of the Panmure MARC mobile library.
Times were certainly different in the 1920s and 1930s when Noel Wright and Kathleen Harney, the oldest past students, attended.
"I have a lot of good memories from school and a lot of friends," Mr Wright said.
"One special friendship was with Kath. I was a little tacker and I rode four miles to school on a horse. At the start my brother rode with me but when I was five he left the school and I was on my own. Kath arrived and she would help me catch the horse, put the saddle on and get on to go to school.
"The friendships have stayed."
Mrs Harney also spoke about the importance of friendships she made in her school days.
"The school was very nice and I was great friends with Bridgy McKinnon," she said.
"I played netball and won the best and fairest one year and I loved cricket.
"We'd go swimming and we didn't have electricity for years. It was lovely getting it and we got all the implements to go with it.
"It's lovely to be back."
Year 4 student Tilly Gammon's favourite part about school is her friends and learning about maths. Her mother Christina Cox is delighted with how far her daughter has come at the school.
"We travel half-an-hour to get Tilly to school here," she said.
"She'd been to other schools but wasn't happy. Here, she's a completely changed kid.
"She never has a day off and has made huge improvements in herself."
Teacher Ronnie Couch is a past student of Panmure Primary School and her education at the school was what inspired her into her profession.
"I had a teacher, Mrs Carey, and I wanted to be just like her," she said.
"I lived away for 10 years after university and then an opportunity came up here and I jumped at it.
"It's great here."
We get to know the students personally which means we can cater to all abilities.
- Ronnie Couch
Mr Antonio believes the small school is an asset for students' education.
"The school has a really caring atmosphere and there's a lot respect for the kids and their families," he said.
"We have such caring teachers who are committed the providing the best education for their students.
"The kids get a lot of one-on-one time and have the attention and a connection with their teachers."
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