The doors to the historic Guildford Primary School reopened to students on Monday.
The reopening of the Campbells Creek Primary School’s ‘Guildford Campus’ has come about after more than two years of campaigning by the Guildford community and thanks to the hard work of Campbells Creek Primary School staff and the wider school community.
The community achieved the ‘impossible’ back in October 2020 successfully lobbying the state government to reopen the beloved Guildford Primary School three years after its closure.
The school was scheduled to reopen in early 2021 but unfortunately COVID lockdowns, and delays getting approval from Heritage Victoria for the renovation works needed to bring the school back up to code, pushed back the opening date.
With works almost complete, the school was finally ready to welcome back pupils Monday for the first time since it closed its doors in 2017.
Campbells Creek/ Guildford Primary School principal Rosie Critchley said it was a momentous day.
“It’s been a lot of hard work by many people. The inside of the school is finished. There is still work to do on the outside and the playground but we are in and we were thrilled to welcome our 13 Guildford students on Monday. It’s really exciting!” Ms Critchley said.
The campus features a prep-grade one class and a grade two-grade five class. The students will visit Campbells Creek Primary School one day a week to connect and interact with other students in the wider school community.
“We really hope the Guildford community gets behind the school and continues to support the campus moving forward. Hopefully the campus will continue to grow and thrive into the future with more families moving into the area,” Ms Critchley said.
