Preston Primary School was established in 1875. It is a school with a rich and proud history of state education. In the 1950s it was one of the largest schools in the State. In previous times it has also been known as Tyler Street Primary.
Preston Primary is unique in that it is a multi site school. Student enrolments have risen from 511 in 2003 up to 760 in 2016. This significant increase led School Council to investigate and then apply for an enrolment ceiling of 750. The ceiling came into effect in 2008. Prep and Grade One children are located at the Bowden Street site with Grade Two to Grade Six students at the Tyler Street site. In 2010 we had a new state of the art 6 classroom building built on the Bowden Street site. In 2011 the Grade One students moved in to the building and the old school was demolished. Substantial grounds works have been undertaken on the site.
Preston places great emphasis on academic outcomes and as such is a high performing school. We consistently perform above state benchmarks in all areas.
Preston Primary puts emphasis on as small as possible straight grades. We currently have an average of 21 students per grade across the school. The allocation of resources has been directed at employment of classroom teachers to enable us to maintain these small classes. Our commitment to small classes ensures the best possible basis upon which to build further learning.
At present there are 34 classroom teachers supported by 9 specialist teachers who provide a structured and broad curriculum. There is a comprehensive Physical Education program which includes one specialist session a week in years prep to 6 and an inclusive sport program for years 4 to 6. We compete against schools in our local area in interschool sport. Individual students compete in swimming, cross country and athletics sports. Summer and winter teams are selected from students in grades 5 & 6. We regularly have individuals and teams make it through to Regional and State Finals in a variety of school sports. Due to the size of the school we enter two teams in all interschool sports. Italian is offered as a Language Other Than English.
The school has made a commitment to the development of The Arts. Over many years we have embed the Arts into the fabric of the school. The Arts is about students developing new skills, in visual and performing Arts. An annual highlight of the school calendar is the Art Show which showcases all of the Arts programs including visual art, dance, drama and music. Students are exposed to each of the elements of the Arts Program throughout the year. This allows them to experience new activities and opportunities to develop their sense of self. Our grade prep to 3 students have a session of music each week and our grades 4-6 students have a session of drama each week.
The school believes its curriculum leaders should be classroom based modeling from the front. The school is organized into grade level teams. The teams work closely together to plan all aspects of the curriculum. Each level has a representative on the schools management group. The non teaching staff is lead by the Business Manager.
Preston Primary is passionate about education and determined to be a school that children love to attend, where the staff is proud to work and the aspirations of parents are met. Embedded in the culture of the school is the ethos that every child should be challenged and encouraged to reach their full potential.