00:00The start of a school day in Newdigate, a small wheat and sheep town four hours east
00:10of Perth, population 159.
00:15A three classroom school, the district hub for farming families.
00:20Laura Ness started school at Newdigate.
00:23She was among hundreds of country students across WA who had to leave their primary schools
00:30and homes to move onto high school after year six.
00:34Yeah, I was about 11 when I headed to boarding school in Perth and I guess it was a big change
00:41from going from a small community with only 40 kids in the school to living with 180 girls
00:47under one roof.
00:48The policy was imposed in 2015, bringing Western Australia's public schools in line with all
00:55Australian states and territories except South Australia, which only made the switch two
01:01years ago.
01:02Yeah, you go from living on the farm, yeah, and going to school with probably 40 other
01:08kids to attending a high school with over a thousand and you've got another 200 odd
01:13boys in your year group, whereas I only had one when I was in year six.
01:17The policy was fiercely resisted in the bush.
01:20As a town we value family, we value community and we wanted our kids here as part of our
01:27family and as part of our community, so there was a great deal of resistance to the idea
01:33of kids moving away for year seven.
01:35Almost a decade on, the social, financial and emotional impacts on small communities
01:41like Newdigate are still felt today.
01:45It has a significant effect on our school numbers, which impacts every aspect of the
01:49school.
01:50It also impacts all of our students' sporting groups, it reduces numbers there.
01:55It impacts the whole town socially.
01:58Now the West Australian Government is reviewing regional education, calling for input from
02:03country families and schools.
02:06At the moment the subsidies that the federal and state government offers do not cover the
02:10costs.
02:11These costs are proving to be a problem for parents right around the country.
02:16The Isolated Children Parents Association says the federal boarding allowance for isolated
02:21children was originally intended to cover 55% of average boarding expenses.
02:28These days the organisation says it covers only 37% of the average fee, which in 2023
02:35was $25,000.
02:38More stress for regional families already facing significant cost of living pressures.
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