Bulahdelah Central School has the state's only purpose-built Middle School facility.

Research shows that, if students have a good experience in the years where they make the transition from Primary to Secondary education, their overall outcomes are much better.

Our Middle School building houses our students from Years 5, 6 and 7 classes and some Year 8 classes. Secondary students work in student teams and develop a closer relationship with their teachers than is usual in junior high schools. Classrooms overlook a large common learning area which is equipped with an electronic "smart" whiteboard. The building also has a set of wirelessly networked laptop computers. These are used as a flexible learning tool by all Middle School Students.

Our Middle School students find the environment (and the learning) engaging, challenging, enjoyable. We are confident that these students will stay at school longer and have better educational outcomes than they would have had in a conventional high school.

In 2007 we designed a new "virtual environment" for our Middle School students in partnership with Microsoft. This project is called Partners in Learning. In 2008, the project has grown to include many more of our students, teachers and parents. I recommend that you check out this project by clicking on the link on this page.

Deb Gilbert