Founded in 1881, the school has seen enrolments rise and fall according to the seasonal conditions and changes in local industries. The school has 15 students enrolled as at the beginning of 2014.
Following is a brief history of Isisford State School.
3/10/1881 - Mr G.V. Jopp wrote a letter to the Dept of Public Instruction informing them that the town had 80 children,“Most of whom are receiving no instruction whatever”, and that the school building committee was in a position to guarantee ₤100.
10/10/1881 - The Department approved the establishment of a provisional school to be conducted by Mr Robert Vernon Venables (who had been conducting a private school). The October enrolment was 10 pupils.
17/10/1881 - A building committee to establish a State School was elected at a public meeting. Office bearers were John Dorrian (Chairman), Charles R. Parish (Secretary) and James Whitman (Treasurer).
End of 1882 - 40 pupils on the roll
13/2/1883 - His Excellency the Governor with the advice of the Executive Council approved the establishment of a State School at Isisford with the official school registration number being 0063. The Building Committee had raised the necessary 1/5 local contribution towards the total cost and the school was build (25foot x 18foot). The original site, deemed unsuitable, was located “between the lockup and the cemetery”. The first school committee appointed were John Gaul, John McDonnell, Charles R. Parish, Joseph Wilson Raven, B. Griffith and William Whitman.
By 1892 - Attendance had dropped and the school was reduced back to a Provisional School
March 1893 - The abstracts of attendance was reported in a letter by Edwin Price to the Department showed:
1889 - 19.2 pupils
1890 - 21.7 pupils
1891 - 31.4 pupils
1892 - 29.2 pupils
Two months later Mr Price reported that the average attendance was now 32. Classroom accommodation was not large enough to adequately seat the children.
January 1894 - The school was reclassified as a State School and the building was extended by 10½ feet.
1916 - A further application was made for additional extensions to the school.
16/5/1917 - Building of an extra schoolroom was approved and was completed in early 1918. It was built on high blocks thus giving extra shade underneath. This building is now part of the Administration Building which is still in use today as a library, office and multi-purpose learning area.
1925 - The headmaster’s residence as sold for removal and a new residence was built at an estimated cost of ₤1,200.
1939 - Efforts were made to extend the school grounds by acquiring part of the Police Reserve. The Police Dept objected as they required the land for stock inspection. A compromise was found, where the school could use the land when the police were not using it.
1950 - The Presentation Sisters started a Convent School. A new school was constructed in 1958. The school closed in 1970.
1966 - Single teacher accommodation was built in the corner of Saint Helena and Saint Agnes Streets at a cost of $2,400. This building was sold and removed to “Dundee” near Longreach in late 2001.
1976 - The “Demountable” classroom was built to house the preschool class which commenced in 1977.
1985 - The Single Teacher’s House was built in Saint Catherine Street.
Late 2004 - Original building (Administration building) was raised and new storeroom and multi-purpose learning area including kitchen was built.
August 2011 - 3 Bay Demountable Classroom moved in and situated on oval area, as part of the “Building The Education Revolution” (BER), at a cost of $250 000.
This timeline was compiled from information found in “The Isisford Story” by Dorothy Jounquay and from the “Isisford State School Centenary Booklet”, notes compiled by Eddie Clarke, History Unit, Dept of Education.