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Virginia State School is located on the corner of Sandgate Rd and Jefferis St Virginia.
The first move for the establishment of a State School at Virginia was headed by Mr. John Cunningham in 1909 or 1910. A petition or survey requesting the establishment of a school was drawn up and was signed by parents of children who were of school age in the district and would attend the envisaged school.
Mr. Norman Gleadhill remembers going with his father John Gleadhill to Mr. Cunningham at 1737 Sandgate Road when his father signed the petition or survey.
The document was in the form of a ledger and was resting on a small cane table underneath the trees in front of Cunningham's.
The movement for a school was apparently interrupted by World War I. This would account for the long delay between Mr. Cunningham's original efforts and the eventual opening of the school.
By the time the grounds were proclaimed, it seems certain that a building committee had been elected. They undertook the job of clearing what was to become the school grounds. Here came a difficult situation. The area of forest was inhabited by quite a sizeable group of drifters or people down in their luck. Notice was served upon them by those responsible for the clearing of the land but they refused to leave. They had even built a 'humpy' in the area. Unperturbed, the committee began clearing the land and felled a tree right across the drifters' humpy. No more difficulties were encountered.
Major William Clatworthy, manager of the Virginia Brick and Tile Company blew out the remaining stumps of the trees that had been cleared. He would plant the detonators with his teeth and those who watched him expected to see his head blown off. Fortunately, that event never occurred.
By January, 1920 the building was practically complete and they wished to hold a fitting opening ceremony. The Building Committee wrote to the responsible Minister asking him if he would open the school on Saturday 24 January, 1920 at 3.00pm.
This was not convenient for the Minister but he did offer to come on 31 January.
The school consisted of three classrooms running approximately east west. There was a veranda along the northern side and a teachers' room extending from the middle of the veranda.
The school currently has an enrolment of 430 students.
Virginia State School Website
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