A two day bazaar was held to celebrate the opening of Brunswick North P.S. in 1926. It cost £15,496 to build and was designed to accommodate 750 students across 15 classrooms.

 

The first principal was Mr. J H Barling. He remained at the school until 1947. On the first day, he had the task of organizing 690 children into 15 classes ready to start school. That’s an average class size of 46 students.

 

By all accounts, Mr. Barling was very progressive. He was responsible for setting up a number of innovative programs. He instituted the ‘Pupils Parliament’ and a lunch program where students of working parents would provide a lunch for less fortunate children. 

 

Under Mr. Barling, Brunswick North ran a program called Integration and Individual Investigation that reached prominence in educational circles in the late 1940s. Students completed comprehensive units of work where the method of investigation was lead by the student rather than the teacher.  

 

Over the first year, the school grew quickly until over a thousand students were in attendance. Pressure was put on the government of the day to extend the building. Nothing was to come of this for 50 years. 

 

To alleviate the overcrowded school, 100 students were taught in a church hall on Albion Street. Then, Brunswick North West in Culloden Street was opened in 1929. About 100 children transferred and the church hall was no longer used. 

 

The student population continued to grow. In 1976, the ‘new building’ as we still call it, was opened. Land on Westbourne Street was purchased to make room for a playing field. At this time there were over 1000 students attending. The welcome new addition was to include purpose built areas for art, music, canteen, open plan classrooms and areas for community use. 

 

Early photographs reveal other changes to the school’s physical appearance. The trees have grown and the grounds have been expanded. Colorful play equipment and garden beds have replaced paddock like play area.

 

In 1935, the front upper balcony was enclosed. The corridors facing the quadrangle were enclosed in 1956. These alterations made the school more comfortable, particularly in the winter preventing the cold winds from racing through the building removing any heat that had come from the open fireplaces. 

 

Throughout the years, Brunswick North has reflected the changing nature of Brunswick. The school has provided a quality education for children from many nations. The community languages programs have supported Turkish, Greek, Arabic and Italian students. 

 

At Brunswick North P.S. we welcome visitors. Past students visit regularly and we have learnt much about the school’s history through their stories.   If you have a story to tell we would be pleased to hear from you. 

 

Current Principal Sonia Abdallah