The Back To School exhibition was opened by retiring Ward Councillor Clint Baddeley at Raglan Museum on 17 September 2016. Clint rang the school bell welcoming people to the museum. Exhibition organiser Patrick Day, spoke about the history of teaching in the area and how there had once been 17 local schools. Two modern day school girls, Keisha Willoughby and Esme Koning, dressed up in period costume for the occasion. About twenty people attended the opening.
The exhibition will be open daily for the rest of the year. Raglan Area School is celebrating the 150th anniversary of Raglan schooling this year. The museum says it is taking its part by looking at all the schools in our Whaingaroa history.
This exhibition shows many of the stories of the various schools of the district. There are 17 schools in all including the correspondence school. They are nearly all primary schools, years one to eight in current numbering. Secondary school, years nine to thirteen, is available only at Raglan Area School having started in 1937 at what was then called the Raglan District High School. Seven of the 17 schools continue today. The rest closed gradually as roads and vehicles improved and children were able to attend a smaller number of larger schools. More info HERE.