Country kids left behind as NSW students head back to school

Children across New South Wales returned to school today but for many living in remote parts of the state the Coronavirus lockdown has taken an extreme toll on their education.

Trundle Central School, in Central West NSW, had no choice but to post some students their lessons in paper packages.

"There was a degree of naivety amongst our political masters that we could go straight to online learning and that's just not possible," the school principal John Southon, explained.

"A lot of our properties don't have mobile phone service and patchy internet at best."

A Year 12 student at Trundle, Robert Stokes, said he needed to come to school during the lockdown as,  with five other family members also learning from home, their internet connection was insufficient. 

"In Sydney, they have it all, fast internet, out here it's harder."

For families in Trundle, coronavirus hit just as the drought-ravaged region began to see rain.

"Drought is everyday taking a little bit of your wealth, a bit of your emotionally stability, your happiness, that's what drought is," Mr Southon said.

"And then we had the perfect storm where coronavirus comes on, and it doesn't take things away, but it just puts that massive uncertainty back into the kids".

For Robert and his family, preserving water is ingrained after their property ran dry.

"We had to buy in water and it's quite expensive, we have to limit showers, there is no wasting water in any way," he said.

With students living on isolated properties, Mr Southon also worries about the toll social restrictions took on their mental health.

Many kids were unable to stay in touch with their friends in the same ways as their city counterparts, with apps like facetime using too much of their internet data. 

"I hate people telling me that country people are tough. Because we might be tough, but that doesn't mean we don't need help occasionally," Mr Southon said. 

The school understands that while there were no recorded cases of COVID-19 in the region, they are part of a larger system and must adhere to state-wide regulations.

But from today, staff look forward to welcoming back all 106 students to the classroom for face-to-face learning.

"This is the centre of their community and their emotional stability. It's the happiest, most constant place that most of our kids will be in every day," Mr Southon said.