RAYWOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL NO.1844

The brick building at Raywood Primary School, which dates to 1877, is the oldest and most prominent component of the Primary School, which was originally established in 1864. The brick building comprises a single large room space, has a pitched roof and gables at each end, and an asymmetrically placed (later) porch at the west end. The walls are in local face brick set in English bond, varying between a rich tan and umber in colour. These are on a sandstone base set as random coursed rubble. There is a chimney on the south side, with cornice and neck shaped by setting brick courses out from the stack. The roof, which was originally slate-clad, has been replaced with corrugated galvanised steel. The war memorial at the entrance was added during the twentieth century. 

The brick school building at Raywood Primary School, in Sandhurst Street, Raywood, is of local historical, social and aesthetic/architectural significance. 

The brick school building at Raywood Primary School is historically significant (Criterion A) for being the principal centre of State funded education at Raywood since 1877. It replaced, when built, an earlier Common School which was dilapidated and overcrowded. The requirement for a new school at that time also demonstrates the the growth of Raywood following the gold rushes of the 1860s, when settlements such as this continued to consolidate. Despite fluctuating attendances throughout its history, Raywood Primary School has remained in operation for over 130 years. The porch was an enhancement of 1912; the war memorial at the entrance was a later addition again, emphasising the importance of the school within the local community. 

Raywood Primary School is also of social significance (Criterion G), as the principal educational institution in Raywood for over 130 years. The associated war memorial at the entrance to the school, enhances this aspect of significance. 

Aesthetically and architecturally (Criterion E), the original brick building is a surviving example of a Common School building type, built to standard plans by the Colonial Education Department during the 1870s. Shared elements include the single-room space, rectilinear footprint, gabled form and the chimneys, bargeboards, English bond brickwork, gable vent and window heads and sills (Criterion D). The 1912 porch, while part-concealing and modifying the original building frontage, is significant as a long-standing addition which enhanced the facilities through introducing a hat and cloakroom space. Although modified, notably through the addition of the porch to the west, and through the bricking in of windows, the 1870s component still generally presents externally as built, and its simple gabled form and massing remain readable.