Four years after low student numbers forced its closure the Guildford Primary School has reopened today thanks to a long campaign by the hamlet's residents.
Based 124km north-west of Melbourne the Guildford school has reopened as a campus of the Campbells Creek Primary School and will welcome 16 students for four days a week.
The fifth day will be spent on the Campbells Creek Primary School site.
The school was closed when the local council deemed it unviable to keep open for just five students.
Rosie Critchley is the Principal of Campbells Creek Primary School and said today was a day the Guildford community had been hoping for, for a long time.
"It's a fantastic feeling around Guildford, the community has been very supportive and heavily invested in the Guildford campus opening," Ms Critchley said.
The Principal expected the number of students to grow to 25 by the year's end, and two teachers and a teacher's assistant would work at the school.
The Guildford parents campaigned for the state government to reopen the school before the Department of Education agreed last year.
Jeremy Meadan is the president of the Guildford Primary School Association and would be sending his two children to the school. He said it has taken a lot of hard work to get to this day.
"You've got to believe it's going to happen. We're absolutely ecstatic and can't wait to see the kids walk in on the first day."
The Department of Education and Training has spent the past six months refurbishing the school ready to welcome 16 new students today.
Ms Critchley said the school will be working hard to grow the school and get the community to support the Guildford campus, but the longevity of the campus relied on parents enrolling their children.
