Welcome to Glen Forrest Primary School
At Glen Forrest Primary School, learning is grounded in connection, curiosity and community. As a proud Independent Public School, we are a place where families know one another and where our school sits at the heart of community life.
Since opening our doors in 1891, we've built a rich legacy of nurturing generations of learners. Today, we honour that history while embracing contemporary, evidence-based teaching practices that prepare our students for a dynamic and ever-changing world. Our school is a place where every child is known, valued, and supported to thrive – academically, socially and emotionally.
Our work is guided by four key priorities that shape everything we do:
A School of Choice
for local families, where students are excited to learn and belong
Strong, responsive community partnerships
that enrich learning and strengthen connection
High-quality education
grounded in the Western Australian Curriculum and delivered through contemporary, evidence-informed practice
Positive Behaviour Support
ensuring a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for all
STEP INTO OUR CLASSROOMS and you will see engaged learners, purposeful teaching, and a culture of high expectations.
STEP OUTSIDE INTO OUR PLAYGROUND and you will find imagination in action – students building, exploring, collaborating, and developing vital social skills through play. From cubby-building to ball games, our students grow not only as learners, but as confident, capable individuals.
We believe education is strongest when it is a shared journey. Families and carers are valued partners in learning, and together we create a student-centred environment where every child can succeed.
Our motto, ‘Proud to Belong,’ is more than words – it reflects the deep sense of connection, inclusion and pride that defines our school community.
OUR MISSION
To provide a supportive learning environment to foster opportunities for success and leadership.
OUR VISION
To foster a partnership of students, parents, carers and staff members to achieve the best educational and social development outcomes for all.
Our History
The history of Glen Forrest Primary School is deeply intertwined with the early timber, railway, and agricultural heritage of the Perth Hills. Built from necessity by the pioneering community, it evolved from a modest slab hut into a beloved, lasting institution.
THE EARLY DAYS
From Slab Hut to Brick and MortarLong before it was known as Glen Forrest, the area was called Smith’s Mill, named after Alfred Smith’s steam-driven sawmill established in the late 1870s. As the timber industry grew and families settled along the Eastern Railway line, the need for a local school became urgent. Schooling officially kicked off in July 1889 inside a private home with 23 fee-paying students. Soon after, the mill manager provided a basic timber slab hut for lessons. This structure suffered through several fires and harsh weather, leading to its closure in 1890, only to reopen in January 1891, marking the formal establishment date of the school.
A Timeline of the School's Early Growth
1891
OFFICIAL ESTABLISHMENT
Following complaints about the makeshift slab hut, the school officially opens on a permanent basis to serve the growing local community of timber cutters and rail workers.
1895
FIRST PURPOSE-BUILT TIMBER SCHOOL
A proper weatherboard classroom and attached teacher's quarters are constructed by local builder H. Rhodes for roughly £330. This coincided with the Western Australian government abolishing school attendance fees.
1897
THE 1897 BRICK CLASSROOM
With enrolment rapidly climbing toward 60 students, the original timber building is outgrown. The Public Works Department constructs a substantial brick classroom for £729. The old 1895 building is converted entirely into the Headmaster’s house.
1915
THE NAME CHANGE TO GLEN FORREST
Tiring of job-seekers arriving in town looking for work at a sawmill that had closed years prior, the local community successfully lobbies to rename the town site and railway station "Glen Forrest" (honouring former WA Premier Sir John Forrest). The school officially updates its name alongside the town.
LIFE AT SMITH'S MILL SCHOOL
In the early 1900s, school life in the Perth Hills was vastly different from today. Two notable figures from this era were Adolph and Agnes Schneider, a husband-and-wife teaching duo who ran the school from 1901 to 1905. Adolph served as the Head Teacher, while Agnes was hired as the Assistant Teacher specifically to teach sewing to the young girls.
The Schneiders were highly active in the community, and they left a unique mark on the school's physical history. In 1905, tiring of a steel triangle that was used to call children to class, which kept breaking into pieces, they successfully campaigned to secure a proper, heavy brass school bell sourced from a Baldwin steam train engine to ring out over the hills.
A LIVING PIECE OF HERITAGE
While the original 1895 timber building and headmaster's house were eventually demolished in the 1970s to make way for modern pre-primary and play facilities, the 1897 brick classroom still stands proud on the school grounds today.
According to the State Heritage Office, it holds a unique title: The 1897 classroom is the oldest purpose-built school classroom still in active use in the entire Shire of Mundaring. It stands as a testament to over 135 years of education in the Perth Hills, where multiple generations of local families have walked through the exact same doors.
THE BALDWIN TRAIL BELL & THE GRADUATION TRADITION
While the bell no longer rings to signal the start of the standard school day, it has been beautifully restored and sits at the heart of one of Glen Forrest Primary's most cherished annual traditions.
During the Year 6 Graduation Ceremony, the historic bell takes center stage:
The Guard of Honour: The parents, teachers, and younger students line up to form a long, continuous tunnel of arching hands.
The Final Ring: As each Year 6 graduate takes their emotional final walk through the school, passing under the column of hands, they get to officially ring the restored Baldwin train bell.
It serves as a powerful, symbolic farewell – a literal ringing out of their primary school years using the very same brass bell that called Perth Hills children to class over a century ago.
