The announcement came almost a year to the day since the department first began a consultation process with the school of five, which has been operating in the community for 162 years. 

A NSW Education and Communities spokesman said that the decision was based on a review of education and social development opportunities available to the school’s five students.

The spokesman said the school had a seven-year history of low enrolments and there was no demographic evidence to suggest numbers would significantly rise.

Parents and members of the school’s P and C as well as the newly formed Wollombi Save Our School (SOS) committee said that the decision to close the school is devastating.

“The children have been in tears – they just don’t understand why the school has to close,” P and C president Lindy Williams said.

“This is not the outcome we were hoping for and it is just devastating for us as families.

“We have all fought very hard hoping that this day wouldn’t come.”

Parents received a phone call on Monday evening from Director Public Schools NSW, Bryan Campbell, notifying them of the department’s decision.

A letter was also issued to the school community on Tuesday by acting principal Michelle Murphy, outlining how to best deal with individual students. 

Greens MP John Kaye said that the decision to close the school shows that the NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli is out of touch with the needs of small rural communities.

“The Department and the Minister set out to get rid of Wollombi and so far they are succeeding,” he said.

“Mr. Piccoli feels that a school with five students is no longer viable, despite prospects for much greater enrolments in the longer term.

"He thinks that it is ok to reject the concerns of the local council and the community and shut a school that has excellent prospects for increasing enrolments.

"The Minister's comments should strike fear into the hearts of every parent of a child at a small school anywhere in NSW.”

Member for Cessnock, Clayton Barr, said that the decision to close the school is one that will have a significant impact on the families of the small community. 

“I am of course most disappointed that the Upper House call for papers showed that the decision was to be based on dollars, not education,” he said. 

“This was probably the greatest insult to all. I had taken on face value responses from the Minister for Education and the Department of Education that educational outcomes would be at the forefront of decision making.

“The local community have put their heart and soul into the campaign to save the school – but they could never have known the decision was already made and it was based on the dollars and cents, not the education.”

The announcement of the school’s closure came only days after the SOS committee held a mock auction to draw attention to the school’s plight. 

Ms. Williams said that the focus of the committee is now set on keeping the heritage listed school building within the community. 

“This is a very grave issue and I know that this will be a broader community struggle because it will affect far more people than just the parents of students,” she said. 

“The fight is not over yet.”

Wollombi Public School students will complete their school year on Wednesday, December 17.