| Bellhaven Special School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Young, New South Wales, Australia | |
| Information | |
| Type | Special school |
| Established | 1967 |
| Principal | Mrs. Vanessa Mac' Isaac |
| Enrolment | Approx. 20 |
| Colour(s) | Red and white |
| Website | None |
Bellhaven Special School was an educational facility for persons with a physical disability or a mental disability located in Young, New South Wales, Australia. It educated students between the ages of 5 and 24 years. It served Young and nearby towns like Boorowa and Cootamundra. Bellhaven Special school was founded in 1967.
The school consisted of one building with two classrooms, one for the juniors and the other for the seniors, the school had a library and TV room beside the senior room. The kitchen was beside the senior room. Outside there was the recess and lunch area which had a shade area with play structures. The school was renovated in the summer school holidays of 2005–2006 with an indoor gym being built near the kitchen, the school used to have a Christmas concert at the end of the school year, but starting in 2002 the concert was moved to the end of term 2.
On July 10, 2009, the school closed down after the government refused to fund the school because there were only five students, the same as the number of teachers; at the beginning of the previous term there were 13 students. There was a fund set up by the Young community to try to save the school and a public meeting of 60 people at the school the week before it closed.
The Hume parliament member Alby Schultz delivered a representation to Minister for Education Julia Gillard requesting her urgent consideration be given to the critical plight of the Bellhaven Special School and the necessary service it provides to rural children with special needs.
At the second meeting held on July 22, 2009 it was decided that the school was going to permanently close down.