In 1859 an application was made to register a school actually in the township of Tylden.
The school was called the National School and was housed in various structures from 1862 until suitable land was finally acquired in 1864 for the construction of a single room brick building.The first recorded school at Tylden was situated some 5 km from the current township and it soon became known as the Tylden South School.
Five more years passed before tenders were called, and the accepted contract was £250.3s.0d for a building to house 70 – 80 students.
Work on Tylden School Number 621 commenced in 1871, but disputes over funding between the contractor and the Board of Schools meant there were long delays in building the school. The original building had a shingle roof and was unlined and students must have been very cold place. The ceiling was installed in 1880 and then the shingle roof was replaced by iron in 1890.
In time, other district schools at East Trentham, North Blackwood, Chanter’s Lane and Spring Hill were closed and the students enrolled at the Tylden School.
As the school enrolment grew throughout the 20th century five portable classrooms were progressively added, along with a larger administration/classroom block. The portables were all replaced in 2004 with a new brick building containing three classrooms, a library and toilets. An additional relocatable building housed two more classrooms. A mix of federal government grant and locally raised funds allowed the school to build the “Big Shed” in 2008. The final addition to the site was the administration and classroom building that was constructed as part of the federal government “Building the Education Revolution” initiative in 2011.
Today, the original brick school room is a wonderful Art Studio and it also includes the Gingerbread House – a tiny and beautifully decorated room added onto the East side in 1996 and rediscovered during the 150th preparations in 2012. The original bell tower was refurbished for the 150th celebration held on 24 November 2012 and relocated to the front of the administration building. It is still rung at the end of the day to gather together the students who are travelling home on the school buses.
The school grounds have been developed and maintained by the school community over the years, and have long included a vegetable garden and chicken coop. With the introduction of the Kitchen Garden program in 2013, the vegetable gardens have been extended, with the aim of providing sufficient fresh produce for the weekly cooking classes.
