When Ryan Preston started at Rowland Hassall School, he was so riddled with anxiety he could hardly attend.

“When I first came here, I was completely a different person,” he recalled.

“I almost never came to school - I would wake up and make myself sick so I couldn’t go.”

But gradually things turned around for him, thanks to the incredible care and support provided by the teachers and staff at the School for Specific Purposes (SSP).

By the time he was in year 12, in 2022, Ryan was school captain and thinking about career options.

“The school changed everything for me – the whole environment is just so welcoming. They make you feel at home and valued. It was a life-changing experience for me.”

Ryan was back at Rowland Hassall School recently for a reunion to mark its 70th anniversary.

The turnout was huge, which Principal Greg Fuchs said spoke volumes about the important role the school has played in so many lives.

“The school’s motto says it all - ‘Realise the Potential Within’ - and Rowland Hassall has stayed true to that during its entire history,” he said.

“It’s really important to me that every student is supported and nurtured, and we are just so proud of the journeys they’re all taking.”

When it opened in 1955, Rowland Hassall School was part of a pilot program trialling new ways of educating children with complex learning needs.

John Eggleston was principal at the school between 1982 and 1988, when it was called Hassall Street School.

“We developed a large amount of groundbreaking curriculum for students with mild intellectual disability and behaviour disorder and actually sold them around the country and overseas – so this school has had an impact beyond the local community,” he said.

“I was principal at four different schools, but Rowland Hassall is the one that I treasure the memory of most, for the commitment of all the staff and the wonderful school community.”

Also present at the 70th anniversary reunion was 92-year-old Norma Swadling, the school’s first ever teacher’s aide. She worked at the school between 1968 and 1993.

“It’s very strange to come back, but so lovely. It was such a small, tight little community when I first started, and to see it now is just wonderful,” she said.

“I find it quite emotional to talk about actually, because I feel like I became a second mother to these students.”

As for Ryan Preston, he now works as a disability support worker, and he couldn’t be happier.

“This is the best thing that I could possibly do, and I just love it, I absolutely love it. And I’ve worked out that I’m actually pretty good at it!”