Holt Primary School is in the north-west of the A.C.T. in the suburb of Holt.  The suburb was named after Harold Holt who was Australia’s Prime Minister in 1966 and 1967 until his disappearance at Cheviot Beach in Victoria in late 1967.

Holt Primary School opened in 1973, so relative to other Canberra schools it is regarded as an older school.  It was for a short time the holding school for pupils from the adjacent suburb of Macgregor until the completion of that suburb’s school.  In its first few years, the enrolment of Holt Primary School grew spectacularly and reached as many as 1000 students.  To cater for this number the school had many transportable classrooms installed.  As the suburb has matured, the population of the school gradually decreased to the point where in 2006 its enrolment is just under 200 students.  However, since 2005 the student population has been slowly and steadily growing. The school no longer has portable buildings and a number of spare classroom areas are now occupied by some programs of Belconnen Community Services with whom the school has a partnership.  Holt Primary School has an in-area enrolment policy which means that it caters for the children of Holt only.

At present the school spans Kindergarten to Year 6 and consists of 8 mainstream classes as well as a specialist Austism Spectrum Disorder unit catering for junior students.  In 2005, following a process of consultation by the A.C.T. Government, it was decided that Holt Primary School will close at the end of the 2008 school year.  At the commencement of 2009, the children in this suburb will relocate to the new Pre-school - Year 10 school currently being constructed on the corner of Starke and Hardwick Crescent in Holt, near the Kippax Shopping Centre.  The children can expect to work with state-of-the-art facilities in their new location.

As an older school, Holt Primary has the advantage of having large mature shade trees surrounding its playing field.  The school also has expansive grassed areas surrounding it.  It has a very large and well-equipped library and, amongst its programs, the school provides a specialist science and art teacher.

If you are interested in enrolling your child or looking through the school, I recommend you arrange a time to visit by ringing the school’s front office
(02) 6205 7722.  

Holt Primary School has much to be proud of in terms of its programs and its culture and I would welcome the opportunity to show you around and discuss the school’s programs with you.

Linda Baird

Principal