The bell rang for the last time at Ngamatea School on Tuesday with former pupils, teachers and community members gathered for a final goodbye.
The rural school, located south of Ohakune on Whangaehu Valley Rd, had a roll of three pupils in 2016. Those pupils left at the end ofthe year, and, with no new students enrolled for 2017, it was time for the final curtain.
Barry Geeves, 91, also known as Bae, was the oldest ex-pupil to attend the farewell and was there when the school was in its prime.
"The sawmill up the road helped keep the school going for a while," he said.
"In 1935, when I was there, I think there were about 16 pupils and a lot of them had parents working at the mill. When I left in 1938, there were nine pupils left - two boys and seven girls."
Former school principal Kathy Forster, who served at Ngamatea for its last 13 years, was named a "stamp in the community" by Whanganui MP Chester Borrows who gave a speech.
Mr Borrows said one of the difficulties in keeping rural schools open was the continual rollover of principals and the school was lucky to have been able to retain Ms Forster for as long as it did.
Ms Forster felt a mixture of sadness and celebration saying goodbye to the "heart of the community".
Former principal Kathy Forster was called a "stamp in the community" for her 13 years serving the school. Photo/ Sieska Verdonk
"I think it's a whole range of factors why the roll has dropped to zero - people are having fewer children; roads are better so a lot of mums who are now working in town find it more convenient to enrol their kids in town schools; there are not as many workers on farms now because farmers can self-manage and we are between generations.
"If we wait another six or seven years, there might be more pupils."
Ms Forster said there had been discussion around turning the school into a community hall, but legalisation would need to be addressed.
