Mrs Barraclough and her three siblings attended the now derelict school as children, and she would have liked her two-year-old daughter, Caitlin, to go there as well.

But the empty classrooms have not seen a student since the end of 2009, when falling enrolments forced the school to close its gates indefinitely.

The Department of Education and Communities now proposes to sell the Essex St site, which it says is surplus to needs.

The department has started a public consultation process to gauge community views.

Mrs Barraclough does not oppose the idea of a sale but hopes the former school, which opened in 1962, will not make way for a commercial development.

"I do know a lot of the local community were sad to see it close, but it's something that's happening due to the demographics of the area getting older and not as many young families moving in," the high school teacher said.

"If they're selling it to a private investor who's going to build a bunch of apartments - that would be disappointing. But if it's for some sort of community facility, that would be good because there's a lot of need [in this area]."

Other residents said they wanted to know what the school would become if the site were sold. Jim Beverstock and Barbara Jones said they would support a retirement village.

The State Government placed the school under review at the end of 2009, pending a decision about its future.

The school's 33 students were transferred to Berkeley or Berkeley West public schools.

A departmental spokesman this week said public consultation about the proposed sale had begun and no decision had been made to sell the site.

"Money from the site's sale is retained by the Department of Education and Communities for reinvestment in educational facilities, goods or services," he said.