Students at the city's first Indie School are now jumping out of bed each morning as the alternative secondary institution celebrates one year since gaining approval.
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Limited to just 25 places, the school supports students in years 9 and 10 who previously struggled in mainstream education.
Year 10 student Tiger Cox-Smith, 15, started at the school in March and said he appreciates the more inclusive learning environment.
"People at my [previous] school weren't too nice to me," Tiger said.
"Here you get more one-on-one time with the teacher; it's more consistent ... [teachers] actually teach us instead of just giving us paper to work on.
"It honestly feels like a privilege to be here ... you do school work at school instead of at home and it's honestly the most stress-free environment I've ever been in ... you actually want to go."
Similarly, year 9 student Tara Foley said she has been a lot happier this year compared to previous years at a Wagga high school.
"I thought coming here would be a lot better for my learning and that's why I decided to come here," the 15-year-old said.
Lead teacher Renee Maslin said year 10 students at the end of the year will either return to mainstream schooling, enter the workforce or apply for TAFE.
"My passion and area of expertise is helping students with anxiety or depression and those kids that fall between the cracks," she said.
Ms Maslin said students' confidence and engagement in learning has improved "dramatically" since the beginning.
"I've received positive feedback from the parents about kids wanting to come to school whereas before they were truanting or they couldn't get out of bed, but now they're come to school regularly and want to come," she said.
"The students know that they're not going to be pushed into an area that they're really uncomfortable with, so we'll ease them into that rather than just throw them in the deep end.
"When students feel overwhelmed they can fall behind, which can mean they're not going to school so we ease them back into school life."
The school works closely with year 10 students, as well as mainstream providers, TAFE and recruitment agencies to ensure students are ready to move on at the end of the school year.
Ms Maslin said there is an "incredible" need for the Indie School to continue operating and re-engaging youth.
"We've had so much interest and we've got a huge waiting list, but we're at capacity," she said.
