Despite the recent horrors of the Black Summer Bushfires an audit of the state's public schools has found schools in the the Snowy Valleys and Riverina exist largely outside the high-risk fire-prone areas.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Only Narrandera High School registered among the 175 schools listed in the high danger category.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Narrandera Public School registered with a very low catergory and Narrandera East Infants School was classed with a medium risk.
A spokesperson for the NSW Department of Education explained that the risk level was based on NSW Rural Fire Service mappings and "determined through a visual inspection of the vegetation cover of the surrounding areas of each site using aerial photography".
The school's risk level will be used to determine where government resources will be spent, to safeguard and mitigate any potential risks.
According to the spokesperson, to be categorised as high risk, the school must have a substantial area of unmanaged bushland with its grounds and be connected to an equally unmanaged area in a directly adjoining property.
As a result of the classification, a number of Sydney-based and Central Coast schools that did not see any bushfire danger over the past summer, have made the list in the high risk category.
North Wagga Public and Wagga High School each have a low bushfire rating, as does Tumut High School.
Despite the past two years of fire activity in the area, Talbingo High School has been given a very low classification. Gundagai Public School and Lake Albert Public School have also been classed with very low danger ratings.
Meanwhile in fire-affected Tumbarumba, the local high school has been classified with a medium danger rating.
Ahead of the incoming fire season, the Department of Education has said it is committed to enacting "more than 700 Bushfire Vegetation Maintenance Plans" on bushfire-prone land around the state.