Education Minister Adrian Piccoli announced this week that seven NSW public schools have been chosen as a response to the recommendations of a review into agricultural education and training in NSW.

The first lighthouse schools in NSW are Colo High School, Junee High School, Kempsey High School, Pittwater High School, Mount View High School, Murrumburrah High School and Tumut High School.

Kempsey High School principal Mick Eller said the main role for the school would be to help develop and train agriculture teachers and provide guidance for other schools' agriculture programs.

“Each school has a different area of expertise and skills to contribute to the other schools around the state that want to develop an agriculture program and the professional development of the teachers," he said.

“As well as the agriculture side, from a school perspective I feel we are teaching kids real ‘rural’ values.

“For instance we had our students out on local farms after the recent floods helping out, that sort of thing is very important to us.”

Agriculture teacher Gavin Saul said selection as a lighthouse school was a vindication of the effort that he and his students had put into the agriculture program.

“One of things I am proudest of here is that we have everyone from the most hands-on kids to the dux of the school, and there is a role for everyone to play,” Mr Saul said.

“We don’t force the kids to do this, it is their choice and they beat me to class and jump the fence to get in and start work in the mornings.

“We have a real sense of team work and accountability here, we run the various streams of the agriculture course like real businesses, and we teach the kids real world lessons.”

Oxley MP Melinda Pavey visited the school yesterday to congratulate the students and teachers on their selection as one of the elite public school agricultural education programs in NSW.

Other NSW schools will be invited to submit Expressions of Interest to join the lighthouse schools group later this year.