Griffith High School and Wade High School will officially resume their original identities, abandoning the Murrumbidgee Regional High School name imposed when the NSW Coalition government merged them in 2018.

The merger proved disastrous. 

More than 300 students transferred to other schools, teaching positions remained chronically unfilled, and the community never accepted what independent MP Helen Dalton called a forced marriage that no one wanted.

After Labor won the 2023 state election, the government reversed the merger. 

A consultation process this year confirmed overwhelming community sentiment - nearly 90 per cent of 500 local residents polled wanted the schools to return to their original names.

Griffith High, established in 1933 and named for the town itself, will reclaim its identity alongside Wade High, which opened in 1971 honouring Leslie Wade, the civil engineer who developed the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area.

The name changes take immediate effect, though visual elements like logos, uniforms and school colours won't be finalised until Term 1, 2026.

Meanwhile, construction has begun on new multipurpose halls for both schools, featuring air-conditioned performance spaces, basketball courts and modern facilities, with completion expected by mid-2026.

Dalton, who fought the merger from its inception, praised Education Minister Prue Car for listening to what the community wanted and restoring two separate, proud, high-quality high schools.

The reversal represents a rare admission that the super school experiment failed completely, costing the community hundreds of students and undermining educational outcomes in the process.