The 10 youngsters have been regular playmates since birth; their families are members of the Albury Wodonga branch of the Multiple Birth Association.

Rose Martin, mother to Nathanial and Beau, 6, said seven sets of twins from the group were due to begin school this year, including one set at Rutherglen and another whose family had recently moved to Queensland.

The group was formed 5½ years ago and covers the whole of the Border and North East, meeting weekly on Wednesdays for a playgroup and morning tea at Wodonga’s Felltimber Neighbourhood Centre.

Mrs Martin said she was expecting a quieter time at home with the departure to school of Nathanial and Beau, the youngest of her five children.

“There is certainly sleep deprivation at the start, and chaos. When you have got two together, it’s never quiet,” she said.

April Schubert, mother to Luke and Kurt, 5, says her sons will join their older sister at school, but Ms Schubert will still have her youngest son at home for another year.

“I’m really excited to be seeing them take the next step,” she said.

Multiples also run in multiples it seems.

Linda Hogg is not only watching Elizabeth and Matthew, 5, head off to Wodonga Primary School for the first time.

Her older children, also twins, have begun year 12 this term.

Rebbecca Wood, mother to Caelan and Domonic, 5, who will start at Southern Rise Primary School this morning, has another set of twins who have just turned one, and a daughter in between.

Melissa Kelly said her sons, Bill and Luke Boyd had gone to preschool with the two of the other sets of twins, where a teacher had commented the group was so close “they were almost like a large group of siblings”.

“I think that’s because they’ve been together for so long,” she said.

Mrs Martin said the club was “very social”, with fund-raising, a getaway for mothers and get-togethers for dads.

“We swap clothing and equipment, like twin prams and we have an extensive library on multiples,” she said.