As our kids trekked back to their boarding houses for the new school year late last month, we knew many of them had home firmly on their minds. Even those young people who are enthused by boarding and all it offers, still have feelings of angst as they drive away from home and family. Add a holiday spent on the frontline of drought, feeding stock and carting water, or having … [Read more...]
The Ultimate Packing List for Boarding School (updated)
The ultimate packing list for boarding school has been one of our most popular blog posts since it was first published in early 2017. It’s now 2020, and things are always changing so we’re updating again. We know this list is useful to families because it’s based on the real-life experiences of families who have gone before. Boarding schools do their best to make the boarding … [Read more...]
Boarder stories: the lived experience Part 2
More fabulous boarder stories shared with us throughout 2019, highlighting the unique experiences and opportunities boarding school offers. Here are links to those stories that ran between June and October. Enjoy! Isaac Barrett: prepared for the opportunities JUNE: Year 8 boarder at St. Stanislaus’ College, Isaac Barrett of Coonamble loves everything about … [Read more...]
Boarder stories: the lived experience Part 1
Over the past year, we've been putting the spotlight on the lived experience of boarding in the words of boarders, themselves. Themes of community, resilience, and independence come through these stories regardless of what school they're from. Here is a compilation of our 2019 boarder stories. Georgia Porteous: message to my younger boarder self JANUARY: Georgia … [Read more...]
Andrew Newton
Boarding is a world away from the realities of the farm Shore boarders, Charlie Black, and at right, Andrew Newton (photo supplied) Year 11 boarder, Andrew Newton, has been at Shore since Year 7. Home is a seven hour drive away at Gurley, near Moree. Sixty-five per cent of Shore's 200 boarders come from regional Australia. The Newton family’s century-old … [Read more...]
Tully O’Regan & Lachie Bible
Confidence to dream Tully O'Regan, boarder, Cranbrook School (photo supplied) Where to send your child to school is a big decision for any parent. Never more so than if you're considering boarding-based education for them. Boys like Cranbrook School’s Head Prefect Tully O’Regan from Scone, started life as a boarder in Year 9, and credits his confidence to the … [Read more...]
Dimity Evans
Boarding offers many pathways Keen to go away to boarding school from Year 7, Year 11 student at Yanco Agricultural High School, Dimity Evans has thrown herself into the activities on offer over the past five years – everything from musical performance to showing cattle. While missing family and friends from home, she sees the pathways that come from a boarding … [Read more...]
Will & Emma Benham
Sibling support when living away from home Will and Emma Benham, TAS (photo supplied) Brother and sister, Will and Emma Benham are both boarders at The Armidale School (TAS), where they're enjoying a range of opportunities at the same time as carving out their own interests and identities. Will and Emma, along with mum, Pip, share what it means to be able to enjoy the … [Read more...]
Georgia Kirkby
Maintaining outside interests all part of the boarding experience Kincoppal-Rose Bay boarder, Georgia Kirkby (photo supplied) Bellata’s Georgia Kirkby, a passionate poultry and duck breeder, started as a boarder at Kincoppal-Rose Bay School (KRB) in Year 7 following her primary years in Narrabri. Her small hometown has little in common with Rose Bay, a harbourside … [Read more...]
Cooper Evans & Rosie McNair
Boarding memories to cherish Rosie McNair and Cooper Evans with Barker's Head of Boarding, Ben Christopherson (image supplied) Boarding captains at Barker College, Cooper Evans and Rosie McNair are part of a tight-knit, coeducational boarding community. Both are in their third year of boarding, building memories that will take them beyond school. With boarders from … [Read more...]
