One could argue that the ultimate boarding school – Hogwarts – worked wonders for the appeal of live-in education. It perfectly demonstrated the benefits of boarding schools: advanced independence and early personal responsibility (hello, Hermione), lower student to teacher ratios, deeper friendships and, logistically, the opportunity for a truly holistic approach to education.
Parents and carers considering local boarding schools have an array of institutions to choose from and the following information on school fees, extra-curricular activities and school ethics and approach should help to refine the search for single-sex or co-ed primary and secondary boarding boarding schools in NSW.
The King’s School, Parramatta
The King’s School is one of Australia’s oldest and most prestigious single-sex boarding schools for boys. It offers a comprehensive academic and co-curricular program with a strong emphasis on leadership and character development. It’s a Christian community and self-described specialist in boys’ education offering “a unique adventure in learning, where students develop their qualities of mind, body and soul, ready to join the wider world as global thought leaders.”
Boarding at The King’s School allows boys to live and learn on campus, nurturing “independence, resilience and lifelong friendships”. Facilities are described as a home away from home, intensively supported by staff. The environment promotes the development of “individual talents and interests” through the use of first-rate facilities and extended learning programs, leadership experiences, sporting commitments, incursion and excursions.
Find out more:
www: Boarding at The King’s School Parramatta
Annual boarding fees: from $35,000 per year
(Seasonal) co-curricular activities include: cricket, rowing, swimming, tennis, water polo, summer athletics, badminton, rugby, soccer, snowsports, volleyball, cross country, track and field, rifle-shooting, and mountain-biking.
Scots College, Bellevue Hill
Scots College is a Presbyterian single-sex boys’ boarding school renowned for its holistic approach to education for both day and boarding students, from early years to year 12. This institution combines academic excellence with a strong focus on sports, arts, and community engagement. ‘The Scots Advantage’ has been preparing boys to “succeed in a world that is constantly being reinvented” for more than 130 years and now operates at seven campuses across New South Wales.
Boys have been boarding at Scots for over a century, staying at one of five boarding houses and supported with “pastoral care and individual attention, while experiencing the joys of being a part of House ‘families’”. Attention is paid to every detail, from the menu developed by college caterers, to the academic and sporting programs, designed by staff to position Svots boys for the independence and self-confidence that comes with “learning to live in a close community with peers and lifelong friends from around the globe”.
Find out more:
www: Boarding at Scots
Annual boarding fees: from $33,000
Co-curricular activities include: The Glengarry Outdoor Education Program – a compulsory six-month residential experience for all year 9 students in Kangaroo Valley, described as “conducive to boys’ rapid social, physical and mental development at this time in their lives”.
Abbotsleigh, Wahroonga
Abbotsleigh is a NSW girls’ boarding school accommodating 150 boarders. They reside in four houses on 12 hectares of school grounds in Wahroonga, on Sydney’s north shore. Girls are granted unlimited access to parents and family to ease homesickness, and unsupervised visits to Wahroonga village to nurture independence.
As a member of the Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA), Abbotsleigh has committed to “support and develop best practice in residential (boarding) communities across Australia”. To this end, boarding life at the school iincludes participating in the Big Sister mentoring program, raising guide dog puppies, and meal-planning with the Abbotsleigh chef. All of this alongside a cohort made up of “about 90 per cent of boarders from country and regional NSW, with a sprinkling of students from overseas and greater Sydney” – perhaps the perfect ingredients for an education rooted in seeing the world through other people’s lived experiences.
Find out more:
www: Boarding at Abbotsleigh
Annual boarding fees: from $58,000
Activities include: Sport,music, extended tuition, gymnastics, jewellery making, speech, drama, swimming, diving and dance classes.
Ravenswood School for Girls, Gordon
Ravenswood is a Uniting Church, single-sex NSW boarding school for girls, located in Gordon on Sydney’s north shore. It is the sister school of Knox Grammar school for boys and offers a supportive and enriching environment for girls. Ravenswood received the 2022 Excellence Award for Best Boarding School in the 2022 Australian Education Awards, thanks in part to its ‘Positive Education and Visible Wellbeing’ approach to barding staff training.
The school’s boarding accommodation is named Ravenswood Residential College (RRC) and it’s described as a “boutique environment for up to 50 students in years seven–12″. Girls are given nightly access to Ravenswood alumni for tutoring and mentoring.
The college is a member of ABSA and also the Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association (ICPA), encouraging enrolments from students in rural and remote Australia.
Find out more:
www: Boarding at Ravenswood
Annual boarding fees: from $30,000
Co-curricular activities include: Cadets, community involvement , community service crusaders, debating, Duke of Edinburgh, language clubs, UN Youth, social justice, performing arts, music, bands, orchestra, strings, vocal, dance, drama, speech, theatre, a comprehensive sports program, a STEM program, ceramics, drawing, photography, and more.
Knox Grammar School, Wahroonga
Knox Grammar School offers a vibrant “community-focused” boarding program for 200 years seven-12 boys. It emphasises academic achievement, personal growth, and community service, and provides modern facilities and a supportive community for its boarders. Homework sessions are structured and supervised by Knox teachers. Studies take a ‘whole of life’ focus, equipping boys with life skills, such as cooking, surf safety and first aid.
Boarders are granted after-hours access to school facilities including the aquatic centre, gym and basketball courts. Meals are dietitian-designed and provided by an external national caterer.
Find out more:
www: Boarding at Knox
Annual boarding fees: from $70,000
Co-curricular activities include: Cadets, chess, computer club, dance, Da Vinci decathlon, drama club, debating, design and technology, the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, Future Problem Solvers, the Knox Grammarian (school year book), outdoor education, public speaking (including mock trial, mooting, and toastmasters), science (including robotics and titration), social justice volunteering, and tech crew (video, sound and technical production).
St. Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill
St. Joseph’s College is a Catholic institution and the largest boys’ boarding school in Australia. It’s known for strong academic and pastoral care programs, as well as a focus on spirituality and service.
“Living on campus at Hunters Hill is seen as providing better opportunities for boys in terms of their study and academic achievements; their cultural and sporting endeavours; and in their spiritual life and religious development.”
1100 boys attend ‘Joeys’ and around half are boarders, with 50 per cent of those from rural and regional Australia “maintaining a connection to the bush that is integral to the spirit and traditions of Joeys following its 115 years, from 1881 to 1996, as an all-boarding school”. Boarding at Joeys today includes the option of weekly boarding, for Sydney families in a position to travel home on weekends.
Formerly run by Marist Brothers, the accommodation is now run by lay staff “informed by Marist values”. Joeys is a family tradition for many and fertile ground for multigenerational connections, as the sons, grandsons, and even great-grandsons of Old Boys continue to attend.
Find out more:
www: Boarding at Joeys
Annual boarding fees: from $54,000
Co-curricular activities include: Debating competitions, oratory competitions, and performing arts.
The King’s School, Tudor House, Moss Vale
Tudor House is a co-ed NSW boarding school for students from year 3. It provides a nurturing and comprehensive education for primary-aged students as they live and learn on campus, developing skills in independence, independent study, resilience, and the art of making lifelong friendships.
After classes, Tudor House boarders spend time catching yabbies in the nearby creek, participating in sports, or building BMX tracks. They’re encourage to be “free-range children: active, fun-loving, curious and adventurous”. No electronic devices are permitted in the boarding house.
Activities are arranged every weekend, from beach fishing, surfing, and bushwalking to canoeing, camping around a fire on school grounds, or summer days by the school pool.
Find out more:
www: Boarding at Tudorhouse
Annual boarding fees: from c. $40,000
Co-curricular activities include: Tennis coaching, swimming lessons and squads, an equestrian program at nearby Rosthwaite Farm, football, rugby and cricket clinics, chess club, Lego league, dance, debating, and winter snowsports in the Snowy Mountains.
Newington College, Stanmore
Newington College is a single-sex boys boarding school offering year nine-12 students a rich academic curriculum, combined with a strong emphasis on character development, sports, arts, and community involvement. Edmund Webb Boarding House is a five-minute walk from the Newington College Senior Campus in Stanmore and houses 50 boys. All boarding staff are also academic staff and they live onsite with their own families.
“When you board at Newington, the Boarding House is never more than ten minutes away from every classroom, workshop, studio, tennis court or theatre on campus.”
Newington boys sit for a mandatory two-hour ‘academic preparation session’ in the school library every afternoon from Sunday to Thursday. This is to encourage a culture of self-directed learning with the help of English, mathematics and science teachers supporting on a 1:1 basis.
Find out more:
www: Boarding at Newington
Annual boarding fees: from $53,000
Co-curricular activities include: Sport, drama, music, creative and performing arts, cinearts, media production, a sustainability committee, equity group, and Student Representative Council, chess, oratory, debating, mooting, public speaking, outdoor education, school camps and cadets.
Ascham School, Edgecliff
Ascham School is a single-sex NSW girls’ boarding school that has hosted boarding students since 1887. 120 girls from years seven-12 are accommodated here in boarding houses thar out then at the centre of academic supervision, wellbeing programs, weekend activities, and Saturday sport.
Ascham subscribes to the Dalton Plan, a unique, immersive method of teaching and learning. It includes Boarding Preparatory (Prep), which offers each girl custom guidance courtesy of dedicated prep tutors who focus on the four key principles of Dalton – collaboration, responsibility, reflection and independence.
Girls can take four full weekends and two overnight leaves every term, plus the first and last weekends of each term are boarders’ ‘IN’ weekends meaning the boarding community comes together for traditional fun activities on and off-campus.
Find out more:
www: Boarding at Ascham
Annual boarding fees: from $42,550
Co-curricular activities include: Sport, music, drama, debating, clubs, excursions, trips and overseas tours.
Kinross Wolaroi School, Orange
Kinross Wolaroi is a co-ed NSW boarding school that accommodates 300 boys and girls from year 7. They receive a balanced education with a focus on academic achievement, co-curricular activities, as well as a rural experience for boarders.
“For over a century, Kinross Wolaroi School has been motivating students to become men and women of integrity. We aim to actively promote and support the wellbeing of all our boarding students through the provision of a caring and compassionate boarding environment which encourages students to be socially responsible, spiritually aware and fully engaged in life.”
Staff promote respect for the school’s Christian heritage, spirit of service and sense of social justice – with an aim to empower students to become fully-fledged valuable members of their communities.
Find out more:
www: Boarding at Kinross Wolaroi School
Annual boarding fees: from $49,108
Co-curricular activities include: Sport, outdoor education, cadets, performing arts, Duke of Edinburgh. Sports for girls: netball, hockey, basketball, rowing, triathlon, touch football, aerobics, dance, cross-country, running, swimming, tennis, athletics, squash, water polo and football. Sports for boys: rugby, rowing, cricket, football, basketball, triathlon, squash, dance, cross-country, running, water polo, tennis, athletics, swimming and weights training. (In some competitions, boys and girls compete in mixed teams.)
Kinross Wolaroi School Co-curricular from Kinross Wolaroi School on Vimeo.
