At Abbotsleigh, we make it our highest priority to ensure that all girls in our boarding school are nurtured and supported within a safe and secure environment.
The School has approximately 150 boarders from Years 7 to 12. About 90% of boarders come from country and regional NSW, with a sprinkling of students from overseas and greater Sydney.
Boarders are an integral part of the Abbotsleigh community, providing diversity and an added richness. Living in this tight-knit community helps the girls forge lifelong friendships and learn to understand the different views and aspirations of others.
How is the Boarding School structured?
Our four boarding houses are organised by year groups and the girls in each house are looked after by a Boarding Coordinator and Resident Assistants who makes sure that all the daily needs of the girls are met. They are there to wake the girls up in the morning and get them off to school and there when the girls return in the afternoon. Coordinators are the first point of contact for boarder parents and they develop a strong partnership with each other, liaising regarding leave and academic and pastoral issues. Parents are most welcome to discuss any aspect of boarding with the Coordinator or Head of Boarding School at any time.
Whilst all the boarding staff have the happiness and welfare of the boarders as their priority, we don't pretend to be mum or dad. We therefore regard our relationship with parents as a partnership and welcome discussion about any aspect of your daughter's happiness and progress at any time.
What systems are in place to help my daughter settle in?
The City Family Scheme exists for all new boarders. The city family is an Abbotsleigh family who helps a new boarder adjust to life away from home, to learn about the School and the city, give advice and be a friend close by.
The Big Sister Program, whereby boarders in Year 11 take on a 'little sister' in Year 7 helps to quickly settle our youngest students into the boarding community.
Abbotsleigh is proud to be a member of the Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA), which serves to support and develop best practice in residential communities across Australia.
What can the girls do after school?
Most girls are busy after school, either at sport or music practices or other cocurricular activities. The Boarding School offers extended tuition in a range of activities, from gymnastics to jewellery making, from speech and drama to swimming and diving and the ever popular dance classes. See AbbSchool for further details of extended tuition activities. With permission, girls may also go down to Wahroonga village. Girls in Years 7 are accompanied by senior boarders, Years 8 to 10 girls may go down in groups and senior girls may go alone. All girls have a one hour limit on village leave.
What time is set aside for homework, supervision and extra tuition?
All girls have compulsory prep periods. The length of these times depends on the year group. The School provides free tutoring to Middle School boarders, especially in Year 7 as girls enter Abbotsleigh from diverse academic backgrounds. Boarding staff liaise with day school staff and counsellors to provide the best possible academic and pastoral care of the girls. All boarders have access to the library after school hours. The School also offers free tuition in selected academic subjects after school.
What is the food really like?
Boarders enjoy a wide selection of food every day. A qualified nutritionist and dietitian liaises with our Food Services Manager to ensure that a balanced diet is available to girls. Vegetarians and girls with special dietary needs are of course catered for. At dinner time there is always a salad bar, rice and pasta in addition to the menu for the day. The menu is constantly changing and we often have special theme nights. In the summer terms we have a weekly barbecue on the lawn. There is a Food Committee where representatives from each boarding house discuss menu choices with the Food Services Manager and Chef.
While we try to make boarding life as home-like as possible, we know that we will never replace parents, pets and home. To this end, the boarding school allows unlimited access to parents and family at any time. Family members are welcome to join boarders for dinner and parents may take their daughters out if they happen to be in town. Our resident guide dog puppy brings a family atmosphere to the boarding community.
How do the girls contact home and vice versa?
Every boarder has access to house phones. She is given a PIN that enables her to ring home and the cost is charged to her account. Mobile phones may also be used. Girls in Years 7 to 10 are required to hand in their phones at bed time and can pick them up in the morning. Year 7 boarders do not take their phones to school but may pick them up when they arrive back at the boarding house in the afternoon. Parents and friends are asked not to ring during prep time or after lights out. Boarders also have an Abbotsleigh email account and can email home and friends by this means. Social networking sites such as Facebook are opened for a limited time on weekends.
What kind of access do parents have to their daughters?
Parents have unlimited access to their daughters, either by phone, email or in person. Parents are welcome to have dinner in the dining room if they are in Sydney and may take their daughters out for afternoon tea or dinner at any time. If parents are staying in Sydney for a few days, they may even have their daughters with them and send them to school as ‘day girls’ for that time. Friends and family are also welcome to have dinner anytime and to come to Chapel on Friday evenings during term time at 5.30 pm if they wish.
What if my daughter is homesick?
Nearly every boarder is homesick at one time or another, especially when they first commence. It is to be expected and often it is the parents who feel the worst. When new boarders arrive in Year 7, they are given a ‘big sister’, a Year 12 boarder who is the new boarder's special friend and mentor. The big sister may take her little sister down to the village for a milkshake or to get something needed for class, and often the senior girls visit their little sisters in their house for a game or a video. Any girl who joins the boarding house in later years is given a buddy from her year group to looks after her while she settles in. The School also has a City Family Scheme, where every Middle School boarder is matched with a local Abbotsleigh family who enjoys taking their boarder out on weekends, perhaps a birthday lunch or a family outing. Boarders often reciprocate the hospitality during school holidays, and lifetime friendships between the families may be forged.
What happens if my daughter doesn't get on with her room mates?
Once girls get to know each other, they are invited to request to room with a special friend. These requests are nearly always accommodated, and usually the girls get on well together. Years 11 and 12 boarders live in Wheeldon House, where girls enjoy single rooms with an ensuite bathroom shared between two. In Years 7-10, boarders are, as a rule, accommodated in rooms of two or four. If there is conflict in a room, the Boarding Coordinator puts in place strategies for conflict resolution and for each new term the boarding house staff may change the room configurations according to the needs and requests of the girls.
What about leave?
Girls enjoy liberal leave. Apart from three or four compulsory weekend activities during the year, girls may usually go out on any weekend. We are, however, very strict about obtaining leave: both the parent AND host family must contact the student's Boarding Coordinator if anyone other than family members is taking the student out for the day or weekend. We take our duty of care very seriously.
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