The King's School has a long, proud and successful tradition in the provision of residential care. Commencing as a boarding school in February 1832 at George Street in Parramatta and catering for just four boys the School now accommodates 430 boarders at its current site in North Parramatta.
As well as our traditional intake of boys from rural Australia we have boarders from the Sydney metropolitan area, nearby dormitory locations and a small group of international students.
The School accepts boarders from Year 4 through to Year 12 and they fall into four groups:
• The Full-time Boarder is a boy who resides at the School 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• A Weekly Boarder is a boy who boards during weekdays but returns to his normal residence generally following his sporting commitments each Saturday.
• The Flexi Boarder is not usually a boarder but due to family circumstances will join the boarding community on a short term secondment or for a regular one or two nights a week.
• A Day Boarder will use the boarding facilities during the day and early evening, but does not stay overnight in a boarding house.
Boarders reside in a combination of horizontal or vertical House structures depending upon their age and grade. All Preparatory School boarders live together in Blaxland House which is located adjacent to Gowan Brae, the home of the Year 7 boarding group.
Students from Years 8 to 12 live in one of seven Senior Boarding Houses (Baker, Bishop Barker, Broughton, Forrest, Hake, Macarthur and Waddy) which are located at diverse locations around the 130 hectare campus. Each Senior House accommodates from 48 to 56 boys.
The Houses provide a warm, caring, friendly and family-oriented environment for the diverse boarding population, some of whom may not be able to return home during the academic term.
The Director of Boarding has overall responsibility for oversight of the boarding environment and is assisted in each Senior House by a Housemaster, two Assistant Housemasters and a House Matron. All Senior boarding staff are teachers who have undertaken professional training courses in residential care.
Three fully qualified registered nurses rotate shifts to ensure the School Health Centre is staffed 24 hours a day. They are assisted by visiting paramedical staff which ensures boarding students' health needs are assessed and monitored.
Meal times are flexible and emphasise a relaxed family atmosphere with close attention being paid to table manners and acceptable social behaviour. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in the School Dining Hall with a rotating menu supervised by a visiting dietician.
During the weekdays boarders resume their studies after dinner, undertaking set homework or preparing for assessment tasks. Access is available to the Library form 6.30 pm where information technology is provided and specialised staff can be accessed for assistance with homework and tutoring in core subjects.
In addition to their normal School Chapel worship, boarders attend Chapel services with their House and have the opportunity to be confirmed by undertaking a program delivered by the Chaplain.
A vibrant and diverse weekend activity program is offered for boarders, a program which includes adventure activities, films and visits to the theatre, alternative sporting attractions and social events with neighbouring girls' schools.
As you would anticipate in a family-oriented environment the Boarding Houses and the supervisory staff are concerned with the safety and security of each boy, the harnessing of their potential, with moral values and consideration for others, with self discipline, tolerance and responsibility, with the development of independence and self-sufficiency, and with creating a welcoming environment in which parents are encouraged to visit their sons on a regular basis.
The King's School has become an international leader in boarding for many reasons, not least of which is because of writing Duty of Care: A Certificate Course in Residential Care.
Duty of Care is the major tertiary course used to train boarding staff in Australia and New Zealand. Duty of Care has recently been released in Great Britain in an abridged version.
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