While informal in nature, the staff Professional Learning Lunch and Learn session that focused on Ascham Boarding was a great way to examine ways in which educators can form additional connections with our boarders.
When everyone else travels home each afternoon, 120 students remain and make their way back to one of four houses on campus. These are our boarders and their home each term is Ascham. While classrooms are quiet, the rest of the grounds in the mornings, evenings and weekends are full of laughter and camaraderie.
Boarding has been part of Ascham since 1887, a year after the School’s founding when a small number of boarders began under the tutorage of Miss Wallis. Over the last 137 years generations of boarders from across NSW, interstate, overseas and around Sydney have called Ascham home.
Our boarders come from a diverse range of backgrounds and communities. An understanding of their unique identities, that often contrasts the experiences of day students, helps inform educational outcomes and builds rapport in the classroom. Any opportunity for boarders to share their stories promotes connection and makes the wider School community stronger. Our Lunch and Learn seminar in April was very well attended and provided a jumping-off point to explore Boarding at Ascham through the following lenses:
Boarding Over the Last Decade
A common misconception is that boarding schools are closing and in decline. Census data from the Australian Boarding Schools Association actually shows an increase in the total number of boarding schools in Australia and number of boarders over the last decade. In 2022, there were 201 schools with boarding, an increase of 50 institutions since 2012. The number of boarders has also increased from 18,703 in 2012 to 20,162 in 2022. Importantly, when looking at the State of NSW the number of boarders has also increased. In NSW there are 46 boarding schools, and 14 girls’ boarding schools in Sydney.
Rural students make up the highest number of boarders in all states across the country. There has been a decline in the number of international boarders in the last decade, which can be contributed to COVID-19 but there appears to be an upswing again.
Where Do Ascham Boarders Come From?
Predominantly, our boarders come from regional and rural NSW, with high enrolments across all Year groups. We have five boarders who live interstate. We support expat and international connections with currently eight boarders from overseas. We also have strong metro (local) numbers, with 11 metro boarders, despite not having a ‘weekly boarding’ option. This is no doubt helped by our Residential Program in Year 9, and higher metro numbers in Senior years being the direct result of Year 9 Resi’s staying on.
Primary School Educational Diversity
Analysis of our current Year 7 Boarding cohort highlighted the different Junior School education received. Many boarders come from primary schools with fewer than 80 students in total, and often cohort sizes are in single digits. Many boarders also report not having had regular homework or using computers before coming to Ascham. For many girls, the overwhelming size of Ascham Year groups is a real challenge and the culture shock is real. While our boarders are quick to adapt and have great stores of resilience, awareness of these backgrounds in the classroom is important.
Home communities
Beyond the classroom, for many boarders their local town, with long travel distances and smaller populations, is a strong contrast to the intensity of a city school. For some boarders, they have only made a few trips to Sydney prior to joining Ascham. Understandably, it may take some time to adjust to the big lights of Sydney.
By: Allysia Heness-Pugh | Head of Boarding
