“A school with boarding has a different heartbeat”: The unsung benefits of boarding school

“The first school I worked at was a co-educational boarding school in Ballarat [Ballarat Clarendon College] and I soon understood that a school with boarding has a completely different feel to it — a different heartbeat,” says Emma Grave, the recently appointed Principal at SCOTS PGC College in Warwick, Queensland. The difference, she says, is that boarding attracts a particular type of educator.

“The stakes are higher. A kid might be away from home when Grandpa passes, or when the dog has to be put down, or when there’s a family reunion that they can’t get to. In those moments, the kid needs you — not to teach them English and Maths, but to be their important adult at that time.” 

Working with boarders also means sharing your world, she adds.

“When you live together, you experience life together — when the fire alarm goes off in the middle of the night, Mrs Grave is out there in her dressing gown with everyone else.”  

Twenty years ago, when Emma had her daughter Annie, she wasted no time returning to the boarding house at Geelong Grammar School, where she was working at the time. “The first thing I did when I got out of hospital was take her to meet the girls. They’d been a big part of the journey,” she says.

Emma spent 15 years at Geelong Grammar School, where she was Head of Girls’ Boarding. “That school changed my perspective on what education should be and why boarding schools have such a privileged opportunity to add value to the lives of young people,” she says.

“My husband, John, is a teacher and he also worked in boarding. Our lives are so much richer because of the friendships we formed with families from regional and rural communities. It shaped us.” 

In her new role, Emma wants to make sure all children — including day students — benefit from the bonds formed in the boarding houses. Boarders make up about 30 per cent of the student body at SCOTS PGC College, with 120 boys and girls boarding from Year 6 onwards.

“We’re looking for meaningful opportunities to bring the two worlds together,” says Emma. At lunchtime, that means all students from Prep to Year 12, plus staff members, sit down to a hot meal. 

The school also runs an Adopt a Boarder program, where students spend a weekend with day families. “On Monday, we have a much stronger community because of those shared experiences,” says Emma.  

Emma comes to Warwick from Scotch College in Adelaide, where she was Deputy Principal. The timing of the new role was hardly ideal — the youngest of her four daughters, Rosie, is in her final year of high school — but Emma was determined to make it work, describing SCOTS PGC College as her “dream school”.

“The next step was always going to be a co-ed boarding school in a regional environment.” 

And so, in June, Emma landed in Warwick with 60 kilograms of checked luggage (John will join her when Rosie has completed her schooling). In her downtime, Emma has been exploring Queensland’s south-east in her new ute, meeting with former collegians, past staff members, boarding families and prospective students.

“Country hospitality is something else,” she says. “There’s been coffees in country towns, beers in the pub, scones and Sunday lunches.” Emma is also looking forward to joining the Wednesday evening linedancing class at the local hall. It’s all part of her plan to strengthen the school’s connection with the local community.

In August, the school’s MyWay program was nominated for an Australian Education Award in the Curriculum Innovation category. MyWay is a unique approach to senior schooling that gives students a head start on their career goals, whether that means earning university credits while still at school or gaining trade qualifications in place of an ATAR.

“With every school across Australia eligible for consideration, it’s pretty big to be able to come back to our community and say, ‘We do well against some of the big hitters around the nation,’” she says.   

Ever since she arrived in Warwick, Emma has been waking at 3am. “Not because I’m worried,” she says, “just because I want to get stuck in. You don’t have fresh eyes forever.”  

She says one of her best ideas came to her during an assembly. “I said to the kids, ‘The thing is, it’s been a very long time since I sat in a classroom as a student. I’m saying all these things to you and I’m thinking, ‘Well, I don’t know what your life is really like.’ So, if you would like me to join you for the day, send my EA an email.

“‘I’ll go to every class, I’ll carry your books, I’ll sit with you at recess. I might even wear a uniform.’”

There’s no going back now. “My EA has been absolutely inundated!” says Emma, who’s now adding maths tests and Cattle Team training to her schedule. It’s exactly the kind of country hospitality she hoped to find when she landed in Warwick and took up the reins at SCOTS PGC College a few weeks ago.

To find out more about SCOTS PGC College, visit the website.