The boarding school where fishing, biking and camp fires are part of the curriculum

With dams for fishing, a mountain-bike track and a camping area for overnight stays, Tudor House’s 68 hectare campus is the stuff of country kids’ dreams. Tree-climbing is encouraged, and on Fridays the students cook lunch over an open fire. Plans are underway to add motorbiking to the roster of after-school activities, which will make Tudor House the first school to have a registered club with Motorcycling Australia.

Adam Larby, who joined The King’s School as the head of Tudor House in 2021, wants to lay claim to Australia’s most adventurous primary school. He explains: “We see ourselves as having a really healthy risk appetite. I look at kids who leave here to go into high school and they’re streets ahead of the
others in Year 7 who’ve been so sheltered.”

Set in the Southern Highlands, about halfway between Sydney and Canberra, Tudor House blends the best of country life with a world-class education. For its 30 boarders that means spending weekends at local shows and rodeos, while benefiting from the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme.

Boarding is offered to boys and girls from Year 3, most of whom come from properties and regional towns in New South Wales. Many arrive with practical skills beyond their years, and these are encouraged at every opportunity. Last year, for example, the Construction Club helped the grounds and maintenance staff build a canoe shed and toilet blocks for the school’s campsite.

“They’re learning about putting together fabricated walls. They’re using drills, measuring, sawing and making sure things are level,” says Larby. “This is very much a school that’s about rolling up your sleeves; we take a very practical approach.”

Larby lives on the grounds with his wife, Lyndel, and their children Alexis, 11, Florence, nine, and James, six, who attend the school (Stella, the eldest at 13, is in high school). The family is one of five that live on campus and dine with boarders in the evening: one of the ways the school fosters a familial setting.

Tudor House is one of the few schools in Australia that offer boarding at a primary level, starting at age eight. For many parents, sending their kids away is a big decision. As the head of boarding, Anthony Philips, explains: “I’ve had lots of parents say to me, ‘You know, we really don’t want to send our kids to boarding school at this age, but we feel like we have to because they’re falling behind academically.’”

After six to 12 months, he says, “I’ll get comments like, ‘I wish we’d done it earlier’ or ‘I wish we’d done it with our other kids.’ Once they’re here and they’re part of our community, there’s a sense of relief for the parents.”

For some, the decision comes down to geography: the local school is simply too far away. For others, it’s the promise of a quality education. Tudor House is one of 20 primary schools in New South Wales that offer the International Baccalaureate program, which is highly regarded for its international approach, universal teaching methods and focus on student agency. 

Some will enrol at Tudor House and board for the last 18 months of their primary education. For this cohort, it’s often about preparing for high school, whether that’s filling learning gaps or simply getting the hang of living away from home. On graduating, boys from Tudor House have preferred enrolment at The King’s School in Sydney, while girls typically board at nearby Frensham or at bigger Sydney schools.

“A lot of kids are coming from schools that might have less than 50 students,” says Larby. “If they’re going into high school boarding, one of the best ways to get them ready is to send them just a little bit early, when there’s less pressure and they’re not going through puberty in the same way.”