Frequently Asked Questions

How many boarders are there at Abbotsleigh?

There are 150 boarders from Year 7 to Year 12. This comprises one sixth of the senior school population. Year 7 and Year 12 are typically housed separately in their year groups and Years 8 to 11 are mixed through the remaining houses.

Where do most of the boarders come from?

Most of our boarders come from country NSW. We also have some overseas boarders and a few who live in greater Sydney.

What kind of access do parents have to their daughters and what leave allowance do the girls have?

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. Friends and family are also welcome to come to Chapel on Sunday evening if they wish.

Girls enjoy liberal leave. Apart from three or four compulsory weekend activities during the year, girls may go out on any weekend (staff will recommend otherwise if they deem it advisable!). We are, however, very strict about obtaining leave: both the parent AND host family must contact the boarding coordinator for their daughter's house if anyone other than family members are taking the boarder out for the day or weekend. We take our duty of care very seriously.

What is the structure of the boarding school? How are girls supervised and cared for?

At Abbotsleigh we have six boarding houses that make up the Boarding School. The girls in each house are looked after by a housemistress who makes sure that all the daily needs of the girls are met. She is there to wake the girls up in the morning and get them off to school, and she is there when the girls come home from school in the afternoon. There are two resident assistants who do this job during the housemistresses' days off. A boarding coordinator is assigned to each house. He or she forms a strong liaison between the Boarding and Day schools. The coordinator, who is also a full time teacher at the school, monitors the academic and pastoral progress of the girls and organises academic or pastoral help if the need arises. The boarding coordinator is in charge of all leave requests and minor discipline matters. The Head of Boarding is the coordinator of the Year 7 house and oversees all aspects of the Boarding School. Parental contact is of the utmost importance to all the staff in the Boarding School. Parents are most welcome to discuss any aspect of boarding with the Coordinator or Head of Boarding at any time.

Can you tell me about homework, supervision and extra tuition in the Boarding School?

All girls have compulsory prep periods. The length of these times depends on the year group. There are two sessions per night, the first being a completely quiet time and the second where girls may work either alone or in groups. The younger boarders may read a novel during the second prep if they have finished their homework. All boarders have access to the library and computer rooms after school hours. The school also offers free tuition in English, Maths, Science and History after school to any student who wishes to use this facility.

What do the girls do after school?

Most girls are busy after school, either at sports or music practices or other co-curricular activities. The school offers extended tuition in a wide range of activities, from gymnastics to silver jewellery club, from Speech and Drama to swimming and diving and the ever popular dance classes. The school can supply you with a list of extended tuition activities on offer. Girls may also go down to the village with permission. Younger girls in Years 7 and 8 are accompanied by senior girls, Years 9 and 10 girls may go down in pairs and senior girls may go alone. All girls have a 45 minute limit on village leave.

How do the girls contact home and vice versa?

Every boarder has access to house phones. She is given a PIN number 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. Parents and friends are asked not to ring during prep time. Boarders also have an Abbotsleigh email account and can email home and friends by this means.

What if my daughter is homesick?

Nearly every boarder is homesick at one time or another, especially when they first join the school. 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 senior girl 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 the girl might need, and often the senior girls visit their little sisters in their house for a game or a video. Girls who join the boarding house in later years are given a buddy from their year group who looks after her while she settles in. The boarding School also has a “City Family” scheme. Every boarder is matched with a local Abbotsleigh family who enjoys taking their boarder out on weekends, perhaps a birthday lunch or a trip to the beach. Many city families also help out taking their boarder to orthodontic or specialist appointments when parents live too far away. Boarders often reciprocate the hospitality during school holidays, and often lifetime friendships between the families are 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. In Years 7-11 boarders are, as rule, accommodated in rooms of two or four. If there is conflict in a room, the housemistress and boarding coordinator put in place strategies for conflict resolution, and for each new term the boarding staff may change the room configurations according to the needs of the girls.

Is boarding food as awful as people expect??

No! Boarders enjoy a wide choice of food every day. A qualified nutritionist and dietician 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 nights where girls have suggested a special theme or nationality of dishes. In the summer terms we have a fortnightly barbeque on the lawn. There is a Food Committee where representatives from each house discuss menu choices with the Food Services manager and chef.

Whilst all the boarding staff have the happiness and welfare of the boarders as their primary raison d' ê tre at Abbotsleigh, we don't pretend to be Mum or Dad and we regard that relationship as the most important a girl can have. We therefore regard our relationship with you as a partnership, and welcome discussion about any aspect of your daughter's happiness and progress at any time.

If you would like further information about boarding at Abbotsleigh, please contact the Head of Boarding, Mrs Rochelle Jenkins on 02 9473 7850 or by email jenkinsr@abbotsleigh.nsw.edu.au.