Homestays and boarding schools offer a supportive accommodation environment for students living and studying in Australia.
Many Australian schools offer strong academic programs for international students and help arrange nearby boarding or homestay accommodation. Australia attracts many students studying abroad, and more NSW schools are meeting their needs.
Full fee-paying international students have the opportunity to choose the school they want to attend and the curriculum that offers the widest choice of subjects to suit their individual learning needs and abilities. Most schools also provide students with specialist English language programs, excellent resources and facilities as well as ongoing welfare support.
The NSW Department of Education and Training requires all students under the age of 18 years to have a guardian or carer. As a result, there are three accommodation options:
Living with relatives whilst studying offers a stable environment, a shared cultural heritage and links to home. For Year 7 and 8 students, staying with a relative or at boarding school are the only options.
According to Australia’s Department of Immigration, a relative living with an international student must be over 21, have good character, and also hold a police clearance.
A homestay family is one that has agreed to take an overseas student into their home. The homestay family agrees to provide a safe, comfortable environment and family-based support for a young student. Homestays also include a single private bedroom, all meals and full use of the house. Additionally, the home will be a short distance from the school or public transport.
Before hosting an international student, all homestay families must first undergo a thorough review. They must be trustworthy, honest, and tidy, have suitable housing and satisfy a police background check. The staff will monitor homestays throughout the stay of the student to ensure that they provide the appropriate environment.
Many schools have an International Student Coordinator who will match the student with the most suitable Australian family. Some schools prefer to place their students with families who have children at the school, while others work with suitable families local to the school.
The homestay coordinator usually aims to find a homestay family living within 30 minutes of the student’s school. If a student knows little or no English, the homestay coordinator strives to match them with a family that speaks their native tongue, if desired. In such cases, the homestay family should speak as much English as possible to enhance the student’s experience of the local language and culture.
If your chosen school doesn’t offer a homestay program, you can contact an independent homestay coordinator. An independent coordinator offers the same services as a school-based coordinator, finding a homestay family and coordinating all arrangements.
The price of homestay accommodation is an amount agreed to by the student, parents and the homestay provider. The cost of a homestay will usually be between $200 and $270 a week. This varies depending on the facilities and services offered by the homestay provider as well as the location of the home.
Homestay programs give students a family home, letting them fully immerse in Australian life.
Students staying with homestay families are welcomed into a safe, caring home from day one. They merge into the household as a member of what might be called their extended family.
Like families worldwide, each Australian family is unique in its structure, dynamics, ethnicity and way of life. A homestay family might consist of a couple without children, a larger family unit or a single woman. Some homes offering accommodation to students will be modest; others grander. Although family profiles may differ, the common theme is their warmth and friendliness
It is not unusual for the homestay experience to extend beyond the duration of the student’s visit. In many cases, lasting friendships and connections are forged, with students and homestay families keeping in touch. In fact, some students have later hosted their homestay families, fostering generosity and cultural exchange.
Schools offer their own accommodation in residential halls or boarding houses. Boarding houses usually offer a private or shared bedroom, all meals and other facilities, such as recreation areas. Students often have out of school hours access to some facilities, such as swimming pools, tennis courts or library.
Boarding house accommodation at a school will usually be organised through the enrolment process. Speak with the school’s overseas student coordinator to enroll your child in boarding and learn about facilities and costs.
The cost of boarding school accommodation will be around $8000 to $12,000 per year. Some schools close boarding houses at term breaks, expecting students to return to their families or designated guardians. Talk with the school’s overseas student coordinator to find out what options are available. Boarding education can be single sex or co-educational, it can involve large dormitories, or, often for older years, private rooms. Some schools have different hosing options, like family type houses with 15 to 20 students.
David L Anderson, Senior Boarding Housemaster at Shore School explores the new culture of communicative and empowerment-based approach to educating young people at boarding school. Mr. Anderson has three sons and speaks at conferences, particularly about caring for boarders throughout Australia, USA and United Kingdom. He is a member of the Board of Trustee of the International Boys’ School Coalition based in the USA.
In the past, boarding students often lived by a rigid set of ideals and rules. There was little mention of the school as a home. Today we all understand the importance of recognising that there are multiple ways of seeing the world. School administrators have now the individual and collective confidence to change school and boarding environments.
I would suggest that boarding environments have followed the wider attitudes of society focused on better understanding the differences of the individual improving self-esteem. This approach replaces the ‘total’ system, reducing confrontation and frustration while empowering staff to better support adolescents.
Society has adopted the recognition of a student’s individual educational needs, and schools have developed it. Parents have also taken a much closer interest.
At SHORE, the day school adopted these philosophies, introducing them over the past twenty years. Penetrating the boarding institution however, where I have special responsibility and interests has been a hard nut to crack!
When I started teaching in the early seventies. I observed a trench warfare mentality by some staff in the school. Teachers left the security of the staff room to do battle with their students, only to regroup during recess and lunch to discuss confrontations with the little scoundrels.
Communication has now replaced confrontation in student-teacher relationships. The boarding system now embraces reasoned discussion and flexible routines, prioritizing the needs of each individual. Although children still feel secure with sound daily routines and consistent discipline, teachers have become much more sensitive to the needs of children.
Much of the gender debate is about problems that boys are experiencing, and the need for boys to have strong role models in their formative years. Independent schools have the opportunity for boys and girls to develop good working and social relationships with teachers, whilst enjoying greater contact with their parents at regular intervals during the year. Boarding staff actively promote non-traditional learning areas, helping pupils enjoy a full, satisfying school experience free from artificial constraints like gender stereotypes.
Boarding staff should encourage a wide variety of interests and activities by the students and cultivate a respect for the talents of all boys and girls.
Girls, and in more recent years boys, have made enormous progress in all areas of learning as they have been willing to cross boundaries of stereotypical interests and activities. Senior students role model positive behaviour, helping younger boarders learn through shared experiences and safe participation in activities. Good boarding institutions can provide children with guidance towards becoming more self reliant and demonstrating self control.
The vertical age system of boarding accommodation in boys’ boarding schools has greatly assisted the development of personal relationships in recent years. Older and younger boarders now learn a great deal from each other across different age groups.
Relationships have become much stronger since schools introduced strategies to reduce bullying and policies against anti-social behaviour. Vertical age boarding houses also provide the opportunity for cross age tutoring by fellow students. In this program, older students act as mentors for younger students to help them with their work at regular times. Senior mentors introduce the scheme by working with junior students during break times or meeting before or after school. This program links learning levels and supports teachers in bridging age gaps to boost communication and understanding.
Adolescents today must find their own voice and identity. As adolescents gain independence from parents they take greater responsibility for their actions. Parents in their attempt to help their children can often fall into the trap of over servicing them. I heard recently that the average age of children leaving home in The United States is 25! Are we letting children experience enough individuality? Should we give them greater responsibility?
Enid Blyton never mentioned much about parents when she wrote stories for children. Was she giving children freedom that we have not recognised in the process of growth and development of adolescents?
In the 21st century, boarding staff embrace a balanced, responsible, and educational approach to supervising students. Nevertheless, boarders thrive on routine and consistency in their environment and crave recognition, encouragement and support. However, at important times in their lives, they need solitude and trust that their supervisors have faith in the decisions they make as maturing adolescents.
St Scholastica’s College is tucked away near the tip of the Glebe Point peninsula in Sydney’s inner west. There is also a small boarding facility at the College, accommodation being available for no more than 80 students. Boarding in a community of this size creates a very personal environment for the girls, their families, and the staff who work hard to ensure the well being and success of the boarders.
The garden at St Scholastica’s is a constantly evolving work in progress and in 2004 it was selected as Best Garden in the city of Sydney Garden Competition. Naturally, the girls are very proud of their school and the beautiful garden which greets them each day.
Boarding at an inner-city school offers ready access to the rich cultural resources of a global city and allows students to enjoy the benefits of living in a small, friendly community that reflects the diversity of Sydney. Over half of the boarding community come from regional NSW and interstate and the remainder are fairly evenly divided between students from the metropolitan area and those who come from overseas.
On Friday 11 February at a celebratory mass at St Mary’s Cathedral for the feast of St Scholastica’s, the College Leaders for 2005 received their badges and dedicated themselves to the service of the College. The Year 12 Boarding Leaders for 2005, Sarah Wheeler and Nancy Chen commented on their boarding experience and their hopes for the year ahead.
Sarah: “Being a boarder has enabled me to become an independent person as well as making long lasting friendships with girls from around Australia and the world. Boarding at Schols has offered us all some great opportunities. The facilities here are great and boarding develops a sense of responsibility. St Scholastica’s is a relaxed and friendly community where we pride ourselves on our diverse cultures and our commitment to social justice. The Boarding College is like a home away from home. The problems that inevitably arise in communal living make us more aware of others and of ourselves, our potential and our possibilities.”
Nancy: “I am an Overseas Student from Taiwan. I came to boarding school in Year 10 and now am preparing for the HSC. I can still remember vividly the first week of boarding school life. When I first arrived, I was disorganised and found it hard to adjust to life in the boarding house and in a new culture. The supervisors and the other girls all helped me to get through the difficult bits. In two years I changed from a person with a habit of relying on others into a determined and independent person. In some ways I see myself as representing the other overseas students but, as a leader of the whole community, I have a duty to help and encourage all of the students.”
For more information on overseas students studying at a government school in NSW, contact the International Student Centre at the NSW Department of Education & Training.
Mail address: International Students Centre PO Box 707 Broadway, NSW 2007 Australia
In Australia you can visit:
827-839 George Street, Broadway NSW 2007 (opposite Sydney Central Railway Station)
Tel: + 61 2 9217 4801 or 1300 302 456 (in Australia)
Fax: + 61 2 9217 4060 or +6 2 9212 6712
Email: isc@det.nsw.edu.au
Website: www.schools.nsw.edu.au/gotoschool/intnl_students
For information on studying at a private school, contact the International Student Coordinator at your chosen school.