Creating a Culture
of Academic Achievement in an Australian Girls’ Boarding School There is a prominent misconception in schools that boarders, by default, are going to be lower academic performers than day students. This outdated belief is premised on the idea that boarders who commence their education in under-resourced regional schools, via distance education, or through School of the Air are less inclined to achieve highly. I can confidently say that the boarders of St Margaret’s debunk this belief, and that our boarding house actively cultivates a culture of academic achievement and success for our girls.
Lesa Craven Head of Boarding
A holistic approach A boarding house provides boarders with a personalised support system that encompasses the whole student; their emotional, physical, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing is all intertwined in the boarding context. Research by Independent Schools Australia shows that boarders are actually placed at an advantage over day students.
we can carve a pathway to success for each girl. It is important to continually monitor the girls’ progress through continuous reporting to gain a full understanding of their needs, their progress, and where additional support may be needed at times, particularly in the transition from year levels or into new and unfamiliar subjects. The boarding team well understands the needs of each individual student, but this of course cannot and should not exist in isolation. Instead, we foster a collaborative relationship with teaching staff that is centred on an open dialogue, updates, and check-ins with teachers. This manifests itself in various ways, including: •
Boarders have the advantage of living on the school site, with access to the school’s facilities, additional academic support from teachers and/or tutors, a
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structured learning and social environment, and few barriers to consistent attendance at class. Decreased school absenteeism when compared to day students is a clear benefit of boarding. (Independent Schools Australia, 2022, p. 12). Moreover, the report also found that boarders have comparable psychological measures (i.e., a greater sense of their meaning and purpose, life satisfaction, emotional maturity) as well as greater extra-curricular engagement (Independent Schools Australia, 2022). Creating our culture of academic achievement in boarding at St Margaret’s has therefore been achieved through our holistic approach focused on student engagement, wellbeing, and a strong partnership between the boarding house and the day school. Understanding the individual
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Academic achievement When boarders feel a sense of belonging to the wider school and boarding community and feel supported in their endeavours yet also challenged to achieve to their full potential, we can quantitatively see this reflected in their results. There is sufficient evidence to prove that boarding students can achieve equally as high, if not greater, academic outcomes than day students when they are supported by a holistic environment (Parry, 2025).
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Boarders come from many and varied educational backgrounds, spanning distance education, and small one-teacher schools in remote and regional areas, and for some, St Margaret’s will be the first time they have sat in a classroom with other students. Our first task is to ensure that we provide the support needed to help fill any gaps in their prior educational experience, and to do this, time needs to be dedicated to understanding where the student has come from, what their educational journey has been so far, and how we can help them transition smoothly into St Margaret’s. This can be done through Smartlabs and early testing to understand the level of support needed, the areas of weakness, and how
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Teachers at Prep: this initiative has existed for many, many years now, and consists of a weekly roster of teachers who generously give their time to attend Prep each week. Students are provided with this roster to know when their teachers may be in attendance, as well as what subjects these teachers teach. Teachers are available to students across all year levels who may be seeking assistance. SOAR Program: SOAR is a lunchtime study support program where students can drop in and discuss ways that they can improve their study and organisational skills with the Academic Prefects and Chris Dunn. Moreover, the resources produced by SOAR are explicitly shared with Year 7 boarders when they commence their time at St Margaret’s to help them begin to cultivate their own positive study habits. Study areas: we provide different study areas for the girls as we understand that every student studies and learns differently, and this must be accounted for. From classrooms to the Library, Senior Study Centre and Dining Hall, students have the choice of finding a space for either individual or collaborative work that aligns with their preferred study method. Housemothers as supporters: Housemothers are required to read all the girls’ reports to ensure that they are aware of any concerns regarding the girls’ learning. Moreover, they are provided a detailed list to sit alongside the assessment planners which sets out which classes the girls are in and when assessment is due.