St Peters has a proud boarding tradition, beginning as a co-educational boarding college in 1945. When the College first opened, there were just 56 founding boarding students—today, that figure has grown significantly. St Peters is currently a home-away-from-home to over 150 boarders. These students from rural and regional Queensland, interstate towns and cities, and overseas. As Head of College, Tim Kotzur, states, "Our boarders are a true reflection of the society we live in". Their diversity is the essence of real life.
St Peters opened as a co-educational boarding college in 1945. From a humble, 56-student beginning, over 150 students now call St Peters home. Our boarders come from far and wide. We house students from rural and regional Queensland, interstate, and overseas, and remain the only co-educational boarding school in the Brisbane municipal area.
St Peters accepts boarders from Year 6 onwards. Our students are welcomed into a rich boarding tradition and we proudly open doors to a vast range of educational, social, sporting and cultural opportunities. Being co-educational, boarding at St Peters enables all family members to attend the one school. This provides a sense of stability and continuity for siblings. Our boarders form a tight knit community where each individual is cared for and supported.
Boarding Options
There are a range of boarding options at St Peters. These include:
Why board?
The boarding environment provides a unique opportunity to live in a community while simultaneously developing independence, character and values. Our boarders come from a range of different language, culture and faith backgrounds. Despite their differences, our students bond over being away from home and cement firm friendships. By sharing daily life with others, boarders develop resilience, self-confidence, empathy and leadership skills.
Living in Boarding
One of the main benefits of boarding at St Peters is the co-educational aspect. While our boarding students do live in separate boys’ and girls’ dormitories, they interact closely with each other as a traditional family would. At St Peters, brothers and sisters can attend the one school. Siblings are granted an important sense of security through familiarity and only-children are welcomed as brothers and sisters.
The St Peters Boarding community is divided into four houses—two male (Ludke-Mutze and Schilling) and two female (Cameron and Finger). These houses are set amongst 53 acres of lush land, only six kilometres from the Brisbane CBD. The College is a five-minute walk to the Indooroopilly Railway Station and there are multiple major bus routes close by. The St Peters Lutheran College grounds have been compared to a university: the facilities are state-of-the-art and the tree-lined streets and manicured gardens make it a peaceful place to learn and grow.
Dormitories and lounge areas
All St Peters boarding students are housed according to their year level in well-appointed rooms. The dormitories and bathroom facilities in both the boys and girls boarding houses have undergone recent renovation and refurbishment. Ludke-Mutze, Schilling, Cameron and Finger each have their own common areas. These common areas have lounges, bean bags, TVs, DVD players, fridges and microwaves, and they offer a great communal space where boarders can easily gather and socialise. All boarding houses have networked Wi-Fi, giving the boarders regular access for email and study resources.
Sports Facilities
At St Peters, boarders can access the pool, gymnasium and weights area under the supervision of Residential Supervisors on weekends. They also have access to the tennis courts, basketball and netball courts, cricket nets and the College's three ovals.
Boarding House Administration
Staff in each boarding house are able to assist the boarders with all their administrative needs, including end of term travel arrangements. St Peters boarding operates an online leave system, called Reach, which is convenient for parents. It is also a very efficient and effective way of monitoring boarder's leave arrangements.
Health Centre
Qualified nursing staff provide quality health care to address the physical and emotional needs of our boarders. Clinics are run onsite before and after school and on weekends. Our nursing staff are always on call for emergencies, plus there are a range of specialist services nearby. Local doctors and physiotherapists visit St Peters on a regular basis.
Dining
The College employs an experienced catering staff who provide well-balanced and varied menus daily for our boarding students and staff. Fresh fruit and/or vegetables are an integral part of every meal. Our qualified Chefs are accustomed to accommodating all dietary or cultural requirements. Breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner are served in Café 45. This is just a short walk from both boarding houses. All meals are substantial and ensure boarders receive a wide variety of healthy food options.
Laundry and Housekeeping
Our dedicated housekeeping and laundry staff provide a high standard of service and hygiene as well as ensuring all of our boarding student's needs are met. The dormitories (including the bathrooms) are cleaned daily. Our onsite industrial laundry provides an efficient laundry service to our boarders, and our seamstress is always on hand to assist with any mending needs the boarders have.
Challenging Minds
Being a boarder at St Peters enables students to maximise the educational and learning opportunities available to them. We understand that each boarder has different academic abilities and approaches to their learning. The boarding staff monitor academic progress and are in regular contact with the St Peters academic staff. When communicating with academic staff regarding a boarder’s progress, the Boarding Coordinators have the role of de facto parents. If there are ongoing problems, the Boarding Coordinators will be in contact with the boarder's parents.
Study
Boarders are required to undertake supervised study Monday to Friday, and on Sunday afternoons. This allows for homework, research, study and reading. These study sessions take place in the library or Senior Study Centre, however Year 12 students study at their desks in the dormitories.
Academic Support
The College employs tutors to assist boarders with their academic subjects. These tutors are often Old Scholars undertaking University study and are available at supervised study times to assist in small groups or individually. Classroom teachers often visit the boarders at study times to provide additional support. If parents feel that their child may benefit from assistance beyond that provided by the subject teacher or tutor, parents can arrange private tutoring through the Boarding Coordinators. All tutors must hold a Blue Card.
Nurturing Hearts
Pastoral care is at the cornerstone of St Peters boarding. From the moment a new boarder begins at St Peters, they are always supported. Our boarding staff are primarily concerned for the welfare of each and every boarding student so that they feel both supported and cared for. The Girls and Boys Boarding Coordinators oversee the care, supervision and development of all boarders to ensure their social, spiritual, emotional and physical needs are met. The Boarding Coordinators are well supported in their role by Senior Resident Staff, Resident Supervisors and Study Mentors.
Additional Support
The St Peters Chaplains and counsellors are also available to provide a supportive boarding environment. Boarders can check in with our Chaplains, as needed, and private and confidential appointments with our counselling staff can be arranged after hours. The security and safety of our boarders and their belongings is of primary concern to all our boarding staff. Being located in one of Brisbane’s most sought-after residential suburbs, our well-lit, secure grounds are monitored daily by security staff.
Adopt a boarder
The St Peters ‘Adopt a Boarder’ program is an important part of the wellbeing initiative at the College. Through this program we match College staff with a boarding student so that they can share one-on-one time in a supportive way. This program has been highly successful in supporting our boarding students over the years.
Building Futures
St Peters offers a comprehensive cocurricular program and our boarders can choose from a wide selection of activities in the sporting, musical, dramatic and cultural arenas. Inter-school sporting competitions through the Queensland Girls Secondary School Sport Association (QGSSSA) and Associated Independent Colleges (AIC) are held both mid-week and on most Saturdays. Our boarders can be involved in these competitions like all other St Peters students.
First-Class Facilities
Living on campus, our boarders have access to the College’s first-class facilities outside of school hours. These facilities include:
Weekend Recreation
Weekend Recreation Staff liaise with the Boarding Coordinators to develop and oversee a planned recreation program. The aim of this is to keep boarders active on the weekends. Activities include shopping trips to Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, excursions to sporting fixtures at Suncorp Stadium or The Gabba, movie nights and trips to the beach. Our boarders also have the opportunity to engage with boarders from other boarding schools in the Brisbane region.
The vast majority of boarders at St Peters are full-time boarders. For this reason, our boarding houses do not empty over the weekend. This ensures that there are always a lot of residents and friends present on any given weekend. At St Peters, there is always something for our boarders to do, and company while they do it.
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