Aquinas College embraces its rich history of providing residential care for boarding students.
Our focus is on giving students a caring, safe and comfortable home away from home during term time which offers them a place to relax, study, participate in leisure activities and build strong support networks among friends and staff members.
Residential life for Aquinas boarders begins before they leave home, with the Aquinas Connect program for students entering Year 7 boarding the following year designed to build friendships and connections between students before they move into boarding. The program uses a range of initiatives to engage the boys in conversations and activities to foster new friendships among the boys and their families.
Four boarding houses – Brothers, Nunan, Pinder Boor and Gibney – give students an opportunity to develop a sense of belonging in their houses while still being a part of the broader school community.
Brothers House is a purpose-built facility for Year 7 boarders which assists in their transition into boarding by providing a home just for them, enabling boys to acclimatise to the programs and ways of life in boarding and the broader College environment together.
Attending school as a boarder is, for many, their first experience of living away from home. Regardless, most students adapt very quickly and soon appreciate their new friendships. This rapid adaptation is facilitated through a strong sense of family and mutual support, fostered in every aspect of residential life.
Boarding offers special opportunities for young men to learn the values of sharing and respect, to have the time to know and appreciate other people from different backgrounds and to mature and develop close friendships with their peers.
Lifelong friendships are developed by both boys and boarding families.
Aquinas College is proud of its longstanding history providing residential services to the sons of families living in regional and remote locations.
Particularly, its achievements in supporting the holistic needs of boarding students as they pursue their secondary education goals, while adjusting to life away from home and family.
The Aquinas Connect Program is a transition support initiative which was piloted in 2015. The program offers new Year 7 and 8 boarding students sequential transition support during the six-month period prior to arriving at Aquinas College, as well as for the first six months post-transition to the College.
This strategy not only aims to promote academic readiness, it equally aims to reassure new Year 7 and 8 boarding students about the impending transition, building a sense of belonging and connectedness with their soon-to-be new learning environment.
To make the transition process easier, when Aquinas Connect students arrive on campus they receive additional support in the classroom setting as well as in the Year 7/8 Brothers House.
Assistance includes help with organisation, finding classrooms, study time, understanding school and boarding life.
In the early years of boarding, students live in shared rooms, helping them to settle into a new year of school with a roommate and friend.
Weekly boarding life follows a routine, the boys know about upcoming scheduled events and activities and learn to manage their day around school hours, meal times, leisure/sporting activities and study.
They wake around 7am each morning and most look forward to a cooked breakfast in Hughes’ Dining Hall to start the day. Classes run from 8.25am to 3.15pm. Morning tea and lunch is served to the boys either at the school or in the Dining Hall.
Time after school is set aside for extra-curricular activities. All boarders are encouraged to take part in a sport, with training two nights per week. This physical activity is a vital part of each student’s weekly activities. On non-training nights, students have a number of ways to enjoy their time, from making use of music rooms, or gaining tutoring help offered at the day school, to taking the opportunity to relax in their boarding houses.
The evening commences with dinner in the Dining Hall at 5.45pm. Boarders are exposed to an extensive menu and each night have a choice of hot meals. After dinner, roll call and a House meeting takes place in each House ahead of Prep.
Prep (study and homework) is scheduled from 7–8.45pm and occurs in a variety of locations, depending on the year group involved. The Dining Hall, Library, Pavilion, and boarding houses are all used for study throughout the week. Following Prep, supper is enjoyed in each of the houses before the boys retire to their rooms for bed.
In terms of pastoral care, the most significant person to have an influence over the daily life of a boarder is his House Director.
However, there are many other staff members who play a vital role in boarding at Aquinas.
In each boarding house, there are up to eight Duty Supervisors who help the House Director with general supervision on weeknights and weekends. In each senior boarding house, two of these Duty Supervisors live on-site.
Duty Supervisors also help to take responsibility for the academic progress of our boarders – helping with tutoring or small group work wherever possible. Some are involved in working with particular year groups in the library on various nights of the week and are joined by a group of academic mentors who assist with our younger boarders.
Each of the four boarding houses has a House Mother, another significant person in a boarder’s life whilst at the College. Not only is the House Mother responsible for practicalities such as sewing and monitoring afternoon tea, but she also plays an important role in helping the boys in times of homesickness, anxiety, and uncertainty.
The boarding team also consists of nurses, two school counsellors, administration, and our Aquinas Connect facilitator, who is responsible for the transition into boarding of the Year 7 and 8 students. The entire team is overseen by the Head of Boarding.
Aquinas College boarding houses participate in the annual inter-house Br Clery Cup.
This competition showcases the great culture among our boarding houses, the positive sportsmanship and good-natured rivalry among our boarding students.
The boys gain points in competitions in a number of sporting events, including; Cricket, Swimming, Volleyball, Basketball, Football and Soccer.
In addition, boarders take part in a Talent Quest, which is a battle of the bands and solo performance competition for both junior and senior year groups.
As the school week comes to a close on Friday afternoon, boarders look forward to the many different activities on offer each weekend as part of the extensive recreation program offered by the College.
The Recreation Officer organises leisure activities for our boarders tailored to students interests and may engage other schools in activities and events. Activities throughout the year include; socials/bush dances with other schools, visits to Kings Park, movie nights, sporting events, river cruises and various excursions to places such as Fremantle and Adventure World, and exhibitions like the annual Sculptures by the Sea which transforms Cottesloe Beach.
Boarders also take part in the annual fundraising event Relay 4 Life, which attracts boarders from schools across WA to Aquinas College to participate. The Boarders’ Ball is also a terrific opportunity for boarders to hold their own function, dress up for the occasion and invite partners from other schools – these events are always memorable for our boarders and highlights of their time at Aquinas College.
Years 7-12: $23,814
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