From space camp to yoga rooms: Private school perks giving parents bang for their buck
While average Aussie families can’t afford eye-watering private school fees, rich parents are getting access to state-of-the-art facilities and education opportunities. SEE WHAT THEY OFFER
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From pools with movable floors to Olympic swim coaches, observatories, yoga rooms, and space camp - Australia’s private schools are providing parents bang for their buck with big-budget inclusions.
While for the average person the fees for the country’s top schools are eye-watering, for parents in a position to afford them, their children get bells and whistles most can only dream of.
Caulfield Grammar School
Melbourne’s Caulfield Grammar School will set parents back $31,842 per year for senior students and a further $30,099 if their child is a boarder.
The five-campus school has 3320 students who have access to more than 400 sports coaches to guide them through their Year 5 to Year 12 compulsory sport participation.
The school’s dedication to sport has paid off as its boasts Olympic gold medallist and freestyle swimmer Mack Horton and Olympic track and field athlete Tamsyn Manou.
Other notable alumni include musician Nick Cave and AFL player Chris Judd.
A Wellbeing and Aquatic Centre designed by architect firm Peddle Thorp is expected to be completed this year and will feature a 50m Olympic sized-pool with a movable floor to adjust depth.
Students who prefer to stay dry will be able to make use of spaces for dance, pilates, meditation and yoga.
Year 9 students get the opportunity to live and study at the school’s sister campus in Nanjing, China for five weeks.
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Brisbane Girls Grammar School
Brisbane Girls Grammar School, which costs $24,910 per year to attend, has a rich science program which offers students the trip of a lifetime.
Students have access to an observatory – named after notable alumni, geologist Dorothy Hill - with three telescope and camera systems which is used in science and physics classes across Years 7 to 12.
Science minded girls get the amazing opportunity to go a “space trip” to the United States Space and Rocket Centre in Huntsville, Alabama.
“The Observatory conveys to the girls that anything is possible. There’s something about space that is so imaginative and unknown; it’s future-oriented and lends itself to expansive world views,” Principal Jacinda Euler said.
“It will also be used in ways not yet imagined, opening the intrigue of the night sky and deep space to all students, honouring the legacy of Professor Dorothy Hill and advancing her ambition to deepen the impact of women as scientists.
“Girls are exposed to outer space in ways that will challenge them to question their existing knowledge, and in doing so, inspire curiosity and deep thinking.”
Saint Ignatius College Riverview
Sydney’s Saint Ignatius College, Riverview – which was attended by former-Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and former-Prime Minster Tony Abbott – costs $29,520 per year for senior students.
The college is steeped in history and features an observatory opened in 1909 which students have access to for science classes.
For boys whose passions are closer to earth, Ignatius offers 24 sports over the year including taekwondo and mountain biking as well as tuition in 23 instruments.
There’s 22 ensembles to join on top of five annual concerts, a yearly musical and overseas music tours.
After a hard day of learning, boarding students, who pay an extra $20,580, can kick back and enjoy watching Foxtel or playing video games, pool or table tennis.
Brisbane Grammar School
Brisbane Grammar School caters for adrenaline junkies with its outdoor education centre, located at Lake Moogerah.
The facility features high and low ropes, a flying fox, a climbing tower and boat shed.
Students are also given the opportunity to climb volcanic plug, Pulpit Rock.
Back on campus is a sports laboratory and a gymnastics hall with facilities for Men’s Artistic Gymnastics which are regarded as “some of the best in the country”, according to the school’s website.
Grammar’s alumni include Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland Henry Fryberg and musician Robert Forster from the band The Go-Betweens.
Its fees are less imposing than its southern counterparts, costing only $26,740 for senior day students and an additional $26,280 for boarders.
Kincoppal Rose Bay
With stunning views of Sydney Harbour, Kincoppal Rose Bay has turned out many notable students such as Seven Network journalist and presenter Samantha Armytage and former PM Malcolm Turnbull’s wife, Lucy.
For $30,666 senior fees and another $26,652 on top of that for boarding, students have access to exchanges with 27 sister schools including in Korea, Japan, Puerto Rico, Brazil, the US and Canada.
Girls interested in sport can be trained by former-Olympian turned swim coach, Hamid Mobarrez or take advantage of a dance studio and fitness centre in the school’s Maureen Tudehope Centre.
Kincoppal also boasts a heritage listed chapel which was completed in 1900 and houses a rare 1890 Puget Organ.
The Scots College
Sydney’s The Scots College is a budding sportsman’s dream with the opportunity to be trained by former NBL and WNBL coaches in its basketball club.
Other sports facilities include a weights room, spinning room and hypoxic chamber for altitude training.
The TSC Snowsports Academy is also available, allowing boys to combine “on snow training with the school curriculum” for 10 weeks.
Year 9 students start their year off with six-month “residential experience”, the Glengarry outdoor education program in Kangaroo Valley which concludes with a 200km hike back to the school at Bellevue Hill.
Senior student fees will set parents back $33,098 for day students and a further $26,484 for boarders.
Originally published as From space camp to yoga rooms: Private school perks giving parents bang for their buck