‘NO BORDERS FOR BOARDERS’: Battle to get kids home

Warwick student shares heartache at prolonged separation and the longing to see her newborn brother before Christmas.

SOCIAL MEDIA IMAGE DISCUSS USE WITH YOUR EDITOR - Halle - NSW boarding student.

CUT off from her family, friends, and desperate to see her baby brother, Halle is just one of the Scots PGC College boarding students fighting to go home this school holidays.

One of 50 students who live outside the border bubble, Halle will be unable to go home to Narrabri in rural NSW without quarantining alone for two weeks upon her return to Queensland.

The Year 8 student said she was desperate to see her family, especially her four-week old baby brother, but knew it could prove costly to her family and education.

"It makes it difficult to focus on school when you realise it might not be possible to go home," she said.

"I will be required to take part in mandatory isolation and I don't want to spend two weeks by myself.

"I'm also not sure what this will cost and whether my family can afford it."

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For Halle, her school's unwavering support for boarding students and their families has been crucial to dealing with the possibility of not going home until Christmas.

"Scots are doing everything they can to make sure all the NSW boarders can see their families for the holidays - just like all the Queensland students will be able to do," she said.

"I just hope someone can help us be with our families and then return to school."

Tensions over closures continue to increase, as Premier Annastacia Palaszcuz announced this morning the state borders would remain shut throughout September.

Scots PGC last week united with eight other schools from the Southern and Darling Downs regions in directly petitioning the State Government on their boarding students' behalf.

The group has since met with multiple state and federal representatives, including Member for Southern Downs James Lister and Member for Maranoa David Littleproud.

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