Hectic family life prompts school sleepover plan
A private school in Brighton has come up with a unique way to help busy parents meet work and travel commitments, creating a boarding house version of Airbnb.
Tertiary
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A Brighton school has introduced short stays for girls in its boarding house so parents can travel overseas for work or play.
Firbank Girls Grammar will charge $700 a week for girls at the prestigious $30,000 a year bayside school.
A monthly stay will be $2600 and a whole term $7600 for girls from Year 7 to 12.
The new offering came after discussions with families who might have to travel for work or pleasure during the school term and struggled to find care for their girls.
Taking students out of school during term is frowned upon.
The girls are allowed to have a fish in a small tank in their room but there are restrictions around mobile phones at the dinner table.
They can choose vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free meals and lactose-free, low fat and soy milk are available on request.
Fruit and Milo will be readily available in the boarding house pantry but nuts, incense candles, oil burners and electric blankets are banned.
The girls are allowed to spend time after school at nearby Church and Bay streets and weekend visits to the city, provided they have parental permission.
Firbank principal Jenny Williams said short term boarding built on the school’s “strategic domains promoting resilience, adaptability and helping students to form new relationships with their peers”.
“Firbank’s new initiative to offer short-term boarding as an option for our senior school community recognises the hectic schedules and increasing work pressures placed on parents and guardians today. It allows families to juggle their commitments and travel, knowing that their child is in a safe and supportive environment,” she said.
“As principal, it is great to see students harness their independence and experience all aspects of our school environment. The Firbank Boarding House aims to provide a community away from home which supports and enhances all students’ experience of the academic, sporting, cultural and social life of the School. Whether it be a week, month or term, this opportunity helps our students to be life ready.”
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The school has full time boarders from country Victoria, interstate and overseas who live at the Tovell House boarding accommodation at the cost of $28,000 a year on top of fees.
Year 12 students have their own bedrooms while other boarders are in twin share study bedrooms.
The thinking behind the offering is that if a child in Year 9 is off to Vietnam for a few weeks as part of the curriculum, a sister could go into boarding school so parents could travel for work or pleasure.
The number of available rooms varies, depending on the number of Year 12s each year.
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