‘Emotional bomb’: School under fire after decision to close boarding house

A prestigious Toowoomba school has revealed the reasons behind its decision to close its boarding school after receiving complaints from the public over the controversial decision. Details here.

Frustrations have boiled over and the schooling future of 21 students is in limbo after a controversial decision was made to close the St Saviour’s College boarding house in late 2025 after 150 years.

The source, whose name has been withheld, told The Chronicle parents, students and staff were alerted to the news on September 4, in a letter issued from college principal Sharon Collins.

“Our Year 10 cohort of boarders will be the last Year 12s to complete their boarding at McAuley House in its current form,” the letter to parents said.

“This has been a very difficult decision to arrive at and I imagine it may be a difficult time for many of our girls, particularly our boarders and their families.

“For me and members of our college leadership team, it has been a cause of much sadness as our girls and their futures lie so close to our own hearts.”

The letter stated the boarding house was no longer sustainable due to financial pressures.

While the closure will not directly impact the current Year 10, 11 and 12 boarders who will graduate before the residential centre closes, younger students currently enrolled at the school are less certain about their future at the school.

St Saviour's College Toowoomba has announced it will close the McAuley boarding house in late 2025.

A spokeswoman from the Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic Schools Office said there were 46 students currently residing in the boarding house, 21 of which are in Years 7-9.

“The College staff are personally supporting those families with students in Years 7-9 who will be impacted by the future closure of McAuley House,” the spokeswoman said.

“With over a two-year lead-in period to consider alternative educational opportunities, the College is developing a customised and personalised plan for each boarding student in consultation with parents and caregivers.

“Each family’s unique needs will be taken into consideration during this process and these plans will be enacted over the coming two-year period in this transition.

“The College staff have made contact with all families impacted and the response has largely been one of understanding.”

According to the Toowoomba school’s fee summary, families of Australian residential boarding students are charged more than $27,000 per student a year.

This is more than double the price of day students, with annual fees just over $6200.

Meanwhile the fees for international boarding students sit at almost $47,000.

These costs are also in addition to the enrolment application and confirmation of enrolment fees.

St Saviour's College principal Sharon Collins. Picture: supplied

The Chronicle asked the college and TCS to confirm the total cost to operate the boarding house each year, but both parties declined to comment on the specific figures, with the TCS spokeswoman revealing it would not be possible to increase the current fee structure.

“The decision to close the boarding house was made after conducting an extensive analysis and exploration of alternatives,” the spokeswoman said.

“Unfortunately, the current infrastructure and limited space, coupled with rising cost of living pressures, meant that substantial fee increases were not viable.”

The announcement comes after the school was awarded a grant of $277,000 from the National Indigenous Australians Agency for maintenance within the boarding house, with construction to start in December.

While the spokeswoman said the grant conditions were fully complied with, she did not specify what the building will be used for in the future and as of 2026.

“These much needed basic improvements will benefit boarders over the next two years,” the spokeswoman said.

“The immediate focus for McAuley House is to continue offering excellent levels of care to boarding students over the next two years.

“Following that, the College will embark on a review of the campus master plan.”

St Saviour's College Toowoomba has announced it will close the McAuley boarding house in late 2025.

The source who requested their name be withheld, said they were particularly concerned for international and rural students, as well as their families who they felt had been “let down”.

“The remaining girls aged 12, 13, 14 and 15, have been dealt an emotional bomb and now they don’t know what their future plans are for their education,” the source said.

“Some girls feel like they have no future (as) the majority of boarder families live remotely and there isn’t a local option for a decent high school.

“All of these wonderful young girls’ lives now have so much uncertainty (when) they should be playing sport, enjoying music, going home for the school holidays and generally having a good time.”

In the letter addressed to the school community, the college principal thanked the boarding staff for their support of the boarding students.

“I know the great gift that McAuley House has been for so many young women who have boarded here across many decades,” Ms Collins said.

“Boarding has always been such a central part of our work, and our beloved boarders have always provided a great energy that has enlivened the spirit of St Saviour’s College and have added so vibrantly to the College’s culture.”

Toowoomba Catholic Schools executive director of Toowoomba Catholic Schools Dr Patrick Coughlan.

Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic Schools executive director Dr Patrick Coughlan issued his own letter to members of the school community days prior, on September 1.

The letter said since the beginning of 2023, the TCS and school leadership teams had been reviewing the future of the boarding house.

Despite confirming the college had experienced a “remarkable” turnaround in enrolment growth, he said the decision was made to shut the boarding house “in spite of everyone’s best efforts”.

“St Saviour’s College has experienced a remarkable turnaround in the last five years and continues to go from strength to strength,” Dr Coughlan said.

“Enrolment growth and the developing college reputation as a high quality, inclusive Catholic college for girls point to a thriving future ahead.

“While boarding numbers too have increased, the increasing demands that come with providing specialist residential care, have been challenging, as it has with many boarding facilities across the country.”

Dr Coughlan said the timeline had been selected to allow senior students to complete their schooling at the college and allow the families of younger boarding students “to make future education decisions for their daughters”.

He said the focus of the college from the beginning of 2026, would be to operate as a day school for girls.

The college is offering additional counselling support to students as required.