Grammar Gazette- Issue 2, 2010

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Miss Mackay with the Boarders at the front of the School

COMMUNITY ALTHOUGH THE SCHOOL WAS FOUNDED IN 1875, IT IS SOMEWHAT UNCERTAIN AS TO WHEN BOARDERS FIRST BECAME PART OF THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY. IT SEEMS THAT JANET O’CONNOR, THE FIRST LADY PRINCIPAL, APPLIED TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE SCHOOL TO TAKE BOARDERS INTO HER OWN HOME, BUT HER REQUEST WAS REFUSED BECAUSE OF THE PRESENCE OF HER HUSBAND AND SONS. WHAT THE EVIDENCE DOES SUPPORT, HOWEVER, IS THAT WHEN THE SCHOOL MOVED TO ITS CURRENT SITE ON GREGORY TERRACE IN 1884, BOARDERS WERE ENROLLED AND ACCOMMODATED WITHIN SPECIALLY DESIGNED DORMITORIES. UNTIL 2002, THE SCHOOL’S DISTINCTIVE MAIN BUILDING REMAINED THE HOUSE TO CONTINUOUS GENERATIONS OF BOARDERS.

Boarders Outing 1935

Successive headmistresses continued this caring and supervisory traditional until the 1960s when some principals lived away from the Boarding House. But, to understand the life of a boarder, it is perhaps best to read the stories they wrote about themselves in the School Magazine. The tone and content is representative of their times and reflects how the School responded to those special moments in history. Towards the end of the twentieth century, the trustees decided it was no longer feasible to retain the Boarding House. It was with much regret and with a great deal of sadness that the decision was taken to close the House.

Small insights into boarding conditions can be found in the 1884 regulations issued by Miss Beanland. For girls over 12 years of age the fee was 18 guineas, while students under 12 years of age paid 17 guineas. By comparison, day students paid only 4 guineas and 3 guineas respectively. Boarding, therefore, was an expensive business. To reduce costs, the trustees usually expected the headmistress to live in as part of her responsibilities that is, she was not only expected to organise the Day School, but also to be accountable for the after hours and weekend activities of the boarders. No small feat. In today’s parlance, the headmistress was expected to work 24/7.

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