Canberra Grammar School

Genuine support Another major focus for CGS Board- ing, is developing cross-generational relationships between the students. Specifically, having older students leading, mentoring and guiding the younger ones. Not just in an academ- ic sense, but in their conduct and their behaviour, connecting them through sports training, and other similar pro- gram schemes. Downey explained: “We’re trying to get that feeling that the older students aren’t in charge because of some an- cient kind of hierarchy, but that they’re there to lead by example.” And for the staff it’s the same. The school tries to make sure that everything they do is from that posi- tion of caring for students, and not just for the sake of keeping them in check. Trying to make the boarding environ- ment a positive one is one of the hard- est things for all boarding institutions. This is a place where students spend more time with staff than at home. “Thirty-seven to thirty-eight weeks a year, they’re a boarder, fourteen to fif- teen they’re at home,” Downey tells us. “It’s hard work, and it’s intense, but we’re doing our best to create an at- mosphere of homeliness and comfort and an environment which feels open and caring not necessarily an institu- tion.” The school also encourages its stu- dents to encompass this open, car- ing culture into their own natures and