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fers that often other boarding schools
don’t, is that the majority of its stu-
dents have single room which is ac-
tually quite uncommon. Where these
schools do have single room, it’s usu-
ally just for those in year 12. This does
depends on the mix of year groups and
the number of students, but most of
Canberra Grammar’s year nine and up-
ward boarding population have their
own rooms, and the few that don’t,
share with just one other person. Stu-
dents avoid the stereotypical boarding
style dormitories, and rest easy in their
single or double rooms. There are sep-
arate study spaces, private areas to
change, storage, Wi-Fi, common areas
for group and private study, relaxation
areas, three common rooms, the clinic
and a traditional old dining hall with a
very modern kitchen attached to it.
It’s not just these areas that make up
day-to-day life for the boarders. Enter-
tainment-wise, the school lets board-
ers make use of school swimming
pools and the gymnasium and it has
provided things like table tennis table
and pool table. Simple touches, but
representative of the enjoyable, home-
ly living environment, atmosphere and
culture the school is trying to create
through its boarding.
Don’t lose it
“I strongly believe that as soon as
you think you’ve got everything sort-
ed, that’s the time you start to lose
your edge. Here, we’re in a state of
constantly trying to do things the best
way we can for our students,” admits
Downey. Through regular surveys, par-
ents committees, staff development
and open channels for feedback, the
school is always comfortable uncom-
fortable with itself, and always happy
to change and adapt to continue on its
steady, successful path through board-
ing excellence.