Boarding FAQs

The Head of Boys Boarding and Head of Girls Boarding are supported by boarding mentors who share the role of Mentor-on-Duty each day. In conjunction with the Heads of Boarding, the daily Mentor-on-Duty is responsible for the running of the houses. There are 2 staff members on duty each weeknight and 1 staff member on duty on the weekend.

Rostered boarders support the daily Mentor-on-Duty with the organisation and implementation of the daily house routine.

Clarendon teachers and non-teaching staff from outside the school assist with the tutoring program.

For general enquiries, email is the best channel of direct communication with the Heads of Boarding.

For urgent communication, each boarding house has a mobile phone that the Mentor-on-Duty will monitor. These numbers are provided to all parents/guardians.

Our primary channel of communication is through our school platform, Hub. Hub is password protected and provides specific individual information such as online enrolment, payment of fees, school notices, reporting, student/teacher interview scheduling, co-curricular selections, school calendar, student care dashboard and teacher/student surveys.

Our school app provides general school updates and notices. These notices are also available on Hub.

We also recommend you follow our social media channels for general updates.

A variety of accommodation styles exist across both of our boarding houses to reflect the changing social and academic needs of the various year levels. Each boarder is provided with their own study desk, whiteboard, drawers, wardrobe space and bed.

The boys boarding house is located on the first floor of the main Clarendon building with the following
configuration:
• Boys in Years 7-10 in dormitory style accommodation with 2-5 boys per room
• Boys in Years 11-12 in single rooms, however, some have double rooms
• Common facilities include bathrooms, kitchenettes and lounge areas.

The girls boarding house is located in the Charles House and Dumbarton buildings with the following configuration:
• Girls in Years 7-8 in the front unit of Charles House with small rooms of 2 girls per room, common study area and lounge area
• Girls in Years 9-10 in Dumbarton in dormitory style accommodation with 2-5 girls per room
• Girls in Years 11-12 in Dumbarton in single rooms, however, some have double rooms
• Common facilities include bathrooms, kitchenettes and lounge areas.

We have 76 spaces in the girls boarding house and 74 spaces in the boys boarding house.

To assist with creating a clean, well-ordered living and workspace, we encourage students to be minimalists whilst in the boarding houses. All clothing and items must be in good repair, clearly named and not advertise offensive or inappropriate images or language. Unsuitable clothing will be sent home.

Compulsory general clothing includes:
• school uniform
• neat casual clothes
• bathers/shorts
• one formal outfit
• sun hat and sunglasses

Other requirements include:
• doona (no electric blankets allowed)
• pillow(s)
• single bed fitted sheet, doona cover and pillowcase x 3
• large towels x 2
• toiletries, including toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brush, hair products and personal soap etc.
• dressing gown/robe with tie (important for when moving from shower to room)
• slippers
• thongs
• laundry bag and detergent
• clothes basket/laundry hamper
• sewing kit (minor repairs)
• small backpack (for weekends)
• coat hangers
• power board
• extension cord
• alarm clock (mobile devices are not in rooms overnight)
• fan (recommended for summer months)
• bike helmet and lock (if applicable)
• photos and personal momentos

Yes, all meals are provided. Breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner are provided from Cafe@College kitchen area and eaten in the communal dining hall, Memorial Hall.

The food is prepared in a commercial kitchen, staffed by professional chefs and assistants. Boarders with special food and dietary requirements are catered for and staff supervise all meals.

We are committed to students leading a healthy lifestyle, so every endeavor is made to ensure that all boarders receive a balanced diet and sufficient quantity for healthy appetites.

While the standard expectation is that boarders should attend all mealtimes, a late meal can be requested if their commitments preclude them from attending the standard meal time.

Our boarding students eat their main meals in the communal dining hall. Please see the ‘Virtual tour of the boarding houses’ link at the bottom of this page for a tour of Café@College, kitchen and the dining hall.

Each house has a kitchen space equipped with a microwave, fridge, toaster and kettle that students may use for preparing beverages, snacks and supper. It is each boarder’s responsibility to wash utensils and clean up after themselves immediately after using the kitchen areas.

For all day and boarding students, mobile phones are to be placed in lockers and are not to be used or visible in any way between school hours of 8.40am and 3.20pm.

All boarders are required to hand in phones and/or any electronic devices prior to lights out. These are kept securely in the boarding house and students can collect their devices in the morning.

Students in Years 7-9 participate in the Notebook Computer Program. Students in Years 9-12 may bring their own machine for use on the school network in and out of class time. The Notebook Computer Protocol details these arrangements.

Wi-Fi is available within the boarding houses for educational purposes only.

Prep is an important part of our day. Commencing each weeknight at 5.40pm (Monday to Thursday), the main prep time is completed in a quiet, supervised classroom environment where students undertake their own homework in a group setting. To ensure all students perform to the best of their ability, no mobile phones, audible music or moving around is permitted. Whilst this is a structured and individual activity, help isn’t too far away with mentors and other boarders able to assist.

As a guide, the daily prep time (Sunday to Thursday night) expectations are:

Year level                 Prep time
Year 7 and 8            1 hour
Year 9                        1 hour 30 minutes
Years 10-12              2 hours

Second prep, primarily for older year levels and/or any outstanding work to be completed, would be completed in bedrooms with the door open and mobile phone placed outside of the room.

Permission to miss any part of prep can only be granted by the appropriate Head of Boarding and it must be for an exceptional reason. It is the responsibility of the student to ensure all homework is completed and to manage their time effectively over the course of the day.

Please see the ‘Daily life in the boarding house’ link at the bottom of this page for an overview of life as a boarder.

Boarders have free time from 3.20-5.30pm each school day afternoon (Monday to Thursday), after final prep (before lights out), and on the weekend. This free time can be utilised for co-curricular and social activities.

Street leave will be granted on weekdays after school or on weekends by the Mentor-on-Duty. Boarders must be back on campus by 5.15pm on weekdays and lunch and dinner times on weekends. For those students who cannot be back by this time due to co-curricular activities, communication with the Heads of Boarding is required.

All other leave requests such as medical appointments, social engagements and weekend leave are to be submitted by parents/guardians and approved by the Heads of Boarding through our Orah platform, by no later than the Wednesday prior to the leave. All leave is granted at the discretion of the Heads of Boarding.

When leaving and returning to the boarding house, every boarder must personally sign in and out with the Mentor-on-Duty. The safety of our boarders is supported by a strict rule that a boarder is not to leave the boarding house without requesting the appropriate form of leave and having this approved in a timely manner.

On weekends, street leave is granted in small blocks of time around lunch and evening meals. The overall timings for the weekend days are:

• 8.45-10am              Breakfast in boarding house
• 10am-12.30pm      Personal time
• 12.30-1.30pm         Lunch in Café@College. Boarding houses closed during this time.
• 1.30-6pm                 Personal time
• 6pm                          Dinner
• 7-8.30pm                Street leave permitted
• 10pm                        Years 7-8 – phone and devices handed in and lights out
• 10.30pm                  Years 9-10 – phone and devices handed in and lights out
• 10:30pm                  Year 11 – lights out
• 10.45pm                   Year 12 – lights out

A variety of weekend activities are planned throughout the year on selected Thursday and Sunday evenings as part of the Boarding House Cup Competition. Other optional activities such as trips to Geelong Waterpark and football matches at the MCG are offered throughout the year. These are based on demand and designed to keep costs to a minimum.

Yes, boarders can go home on the weekends. They may also stay with somebody who has been approved by parents/guardians and the school. Generally, weekend leave concludes at 5.30pm on a Sunday to allow boarders to attend prep and dinner.

There are two weekends throughout the year that are ‘closed weekends’, where weekend leave is not usually granted, and all boarders remain in the boarding houses. Staff and boarders organise and participate in a range of activities designed to strengthen the bonds of the boarding community.

Exeat weekends are long weekends. These generally happen once per term and the dates are published well in advance on our school timetable, Calendiary, which can be found on our school platform, Hub.

Based upon demand from parents/guardians, exeat and end-of-term buses will be arranged to assist boarding students to get home. On these weekends, all boarders must leave the boarding houses by 6pm. The boarding houses will reopen at 3pm on weekdays and 5pm on weekends after an exeat weekend.

Unless properly supervised by a teacher or Mentor-on-Duty, boarding students are not permitted to access or use any sporting, classroom, staff or school building.

Boys are not permitted to enter the girls boarding house and girls are not permitted to enter the boys boarding house.

As boarders are provided with all meals and snacks, a weekly allowance/spending money is not required. Should parents/guardians like to provide spending money, the suggested allowance is $15 per week but this is left to parent/guardian discretion.

The school takes no responsibility for managing these accounts and encourages parents/guardians to monitor the bank account of their child to ensure responsible banking habits.

If a large amount of money is required, this should be sent directly to the Head of Boarding and not given to the student.

Washing machines, dryers, irons and ironing boards are available for all boarders to do their own personal laundry. Access to the laundry is from 7-8am, 3.30-7pm and during prep break on weekdays and over the weekend.

Boarders are required to provide their own washing basket and laundry detergent.

Bed linen is washed weekly. All linen is to be placed in the appropriate carry bags. This will then be returned within 24 hours.

If a boarder becomes unwell during the day, our Health Centre will assist with assessment and suggested treatment. Clarendon’s Health Centre is available Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 3.30pm. Parents/guardians wishing to contact the Health Centre can phone 03 5330 8301 or email healthcentre@clarendon.vic.edu.au during office hours.

If a boarder is required to see a doctor, students will attend the UFS Medical Centre on Windermere Street, unless specified by a parent/guardian. Year 7 and 8 students will be accompanied by a Clarendon staff member. Students in Years 9-12 will have a taxi/uber organised as transport.

If outside of hours, the Heads of Boarding and Mentor-on-Duty will assist with the medical attention required.

All boarding students also have access to the support of our Wellbeing and Student Support team.

If a boarder has an illness for which there will be a considerable recovery time, complete rest is needed or an illness that requires medical exclusion from school, it is the expectation that their parent/guardian will come to collect and care for them.

If your child requires regular medicine, this should be given to the Head of Boarding with a completed Medical Administration Consent form for the Health Centre to store and administer.

Students requiring medicine to treat asthma, allergies, epilepsy, diabetes, heart conditions etc will need this to be documented by an Action Plan.

Yes, boarders can obtain casual/part-time employment while in the boarding house. Boarders can only work on weekends so as not to impact their studies and nightly routine. Boarders will need to ride their bike or arrange their own transportation and sign in and out of the boarding house with the Mentor-on-Duty to attend their casual/part-time employment.