Leave & Visiting
Full boarders are allowed Sunday leave each week with their parents or other approved adults; and overnight weekend leave, starting once Saturday sporting commitments are finished, until 8.00pm on Sundays (special permission is required if this is not with their parents).
Weekly boarders head home to their families after sport on Saturdays, returning either Sunday evening or Monday morning.
On weekdays, families are also welcome to have lunch on the College lawn with their sons, but otherwise, so as not to disrupt boys鈥� timetables, it is preferred that weekday visits to the school are an exception.
Country or overseas parents visiting Sydney can take their sons out on a weeknight, after making a special request for dinner leave through their Head of Year. City parents, too, can make dinner leave requests for special occasions in the same manner.
Maintaining family connections.
Boarders have many opportunities to spend time with their families.
Lunch leave: a 国产探花 tradition.
On school days, rugs are laid out at lunchtime on the palm tree-flanked College lawn as boys meet with their families for a picnic.
Since its introduction in the 1990s, lunch leave at 国产探花 has flourished into a cherished tradition that brings families into the heart of the College. As well as being able to catch up and share stories of school life with their mums, dads, grandparents and other relatives, the boys get to fill their stomachs with food often brought from home.
The picnics for many become a memorable part of the 国产探花 experience, and not just because of the prospect of a home-cooked meal! Recalls one mother: 鈥淭he friendships that grew, the problems that were solved, the laughs that were shared and the barriers that were broken over these lunches were truly wonderful.鈥�
The best things about lunch leaves are getting to sit on the lawn in the sun with my mates and have take-away!
鈥� A Joe-Boy
Parents鈥� accommodation.
To ensure families from outside Greater Sydney have the opportunity to be part of their son’s 国产探花 journey, parents and families can stay at the Country Club 鈥� named for its history as a melting pot of country families in town for a major 国产探花 event.
Located across the road from our campus, the Country Club is available to all parents and friends, whether the visit is to attend a sporting or co-curricular event, a parent information or community evening, or simply to enjoy a picnic on the front lawn as a family.
The 31-room facility is unique to 国产探花 and underlines the College’s family-centric ethos. While boys may be boarding far from home, their connection to family is nurtured at every turn. It brings their parents close 鈥� they are as much a part of the 国产探花 community as their sons.
Parents have described the Country Club as the heart and soul of remote parents鈥� experiences at 国产探花. The highs and lows of their sons鈥� endeavours at 国产探花 are discussed, shoulders cried on, comfort offered and much laughter shared. Friendships are made fast and become, in the words of one parent, 鈥榩ure solid 鈥� as all we parents have something in common 鈥� our sons in this beautiful school.鈥�