Boarding Life

As a residential school since 1931, the St Ursula’s College boarding community remains at the heart of the College. 

St Ursula’s Boarding offers a sense of belonging and provides experiences that offer richness and cultural diversity. We aim to support each girl to learn, to grow, and to develop friendships for life. In essence, to make boarding a positive choice, not simply a function of distance. 

Our Boarding community is small enough to enable students to experience long lasting relationships with students and staff. We provide an environment in which each girl is nurtured and offered opportunities for growth and development across a range of areas. 

The College endeavours to make boarding life ‘home-like’ in a residential setting, where girls can grow in an atmosphere of respect and maturity. To ensure this, the Merici Care Model focuses on the development of each students sense of connections, achievement, responsibility and emotional awareness.

Did you know that we offer weekly and casual boarding? 

To meet the needs of busy families and establish strong study habits, we offer our families the opportunity to book their daughter into weekly or casual boarding. This provides the convenience of 24/7 care and also academic structures that support learning and facilitate wellbeing through structured and non-structured recreational activities. 

A boarding experience sleepover

Some students like to try boarding before committing to it. To support this, we offer a Boarding Sleepover. To enquire, contact our Registrar via sucenrolment@st-ursula.qld.edu.au 

Our Boarding experience is award-winning  

In 2023, our school proudly received the national award for Boarding School of the Year. This esteemed recognition highlights the excellence of our Boarding program and the outstanding leadership of our Head of Boarding. In 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024, St Ursula’s College has been awarded an Australian Education National Boarding School of the Year Excellence Award in recognition of the quality, caring and dedicated environment we provided for our residential students. St Ursula’s College is the only school in the Toowoomba and Darling Downs region to receive this accolade for two consecutive years, and it is something we are extremely proud of!

Brescia House Family Values  

Angela Merici once said ‘You will accomplish more by kind words and a courteous manner.’ 

• Assist each student to reach their full potential and to fully endorse the values of the Ursuline’s and of Angela Merici through Serviam; 

• Encouraging service as a way to teach the youth of today to embrace their communities and to use their ideas and selflessness to make a difference in their world; 

• Kindness and compassion are reinforced throughout the ethos of boarding, ensuring each girl values their gifts and talents and most importantly themselves; 

• Each boarder is known and their individuality has a place within the College; 

• Respect for others and themselves is paramount; 

• Continuing to offer innovative learning experiences through one-on-one tutoring, group exercises and extended study periods for those who need it; 

• Through sport, community service, and opportunities to work, the development of life long skills and a sense of responsibility are established; 

• Creating an environment that actively encourages the development of resilience and a high standard of professionalism and personal care so that each student can progress towards a happy, engaged, and meaningful future; 

• With the support from past and present families, the College’s profile will be raised, ensuring the addition of more girls into our boarding family through strong communication, service, and drawing connections to the wider community; 

• Establishing a sense of family, acceptance and community within the boarding house, ensuring that each girl enjoys being in a safe environment, where everyone is valued and it is a place where they want to return to. 

Our Country Heart 

“Our Country Heart” is an entrepreneurial project that aims to give boarders developing skills through: 

• Initiating a small business from the Brescia House;  

• Developing Entrepreneurial Skills & Experience;  

• Identifying and marketing a product;  

• Learning about Financial Literacy;  

• The importance of packaging and promotional advertising;  

• And most importantly, how to become self-sufficient strong young women.  

We recognise that this initiative a great team building exercise for boarders whilst also giving them the confidence to discover and explore many new skills. This is another great way our boarding community ensures all girls are motivated and encouraged, by our dedicated and caring staff. 

Weekend Activities

Many girls are involved in sports and other extra-curricular activities. This generally takes place on Saturday mornings. Our students are transported to their weekend activities by our friendly staff. We also provide many great activities such as themed nights, fitness, excursions to Brisbane, pool activities, and other recreational activities to foster connections, communication, and collaboration. 

The Boarding community strives to provide boarders with opportunities to experience all aspects of life, just as they would if living at home. Each term a program of activities is created to enable the girls to: 

• To know each other;  

• Interact with students from other South-East Queensland Boarding schools;  

• Foster a healthy attitude towards fun and fitness;  

• Provide them with an array of activities in their out-of-school time such as themed nights, fitness, excursions to Brisbane, pool activities, and other recreational activities to foster connections, communication, and collaboration. 

Dining room and meals

The dining room allows the girls to enjoy each other’s company during mealtime. A friendly, respectful atmosphere provides a real opportunity for conversations. A professional catering team prepares all meals onsite in our commercial kitchen. All special dietary requirements are catered for by discussing your daughter’s needs with the Head of Boarding. We encourage the girls to be aware of their personal health and to try and maintain a good balance in their lives. Boarding House food is nutritious and well balanced. We advise the girls to eat plenty of fresh fruit and drink lots of water and exercise regularly to maintain good health.