Destination Boarding

What happens when keeping your children at school means living apart from your husband and leaving the community you call home? For Camooweal mum of three Haylie Hill, that question became a practical decision about what her family could afford. After a prolonged wet season disrupted their contracting income, the cost of boarding and travelling to see the children became increasingly difficult to...

Willa Arantz loved boarding school as a girl. When her son Eddie began his own boarding journey, she hoped he would find the same friendships, independence and sense of belonging. During his first term, her father died. An MRI the following day found a brain tumour, with later biopsy results confirming cancer. Around her surgery, the family also lost their beloved dog and learnt they would have to...

What does raising and educating eight children look like when home is a sheep station in far western New South Wales and your nearest town is two hours away? For Sarah Harris, it's simply life. Sarah and her husband Rhys are raising their eight children in the outback. Three daughters are now at boarding school, three children are learning through Broken Hill School of the Air and two little b...

Laura Wilson loved boarding school. Thinking about sending her own children is proving a little more emotional. A mum of six, nurse by trade and partner to Jake in their Quilpie transport business, Laura joins Amanda for a warm, funny and very relatable conversation about country childhoods, family life and the opportunities we want for our children. From growing up around Walgett to boarding at F...

In this episode of  Letters from Home , Amanda speaks with Jackson Dowling, a Registered Nurse, Midwife and Flight Nurse with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, based in Dubbo. Growing up in Port Macquarie, Jackson was beginning to disengage from school when he decided to apply for a scholarship to attend The Scots College in Sydney. His first application was unsuccessful. Encouraged by a trusted me...

What happens when boarding school isn't simply about accessing a broader education, but about opening opportunities for a child that may be difficult to access at home? In this episode of Letters from Home , Amanda talks with Heidi Shoecraft, who came to Australia from Denmark as a 19-year-old agricultural exchange student and built a life with her husband Derek and their three children near T...

In this episode of Letters from Home , Amanda sits down with Jess Redfern, founder of SAVVI the Label, entrepreneur, mum of three little ones and former boarder, for a warm and wonderfully colourful conversation about opportunity, independence, motherhood and backing yourself. Jess shares the remarkable story of deciding in Year 8 that she wanted to go to boarding school, sitting her parents down...

What does boarding school really look like when home is a station north of Alice Springs and school is in Toowoomba? In this episode of Letters from Home , Amanda talks with Sally Muenster, a qualified teacher, mother of four and, with husband Dan, owner and manager of Yambah Station. After fourteen years on a property north of Bourke, Sally and Dan followed a long-held dream and moved their famil...

How does a city girl from inner Melbourne become a farmer's wife in Central West NSW? In this episode of  Letters From Home , Amanda Ferrari sits down with Georgie Cavanagh, co-founder of luxury Australian linen brand Carlotta & Gee, to explore the unexpected journey that began with what was meant to be, one year at boarding school. Together they discuss: Georgie's Year 9 boarding expe...

What happens when a six-month adventure turns into a lifetime? In this episode, Amanda sits down with Prue Ritchie , General Manager of Bourke's Preschool and Long Day Care Centre, Barwon Woman of the Year and mother of three boarding school students. Prue shares the remarkable story of arriving in Bourke as a teenage governess, falling in love with both the community and the man she would mar...

What happens when you take a sport traditionally associated with city rivers, school boat sheds and fiercely competitive regattas - and put it in the middle of the Australian outback? You get something that is about far more than rowing. In this episode of Letters from Home , Amanda speaks with farmer, former Brisbane Grammar boarder and President of Outback Rowing Australia, David Counsell. David...

Kaitie Nash – The Life She Never Planned Most people know Kaitie Nash as ‘First Time Farmer’ - the funny, warm and wonderfully unfiltered woman sharing the realities of learning to farm alongside her husband Will. But farming wasn't part of Kaitie's original plan. A one-way ticket from Perth to Darwin was supposed to be a three-month adventure. Instead, shemet Will, stayed for eleven years...

What happens when a young woman from the Gold Coast discovers her purpose in the heart of rural Australia? In this episode of Letters from Home , Amanda Ferrari sits down with teacher, ICPA advocate and researcher Hannah Calcino , whose journey from city life to Winton has been shaped by one unwavering belief - that every child deserves equitable access to education, regardless of where they live....

Kate Brow only spent one year boarding at school, but the lessons she learned during that experience continue to influence her life today. In this episode of Letters from Home, Kate shares how a unique boarding-style year helped build confidence, resilience and lifelong friendships before leading her on an unexpected journey from Geelong to life on a family farm in the Snowy Mountains. Kate also s...

Can a rural school principal believe deeply in country education while also choosing boarding school for his own children? This week, Amanda sits down with Brett Wilkie, principal of a small rural primary school in Western Australia, to explore one of the most complex conversations facing rural Australia. As both an educator and a parent, Brett shares the emotional reality of weighing up education...

Growing up in the small Queensland community of Condamine, Maddie Morgan always knew boarding school would be part of her story. What she didn't know was how profoundly those years would shape her future. Today Maddie is an agribusiness lawyer specialising in succession planning, estate planning and tax structuring. She works closely with farming families across Australia and is passionate abo...

We'reWatching You: A Coastal Family's Boarding School Journey When Katie and Dan Toney left careers in television journalism to run a holiday park in the tiny coastal community of Seal Rocks, boarding school wasn't part of the plan. In fact, it wasn't even on their radar. But as their children approached high school, long daily bus journeys, limited local options and a growing real...

You Just Make It Work - OneMum's Journey Through Loss, Boarding School and Bush Resilience What happens when the life you planned changesin an instant? For Sophie Elliott, the answer has been onestep at a time. Born and raised on a cattle station outsideWinton, Sophie grew up learning through the School of Distance Education beforeheading away to boarding school herself. Years later, she found...

In Part Two, Amanda and Annabel continue their conversation, exploring academic struggles, learning support, friendships, confidence and the lessons boarding school taught that continue to shape Annabel's life today. Now a paediatric occupational therapist and business owner, Annabel shares practical advice for parents and new boarders, along with insights into how children process change, unc...

Over the years I've interviewed hundreds of parents, educators, boarding staff and former boarders. I've spent countless hours talking about homesickness, transition, resilience and what it means to send your child away from home. But today I'm sitting down with someone whose story I've never really explored. My daughter, Annabel. Now that sounds a bit ridiculous when you say it ou...

As we continue travelling throughout regional New South Wales and Queensland for our Boarding Schools Expo events, we’re revisiting some of the conversations from the vault that continue to resonate deeply with families researching boarding school. This week’s episode with Amy Clark is one of those conversations. Amy is a rural mum of three boys living between Walcha and Bendemeer in northern NSW....

As we continue our From the Vault series while travelling for our face-to-face Boarding Schools Expo events, this week we’re revisiting a conversation that feels especially meaningful in the lead-up to our Wagga Boarding Schools Expo. Sarah Ryan lives with her family on a Merino stud at Quandialla, not too far from Wagga, where she also runs her much-loved creative business, Quandialla Candle Co....

As we continue our From the Vault series while travelling for our face-to-face Boarding Schools Expo events, this week’s episode feels especially timely. We’re revisiting my conversation with Robert Bevern from Dubbo on the eve of our 2026 Dubbo Boarding Schools Expo - because Robert’s family story began at this very event. Boarding school had never really been on the radar for Robert, his wife Tr...

While we’re travelling across regional Australia for our face-to-face Boarding Schools Expo events, we’re opening the vault and revisiting some of our favourite past conversations - the ones that still offer reassurance, perspective and encouragement for families considering boarding school. This week’s episode with Lisa Green from Dubbo is one of those conversations. When Lisa first joined me on...

As we hit the road again for our face-to-face Boarding Schools Expo events, we’re dipping into the vault over the next few weeks to share some of our favourite past episodes - the ones that still speak so clearly to why we do this work and why these conversations matter. This week’s episode is one of those. It features Angie Nisbet, who many of you will remember from our Mount Isa event in 2024. A...