Having grown up in Oaklands, the hustle and bustle of Kew in Melbourne’s inner suburbs was an exciting change of scenery.
“It’s very different here. We used to be a 15-minute drive away from the nearest town, and now I can go down the street and pick up what I need,” Caitlin explains.
As a boarder, the usual worries associated with starting Year 7, such as making friends and adjusting to different teachers, are also met with the challenge of being away from family for the first time. Caitlin felt a mix of emotions on her first night.
“The first night I was feeling nervous but excited. My roommate and I planned to wake up early in the morning to make sure we weren’t late to our first class.
“My primary school was really small – there were only 40 kids. I was worried that I would struggle to make friends in a big school because when it’s smaller, you have to meet everyone. But when you’re boarding, it’s really easy to make friends. We all have roommates, and we do fun stuff like movie nights and ‘family’ dinner.”
Six months on, and there is nowhere else Caitlin would rather be.
“At first, I was missing home a lot, although it was easier to settle in with my older sister already boarding here. I still get homesick sometimes, but I love boarding and meeting so many new friends,” Caitlin says.
“It’s also not as hectic with no boys around – they used to misbehave in class and made it hard to get anything done.”
MLC provides a breadth of learning, co-curricular and wellbeing opportunities to match every student’s interests. Caitlin takes full advantage of what’s on offer as part of boarding life.
“On Friday nights, we watch movies with the other girls. My favourite film so far was Encanto – afterwards it was basically like karaoke with everyone singing the songs,” she says.
“A couple of days a week, a team comes in to help us with our homework. Having a bit more of a schedule makes high school easier.
“I also play in two different netball teams, usually as Goal Defence or Wing Defence. It's really good to play in two teams because that means I can make more friends. Trainings are mostly before school, which is easier for me at the boarding house – I have a decent amount of time to get ready without needing to wake up too early.”
All boarding students at MLC live together in Tiddeman House on the Kew campus, where an exceptional culture of care is cultivated. MLC boarders develop the skills and knowledge they need to embrace challenges and opportunities in school and life.
Caitlin is part of a growing number of students starting secondary school in boarding with the Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA) 2022 Census showing a nationwide resurgence.
The 2022 census shows boarding students in Year 7 have increased by 24 per cent this year (1,925 in 2021 to 2,309 in 2022).
