After School Hours

Boarders have a number of options at end of the school day. To aid in their organization and academic development, all boys will complete two hours of supervised prep from Sunday to Thursday. They have a few choices on when they complete this prep so that they can fit it around their after school sports training. When they don’t have co-curricular responsibilities, the boys can elect to go to straight to prep in the library for two hours, or they can go to the gym or pool for an hour, followed by an hour of prep before dinner and another hour after dinner- this is termed ‘split prep’.

When not at prep, the boys usually return back to the boarding house for down time between 6:30 and 8:30 PM.

On Thursdays the boys traditionally participate in ‘games night’ after an hour of prep. They can always stay in the library if they have additional work to complete. On Thursdays we also hold our house meetings to finalise weekend leave, announcements and notices. They boys often wish to make a speech or host the occasional trivia quiz.

Back at the house the boys have a range of leisure options from table tennis, tennis, basketball, a variety of computer game consoles, Foxtel, Apple TV, cards, chess and music hall or they can simply relax in the comfort of their own space.

Our routines are designed to help the boarders get the most out of the opportunities offered at Newington. We provide a number of options for the boys after school to give them variety and freedom of choice and to help them feel comfortable and at home.

Academic development is our primary focus in boarding. Our routines and structures exist to provide the boys with the academic support they need in the long and short term. Our system supports the boys to plan assessments and manage several tasks at a time and helps them to overcome challenges in their latest units of work.

Our boarding staff are experienced academic tutors across a variety of fields. Each staff member is available at least two evenings a week to provide support as required. In addition, boarders have access to ‘Study Hall’ in the library from 3:30 – 5:00 PM.

Private tutoring can also be arranged according to the process below:

• Any person wishing to come into the Boarding House to do tutoring needs to complete a ‘Working with Children’ check. The necessary forms are available here.
• Tutors must be met and signed in at arrival by the Mentor-On-Duty.
• Organising tutors, including arrangements for payment, is the responsibility of the boarder and his family.

The Boarding House is partnered with NRMA who understand the difficulties faced by boarders who need to learn to drive. Because of this, they are offering a package deal including driving lessons and safe driving education sessions.

All boarders are expected to participate in the College’s Sports program as required. This includes attending before/after school training sessions and involvement in weekend fixtures.

Most boys train two afternoons per week from 3:30 PM – 5:15 PM and compete in organised fixtures on Saturdays, with optional on-site training sessions from 7:00 AM – 8:00 AM.

These training sessions are held at College facilities or external venues. Newington College bus services run to and from most offsite venues.

On Saturdays, students are encouraged to support ‘local’ games that are taking place, particularly where other boarders are involved. We encourage the boys to support each other in their goals and achievements.