Boarding Schools – Northern Territory

There’s no denying that as a parent you want only the best for your children in all walks of life – not least of all when it comes to their education. It is perhaps for this reason that boarding schools in Darwin and Alice Springs, known for their support of the whole education of the child, continue to gain popularity. 

How do you choose the right boarding school for your child?

Over the last 15+ years we have helped over 10,000 children on their journey to find a boarding school. We’ve found that the answer to this question largely depends on your personal preferences. Location, facilities, student activities, scholarships and school fees are just some of the important factors.

Picking the right boarding school for your child is by no means an easy task. But you can make the whole exercise a bit more methodical and manageable if you run through these important factors:

• Location—Is it near where you, or extended family or friends live ?
• Fees—Does it fit into your budget?
• Look at whether there might be scholarships or bursaries available
• Religious affiliation—Is it in line with your religious beliefs?
• Extracurricular activities—Does it offer hobbies or sports my child is interested in?
• Boarding facilities—Will my child be comfortable living there?

Consider this directory your go-to guide for everything you need to know about boarding school options in the Northern Territory, from its secondary schools, to its co-educational independent institutions to its Christian colleges.

To help you decide what’s best for your child (and your family) we have developed a checklist of questions to consider.

Search Boarding Schools in the Northern Territory

Use our search filter to narrow down your choices and click through to school profiles to discover more about what they offer.

What really makes a boarding school different from a day school?

Apart from the obvious switch from a live-at-home to live-on-campus arrangement, it’s what boarding schools in Darwin teach outside the classroom that really sets them apart from other NT schools. 

Social maturity 

Living separately from their parents and among a diverse group of individuals, students tend to mature more quickly. Constant interaction with their peers who are going through the same experiences forges a great sense of community and social cohesion.

With boarding schools in the Northern Territory open to students both domestic and international, boarders come to appreciate the value of cultural diversity. Part of social maturity is being able to embrace individual differences, a virtue that students naturally come to learn within boarding confines of NT schools.

Capacity to learn new things

Boarding schools in the Northern Territory typically offer numerous extracurricular activities from sports, hiking and other outdoor activities, to arts, crafts, cooking and more. When a child discovers they can do something they previously thought they couldn’t, they gain confidence and begin to realise their innate potential. 

Personal growth

Everything a boarding student learns and experiences inside and outside the classroom contributes to their personal growth. They develop problem solving skills, time management skills and a formidable work ethic, among other things—all while under the guidance of qualified teachers and administrators.

Boarding schools – Darwin: Are they hard to get into?

Boarding schools in Darwin can certainly become fully booked quite quickly and that’s why it’s important to make your decision and enrol your child as early as possible. Much of this owing to the fact that as independent schools, they maintain smaller class sizes, allowing students to enjoy more individual attention from their highly qualified educators.

What age should I send my child to boarding school?

A Darwin boarding school can be a bit more challenging for younger kids, in many instances due to where you live you may have no alternative.  Safe to say there is really no hard and fast answer to this question. As such, it’s best practice to contact the NT schools you’re interested in to hear about their admission policies as well as their counselling and support services both for students and parents. Most boarding schools in Australia don’t accept boarders until Year 7 – there are a few that offer primary school aged boarding.

How much does it cost to send a child to a boarding school in Darwin?

Boarding schools in Darwin charge differently depending on what they offer. If you already have a list of independent schools in mind, you might want to contact each one of them to compare.