Boarding

A comfortable living environment with a family atmosphere and a quiet place to work while studying away from home.

Our boarders enter a welcoming, family community where they are supported by a team of skilled and caring staff.

Bruce House, our small and friendly hostel on the College campus is set in beautifully landscaped gardens with superb views of the Tamaki Estuary.

It offers boarding facilities for both boys and girls from Years 9 to 13 (ages 13-18). Our boarders enjoy of one of the best boarding facilities for boys and girls in New Zealand.

Originally opened for boys' boarding over 60 years ago, the accommodation was extensively upgraded in recent times to include a modern facility catering for a rapidly growing number of girls. This was further extended as the demand for girls’ boarding places grew. Our boarders can now boast on one of the best boarding facilities for boys and girls in New Zealand.

Full term boarding is available. The Duty Staff are caring, highly experienced teaching staff within the College who understand the special needs of students living and studying away from home. 

Our boarders come from as far afield as Germany, the Solomon Islands and China. Some are from rural homes in New Zealand, and some simply live too far across Auckland for daily access by bus. Many choose to live at Bruce House to avoid daily commuting or to take advantage of before and after school co-curricular commitments.

They enter a very special, close knit community and become involved with many facets of College life; they tend to be active participants in the many sporting and cultural activities on offer.

Academically, the boarders have real advantages.

Prep time each evening provides a supervised ‘quiet’ time for homework and study, and House Tutors are available to assist boarders with their work. For many, this makes a significant difference to their learning progress.

Further assistance is also available for international students for whom English is a second language. For parents who make a positive choice to send their children away for a quality education, boarding school can be very rewarding. Boarders become part of an extended ‘family’ when they enter Bruce House.

History of Bruce House

The Bruce House, named after Reverend David Bruce, a Presbyterian Minister in Auckland from 1853 to 1877, opened in 1954 with 45 boys.

Today's boarders have their predecessors to thank for much of the landscaping. Throughout  the fifties, the boarders were organised to expend their energy digging gardens, laying paths and providing a ready source of labour for much of the development around the College.

In 2011, the biggest change in 57 years occurred when girls were welcomed into the boarding house. The girls have a modern lodge with a homely welcoming atmosphere and beautiful views of the Pakuranga campus and the Tamaki Estuary extending out to Rangitoto island.

Just as brothers and sisters spend time together at home, so our girls and boys eat their meals together, socialise and support each other in their many endeavours.