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orking in boarding is a hugely rewarding job but it can be tough and that’s largely around student wellbeing. The girls are coping with not just boarding and being a teenager, but with devices and social media and all that brings with it. It’s a minefield but it is these girls’ life – they have never known anything different. We’re constantly trying to stay on top of these really topical issues, like vaping and mental health, but it’s something every school is grappling with. We have a big pastoral care team, so a range of people the girls can tap into for support. I tell the girls quite often that I treat them no differently to my own children, and I do genuinely care for each and every one of them. I was born in Havelock North and went to Woodford House as a day girl. I got married in the chapel there, and now
I live and teach there. My eldest daughter Madeleine starts at the school this year, and my husband Duncan is head groundsman! After I left college I did a gap year in the UK, working at Holmewood House prep school in Kent, before going on to do a bachelor’s degree in physical education and science with honours at Greenwich University. I met Duncan at Holmewood – he was a PE teacher there. We came back to New Zealand to get married, then returned to England, where I worked at Sevenoaks School, a top private senior co-ed school in Kent for seven years. I taught PE, health and science, and co-managed Sennocke House, one of the girls’ boarding houses. We moved back to Havelock North when I was pregnant with Madeleine – we now have four beautiful children, Harvey (16), Madeleine (13), Freddie (11) and Lily (8) – and I’ve been director of boarding since 2017. Some people probably think it’s a little overboard, and to be honest, I never dreamed I’d be back at my old school doing what I’m doing! We live in the old principal’s Kelly and Duncan wed at the school and now live on the premises with their kids (from left) Lily, Madeleine, Harvey and Freddie (front). Kelly (below right, seated third from the left) is also an old girl.
house. The kids love it, but also I don’t believe you can truly do this job well without being right there on site. Dame Kate Harcourt was a boarder here in the 1940s. I get goosebumps thinking about where the school is now. In her day, boarding schools were considered cold and regimented, but that’s all been flipped on its head. There’s a far more collaborative relationship between teacher and student, rather than that dictatorial old style. There’s a really positive culture here and there are immense opportunities for the girls. Boarding is a lot more flexible than it was. These days the girls are only required to stay in for so many weekends, whereas they used to only be allowed out a certain number of weekends per term. Like all boarding schools, we get the odd girl who’s quite homesick at the beginning of the year, but we have an exceptional wellbeing programme, so they’re not homesick for long. In fact, a lot of girls end up not wanting to go home at weekends! I’m really honest with the parents – sometimes it will be harder on them, because once the girls get a bit of a routine and get to know everyone, staying here is fun! Do they still sneak out at night? No! We’ve had girls go on leave who haven’t come back on time, but they don’t actively jump out of windows
as I’m sure they used to! We have an electronic system for signing in and out. We run a high-trust model in boarding and I like to think the girls are where they are meant to be at the right time, doing what they are meant to be doing. We contract a catering company to provide meals. The menu is put up on a TV screen in the dining room so the girls can see what’s for breakfast, lunch and dinner across the week. It’s all pretty high-end, so definitely not the stodge it used to be. Duncan grew up in the English boarding school system, so he hates pudding now! There’s no typical boarder, they’re from all backgrounds. Certainly when I worked in the UK there were some that you might call ‘jetsetting’ parents – they were in banking and the oil industry – but that’s definitely not the case here. There’s a real misconception that boarding schools are for wealthy families, but boarding is for everyone nowadays.” # As told to Julie Jacobson
