The Boarding School Question So Many Rural Parents Ask - Amy Clark’s Honest Education Journey
Letters From HomeShow Notes
As we continue travelling throughout regional New South Wales and Queensland for our Boarding Schools Expo events, we’re revisiting some of the conversations from the vault that continue to resonate deeply with families researching boarding school. This week’s episode with Amy Clark is one of those conversations. Amy is a rural mum of three boys living between Walcha and Bendemeer in northern NSW. But unlike many boarding school families, Amy did not grow up in the boarding world herself. She grew up in Sydney before agriculture, nursing and family life led her to rural Australia. What unfolds in this episode is such an honest reflection of the questions many rural and regional parents quietly wrestle with. What happens when there actually is a local high school nearby… but you still wonder whether your children might need broader opportunities? How do you weigh up community loyalty, logistics, sport, subject choices, friendships and future pathways? And how do you navigate a boarding school system when you have no lived experience of it yourself? Amy speaks openly about the research process, attending boarding school expos, touring schools, trying to find the right fit for three very different boys, and the importance of connection, belonging and community within a school environment. She also touches on something many rural families understand deeply - the juggle of parenting largely solo during busy farming seasons, the exhaustion of long-distance logistics, and the reality that sometimes boarding school becomes less about prestige and more about sustainability for the whole family. This is a warm, thoughtful and incredibly reassuring conversation for families currently exploring their options. Especially those wondering if it’s okay to consider boarding school even when a local option exists.
More from Letters From Home
What does raising and educating eight children look like when home is a sheep station in far western New South Wales and your nearest town is two hours away? For Sarah Harris, it's simply life. Sarah and her husband Rhys are raising their eight children in the outback. Three daughters are now at boarding school, three children are learning through Broken Hill School of the Air and two little boys are still at home. In this episode of Letters from Home, Sarah takes Amanda inside the extraordinary logistics of remote motherhood. They talk about the purpose-built schoolroom across the paddock, employing governesses, the realities of School of the Air and the term Sarah found herself back in the schoolroom with a newborn baby. Sarah also shares why she committed to driving into Mildura each week so her children could participate in sport and how that investment paid dividends years later when her daughters arrived at boarding school with confidence, sporting skills and an immediate way to connect. And then there is boarding itself. Sarah speaks candidly about how hard it was when her eldest daughter first left home, why it has felt different with the daughters who followed, and the confidence and independence she can now see growing in her girls. It's a warm and wonderfully understated conversation about the things remote mothers simply get on with, the opportunities they work incredibly hard to create and the complicated business of raising children to eventually leave you. LINKS The Boarding School Collective boardingschoolco.com.au Follow Sarah and her family's outback life on Instagram @6.little.wildflowers Broken Hill School of the Air @brokenhill_schooloftheair
Laura Wilson loved boarding school. Thinking about sending her own children is proving a little more emotional. A mum of six, nurse by trade and partner to Jake in their Quilpie transport business, Laura joins Amanda for a warm, funny and very relatable conversation about country childhoods, family life and the opportunities we want for our children. From growing up around Walgett to boarding at Fairholme in Toowoomba, Laura reflects on lifelong friendships, parents who worked tirelessly to make it possible, and the goodbye hugs that had everyone in tears. Now raising her own family in outback Queensland, she’s beginning to consider what boarding might look like from the other side. When Saturday sport can mean a 600-kilometre return trip with six children for two ten-minute games, access to opportunity takes on a whole new meaning. We chat about: Growing up with four siblings, motorbikes and room to roam.
In this episode of Letters from Home, Amanda speaks with Jackson Dowling, a Registered Nurse, Midwife and Flight Nurse with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, based in Dubbo. Growing up in Port Macquarie, Jackson was beginning to disengage from school when he decided to apply for a scholarship to attend The Scots College in Sydney. His first application was unsuccessful. Encouraged by a trusted mentor, he applied again and was awarded the opportunity that would change the direction of his life. Jackson speaks candidly about the culture shock of arriving at boarding school in Year 10, the academic ground he needed to make up and his decision to accept every piece of support available to him. He shares the importance of “embracing the suck factor”, digging in when things are difficult and learning that confidence often comes after we have proved to ourselves that we can persevere. We also discuss Jackson’s Aboriginal identity, the connections and questions boarding school encouraged him to explore, and the privilege he now feels serving rural, remote and Indigenous communities through his work. Today, Jackson is completing postgraduate studies in clinical paramedic practice. With nursing, midwifery, emergency medicine and aeromedical retrieval already behind him, his story is a powerful reminder that opportunities matter, but so does what we choose to do with them. Applying for a boarding scholarship and being turned down
What happens when boarding school isn't simply about accessing a broader education, but about opening opportunities for a child that may be difficult to access at home? In this episode of Letters from Home, Amanda talks with Heidi Shoecraft, who came to Australia from Denmark as a 19-year-old agricultural exchange student and built a life with her husband Derek and their three children near Theodore in Central Queensland. Heidi shares the family's introduction to boarding school and the very different questions they faced when considering boarding for their daughter Maia, who has mild cerebral palsy affecting the left side of her body. They talk about preparing a child with a physical disability for boarding, asking schools the right questions, trusting boarding staff, friendships, independence and knowing when your child is genuinely ready. But this is also a conversation about opportunity. Boarding school has given Maia access to regular athletics training and specialist coaching as she pursues her love of discus and an extraordinary dream...one day competing at the Paralympics. Heidi also shares how Maia inspired her own seven-year journey back to university to become an exercise physiologist, and why access to allied health professionals remains such an important issue for rural families. Mentioned in this episode The Boarding School Collective – find information about boarding schools, resources for families and register for our upcoming Boarding Schools Expo Popups in Charleville, 18–19 October, and Mount Isa, 30 November. For lots of practical tips around children, development and everyday life, Amanda also recommends following her daughter Annabel, an occupational therapist, on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/theotcollective_tamworth/ @theotcollective_tamworth And don't forget to follow or subscribe to Letters from Home wherever you listen to your podcasts so you never miss an episode.
In this episode of Letters from Home, Amanda sits down with Jess Redfern, founder of SAVVI the Label, entrepreneur, mum of three little ones and former boarder, for a warm and wonderfully colourful conversation about opportunity, independence, motherhood and backing yourself. Jess shares the remarkable story of deciding in Year 8 that she wanted to go to boarding school, sitting her parents down at the dining room table with the paperwork she'd printed and an interview she'd already organised. It wasn't a pathway her family had previously considered and it required real sacrifice. But boarding school gave Jess something she now recognises as pivotal. It allowed her to step outside the identity she'd grown up with and discover who she was on her own terms. Jess talks about the networks and experiences boarding opened up, the independence of living away from home and the confidence that followed her into adult life. We also explore why, despite living in Wellington with secondary options nearby, she and husband Jack are considering boarding for their own children, not because it's simply what Jess did, but because of the broader opportunities and perspectives it can offer. We follow Jess's wonderfully varied entrepreneurial journey through fitness, wellness, disability services and now SAVVI the Label, before discovering the heart behind SAVVI the Foundation and its grants supporting women to take their own next bold step. And with three children under three, Jess also shares what she hopes her daughter learns from watching her build a business alongside motherhood, and what she hopes her boys learn about the strength and capability of women. Find Jess and SAVVI Follow @savvithelabel on Instagram. Discover the work of @savvithefoundation. Coming up with The Boarding School Collective We're heading to Charleville on 18–19 October for our first Boarding Schools Expo Popup in the region, followed by Mount Isa on 30 November. Meet boarding schools face-to-face, ask the questions that matter to your family and discover the opportunities available to your children. Register free via The Boarding School Collective.