Boarding house caters for primary pupils

STACY SQUIRES/The Press

COMFY BED: Selwyn House pupil Skye Macdonald, 11, tests out her bed. The school now offers boarding facilities to girls as young as seven.

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A new boarding house at a private girls' school in Christchurch will cater for pupils as young as seven.

New Zealand's only private boarding house for primary school girls was officially opened yesterday. The Selwyn House hostel in Merivale can house up to 33 girls and has two live-in matrons. It caters for girls aged seven and over who attend the school.

The boarding house allowed parents travelling overseas to book their children in for short stays, Selwyn House principal Jane Lapthorn said.

The new boarding house, which has four-bed rooms, was not a hotel for children, she said, but was "perfect for parents going overseas or to conferences".

"We wanted the girls to have a lot more privacy and we were looking to make it as much of a home away from home as possible," Lapthorn said.

A year's board would cost about $10,000, with nightly rates for girls staying for shorter periods.

Emily Davison, 8, will stay in the boarding house for three weeks in May.

Her mother, Tara Davison, said the new arrangement was convenient while she and her husband were overseas.

"But it's very exciting. It's like a vacation for her, and we know she'll be well looked after," Davison said.

"Ideally, I wouldn't want her boarding at all, but it's like a family there."

Eleven-year-old Skye Macdonald has being staying at the boarding house for the past week.

"It's not as good as home, but it's still good," she said.

- © Fairfax NZ News