We are delighted to announce that Gareth Hore, Dilworth‘s Director of Boarding, was honoured with the prestigious Leadership in Boarding Award at the recent New Zealand Boarding Schools Association (NZBSA) Conference.
This national recognition is a significant moment for our community, following the culmination of a multi-year change programme in boarding, led by Gareth, aimed at transforming the boarding experience for Dilworth’s young men.
The award citation specifically commended Dilworth for its innovative approach to boarding and for its willingness to openly share our strategies, data, and learnings with other schools across the country.
Gareth says the award is all about the power of a team.
“This represents an immense team effort across the entire boarding and school leadership teams over the last three years”.
How Boarding Was Reimagined at Dilworth
Three years ago, the boarding leadership team set out with a clear goal to create a more supportive and enriching environment for students. To get there, Gareth says, the starting place was to restructure the entire boarding system around three "big rocks."
One of the big rocks was to design a more connected staffing model between the school and the boarding. Gareth says this led to a new, refreshed staffing structure designed to bridge the gap between the classroom and the boarding.
A pivotal new role was created as part of this change: the Year-Level Advisor, a day-school teacher who works across the school, now also has a key role in boarding. Dilworth Year-Level Advisors are a core link between the academic school day and evening boarding life. Gareth explains further:
“The key is that they have both pastoral and academic understanding of every young man at their year level, meaning they can find the right way to cater to each young man’s specific needs and care.”
Another big move, arguably the most significant, was moving away from the ‘horizontal’ boarding system - where students from Years 10-12 were in the same house together - to dedicated year-level boarding houses, where students live alongside their peers and classmates of the same age.
“We wanted to deliver an evidence-based, age- and stage-appropriate boarding environment that continued to prioritise student safety,” says Gareth.
A recent student survey returned overwhelmingly positive feedback about this.
Behaviours for Living Framework
These days, boarding at Dilworth is about learning for life, both at school and beyond. “Really, it’s about an active curriculum for life,” comments Gareth.
This major change has been reflected in a new boarding ‘curriculum’ – a framework called ‘The Living Well Kete’. Dilworth has pioneered this system, which focuses on teaching students essential life skills while they are at school. It includes time management, personal device management, and how to study independently, “Even down to things like the importance of sleeping well, which is so critical for teenagers”, he says.
And at the end of this term, families will receive a tailored, individual boarding report that reflects how their young man is tracking against some of these factors, as well as real-world habits - such as managing prep books, time management and taking pride in keeping common spaces clean.
Gareth says the key is that students will be actively involved in this reporting process. Using the living well kete that is right for each student’s year level, their House Leaders will partner with them to set tangible, personal goals, having meaningful conversations on both sides to find out where they are at.
Where to next for boarding at Dilworth?
There is a great feeling right now across the school and in boarding where everything is coming together, and boys are truly buying into a culture of self-belief and excellence. This award is a wonderful external validation of the hard work our staff and students pour into Dilworth every single day.
“So, I feel like success is playing out across all facets of the school. Three years on, I think everything has worked together to help the boys believe in themselves. We're seeing examples of this in every aspect of school”.
But Gareth says the work doesn’t stop there! The next phase is about embedding and consolidation, the next phase for himself and his team, ensuring that the Dilworth experience continues to set the gold standard for student care in a New Zealand boarding school.”