Return of the King’s

Old boys from The King’s School are hand-picked for a special tutoring and mentoring program.

Story Ken Eastwood  Photo The King's School

Past students at The King’s School are returning to the school in droves to assist with a paid tutoring and mentoring program for current students. Director of boarding James Peters says more than 100 old boys are involved across the school in patron roles, from coaching sports and afternoon supervision of boarders through to high-level academic tutoring.

“A lot of our rural graduates are now going to a college or uni and looking for part-time work and to give back to their community,” he says. “They’re already known in the boarding house, and because of our vertical support structure in boarding, by the time we invite them back, they’ve demonstrated that they can work with younger boys really well. They may have been leaders in their houses, school monitors, or held promotional positions in the Cadet Corps, so there has been trust built with them.”

Any of the students, including day boys, can book in a tutor at any time, but James says one program that is growing in momentum is the after-hours tutoring and mentoring specifically for the boarders. “It’s a program where those guys who have ATARS of 95+ can give back, if they’ve been a great example in terms of their study patterns and mentoring younger students. We hand-select the old boys who will do the 7–10pm shift to work on homework, assignments and revision work with the boarders. It’s an organic mix of both academic tutoring and mentoring.”