Duggan House

Rostrevor College has a history of nurturing boarding students from rural and remote areas dating back to 1923. In fact, the College was founded to take boarding students from Christian Brothers College on Wakefield Street, which could no longer adequately cater for the increasing number of boys who wanted to board. 

Duggan House was named after Matron Monica Duggan, who was Matron at the College for over 30 years from the 1950s to the 1980s. In 1984, boarding was closed at Rostrevor and reopened with a new, state-of-the-art building in 1991. Boarding facilities were once again refurbished between 2020 and 2021, resulting in what is today a modern and relaxing living space for Rostrevor's boarders. 

I find the boarding house really rewarding because everyone’s here for the same reason – to get an education, and for a lot of us, to play sport. We all help each other to get to those goals. My favourite part of being a boarder is how productive I can be in Adelaide rather than at home. When I’m here, I feel like I’m here for a purpose. 

Outside of school, sport is a big part of our routines for a lot of us boarders. Whether it’s SANFL or any of the co-curricular school teams, no one is usually in a team alone – there’s always another boarder in the team. It makes it easy because you can train together, play together and catch rides to games together. 

I have a great relationship with the staff, as all the boys here do. We have set people that are here every day, so it’s nice to have that structure to always be able to talk to them.

The facilities in the boarding house are good. As Year 12s we have our own kitchen, which is a privilege that none of the other boarders get. The common room spaces are a nice inviting area for all students. You usually share a bathroom (two showers and a couple of toilets) with about four or five other people.

We have a roster for everyone to get one-on-one tutoring. They’ll run through what you have due for the week, what’s a priority and what you might need to spend more time doing. You can also ask to see a tutor at any time so you can get the support you need. We all have after school study every weekday for two hours. 

The atmosphere in the Boarding House is good. You have a lot of people to look up to, you have a lot of friends, and most importantly, everyone is family here. Everyone treats each other like brothers. We have a lot of fun.

The staff are very supportive of the things that you want to do, when it comes to schoolwork or even getting your Learners’ Permit. They’re very understanding and always help you when you do need it. We get a lot of support with our academics. If we need a bit of extra support to help us get back to that high academic standard of the boarding house, we get to have one-on-one help from tutors with assessments or tests, whatever we need from them.

We get input into the menu. If we don’t like certain food or if we feel like something particular on a certain day, we get to make suggestions, and the Chef is always good at listening to us and helping us out. 

We get to have our own rooms with our own locks, which means we get our own privacy. You also get to be in your own dorm with a few of your mates in your year level.

My favourite part about being a boarder is being able to meet new people, make friends and go to school. I love being a boarder because it’s a way to get out from home and go explore life. I chose to come to Rostrevor because I saw my brother come here and I noticed how well he did with his schooling and all the support he got here. 

The atmosphere at the Boarding House is very inclusive for all the boarders. We’re always together; we do activities together, we eat together, everything is together, so we get to know each other very well. 

The staff are very welcoming and kind, happy to help whenever. They’re always there to listen if you have any problems about school, about life or about family. The food is really good, too. There’s a wide range of different types of cuisines and foods from across the world. Every night we have tutors in the House that are able to help with different types of subjects, anything you need help with. 

My favourite part of being a boarder is the community and the brotherhood that you have, even after you leave school.