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Welcome to Fairholme Boarding

The Fairholme Boarding House is not just a place to stay,  it's a holme away from home.

For over 100 years, Boarders have played a valued and significant role in the life of Fairholme College.


We are renowned for providing a caring and nurturing home for our Boarders and are dedicated to fostering a sense of community, responsibility and personal growth within these walls. At Fairholme, we pride ourselves on thinking as a Boarding School.


As one of the largest Boarding Schools in Australia, we make it our mission to ensure that we are also one of the happiest for our girls. With 220 girls and staff living on campus, Boarders make up the 'fabric' of Fairholme College, constituting over a third of the student body of the Junior, Middle and Senior Schools.


It is our highest aim to provide a comfortable and relaxing experience for your daughter, underpinned by a safe, friendly and stimulating environment.

Visit our Boarding House

We warmly invite prospective families to take a guided tour of the Fairholme College Boarding House.


Book a guided tour online or contact our Head of Enrolments, Mrs Tina Hammond.

T 07 4688 4635

E [email protected]


Book a guided tour Take a virtual tour

Open the door to a world of possibilities


We know that for most of our Fairholme Boarder parents, the choice to send your daughter to a Boarding School is necessitated by your rural or remote location or seeking out opportunities for a rich and diverse education, not otherwise accessible.


Even as a necessity, this can be a difficult decision. However, once made, this decision will open the door to an exciting, new world full of possibilities.


We believe that the best education is a well-rounded one. At Fairholme, your daughter will be provided with endless opportunities to participate in academic, cultural, sporting and service pursuits, and in the Boarding House, acquire the skills of negotiation, co-operation and sharing, all which contribute to developing the whole person.

Be part of a vibrant community


As a Boarder, your daughter will become part of a large, vibrant community of girls who come to Fairholme to learn, to grow and to develop friendships for life.


Our Boarding staff have a wealth of experience in working with girls of this age, and whilst they cannot be mum or dad, they are passionately interested in each girl and want to see them achieve their very best in all that they do.


We know that we will never be able to replace her real home, but we do seek to work with you in the provision of a safe, structured environment with clear expectations and guidelines for her growth and learning.


Like you, we have faith in your daughter’s future and we look forward to sharing her Fairholme journey with you.

Experience Boarding at Fairholme


At the end of Term 3 each year, our Orientation Weekend provides the opportunity for prospective students and their parents to share a residential weekend with us.


Your daughter will experience boarding life firsthand, and get to know other girls who will start the year with them. It’s also a chance for Boarding parents to meet other day and boarding parents, get to know our Boarding House staff and ask questions to help you feel more at ease.


For more information, please contact our Head of Enrolments:

Mrs Tina Hammond

T 07 4688 4635

E [email protected]

Boarding News

Celebrating 40 Years of Equestrian Excellence

By Sarah Richardson • March 31, 2026
In 2026, Fairholme College will proudly celebrate 40 years of Equestrian, marking a significant milestone in the College’s sporting history. This anniversary honours our rich traditions, the dedication of generations of riders, coaches and families, and the enduring place equestrian sport holds within our community. At the same time, it invites us to look ahead to the continued growth of the sport and the opportunities available for future Fairholme riders across the Darling Downs and beyond - particularly as the region looks ahead to hosting Olympic Equestrian during the Brisbane 2032 Games. Fairholme’s strong sporting pathways have long inspired students to dream big. Across our history, the College has produced 11 Olympians across multiple sports, a remarkable achievement that continues to motivate today’s students to pursue excellence on and off the field. Our equestrian journey began humbly in 1986, when Fairholme competed for the first time in the Inter High School Equestrian Championships alongside schools from Toowoomba and the Darling Downs. The occasion was made even more special by the generosity of the Fairholme Parents and Friends Association, who donated saddle cloths to the team. Made from the summer tartan and bound in gold ribbon, with the school badge sewn into the left hand corner, these cloths symbolised strong community support, values that remain central to Fairholme equestrian today. Four decades later, the program continues to go from strength to strength. In 2025, the Fairholme Equestrian Team celebrated an outstanding year of achievement, including being named: > Finalist – 2025 Equestrian Queensland School of the Year > 2025 Equestrian Queensland Interschool Overall Champion Secondary School, winning the prestigious Lorette Wigan Cup for the fifth consecutive year > Grand Champion School – 2025 Darling Downs and South West Queensland Regional Championships Adding to this success, ten Fairholme riders were selected to compete at the 2025 Australian Interschool Equestrian Championships, showcasing their talent on the national stage. This anniversary provides the College with the opportunity to celebrate not only past and present achievements, but the passion and promise of the riders who will shape the next chapter of equestrian at the College. The future of this proud legacy sport has never looked brighter.

Motherland Matters at Fairholme

March 31, 2026
Across 13 to 15 March, Fairholme College was proud to be involved in and support the Motherland Australia National Conference held in Toowoomba, an event dedicated to strengthening connection, wellbeing and support for rural mothers across the country. Motherland Australia is a nationally recognised charity that works to reduce isolation and improve mental health outcomes for women living and raising families in regional and remote communities. On Saturday, a group of Fairholme boarders attended the conference, facilitating a bracelet making workshop and connecting with more than 300 rural mums from across Australia. Many girls made connections with people from their home towns or those that knew their families. The activity created a warm, welcoming space for conversation and creativity, reinforcing the importance of community, shared experience and mutual support among rural women. For Fairholme, one of Australia’s largest all-girls boarding schools, the Motherland message is one of great importance. Our students and families come from all over regional and rural Australia, and we see firsthand the challenges distance and isolation can present. Supporting initiatives that bring rural women together aligns strongly with Fairholme’s commitment to community, wellbeing and leadership. The experience also provided our boarders with a meaningful opportunity to serve others, develop empathy and engage with the broader rural communities they proudly represent.

Show Ring Success

By Sarah Richardson • March 31, 2026
Meet Year 7 Boarders, Willow Gilliland and Adi Dodson For Boarder Willow Gilliland, cattle is in her blood, competing in her first judging competition at just six years old. Her family run beef and stud cattle from their property at Alice Creek in the South Burnett, where her passion for the industry continues to grow. Willow, in Year 7, has competed in numerous competitions across the country, regularly topping her category in both judging and parading. Most recently, she cleaned up at the Tasmanian Junior Beef Expo, taking out Champion Junior Judging, third place in Sub Intermediate Handler, and took out first place Junior Handler at the 2026 Pittsworth Show. Willow has her sights firmly set on a future career in agriculture, saying there are plenty of exciting opportunities opening up across the industry, especially for girls. Adi Dodson, a Year 7 Boarder from Banana in Central Queensland, has been showing cattle for five years. Following in her family’s footsteps, Adi is an up‑and‑coming cattle stud groomer, exhibitor and judge, just like her mum and dad. A standout young competitor, Adi claimed the Junior Parader title in the 13 years and under category at last year’s Ekka, beating more than 150 other entrants. With a strong passion for the industry, Adi hopes to pursue a career in beef, contributing to her home region, and in one of our most important and iconic sectors.

Meet 2026 Prefect for The Arts: Claire Murphy

March 4, 2026
How long have you been involved in The Arts at Fairholme? Since I began here in Year 7, but before then I started playing piano and violin in Year 5. I have participated in a number of ensembles within the school and greatly enjoyed each of these. What does being the Prefect for The Arts mean to you? Personally, I think that being the Prefect for The Arts is primarily a role in which I can help to support other girls. I’m a designated person that girls can come to if they have any questions or concerns with anything regarding extracurricular artistic involvement, and I do a little to help with running some of the artistic aspects around the school, such as finding girls to volunteer for busking at events. But mostly, I think it is about being a positive promoter for the arts, and encouraging other girls to expand their world view to include creativity. Which art form do you enjoy most (e.g. music, drama, visual art, dance etc)? My main art form that I participate in is instrumental music, through my involvement in a few ensembles within the school on violin and piano. However, other art forms, like dancing during March Pasts or singing Shine Jesus Shine are pretty fun too. Do you have a most memorable Arts experience? I think that one of the most memorable Arts experiences that I have had has been at events where I have accompanied my grade, like when all the Year 11’s last year sung at the Valedictorian dinner and I played piano along with other instrumentalists in my grade, Tilly Anderson and Emma Salter. However, I think the most enjoyable Arts experience that I have had is playing Jingle Bell Rock at the boarding Christmas dinner last year, when the rest of my cohort stood around the piano singing. I felt that this was one of those excellent examples of how music can bring people together. What advice would you give to students who might be nervous about joining an arts activity? I would say that it is always worth giving something new a go. You’re much more likely to regret the chances you never took than the ones you do. I’m a strong believer that being involved in any form of extra-curricular activity is so beneficial for everyone; it expands your world view, you meet new people, and get outside your comfort zone. Each individual has something they are good at, and how are you going to find out what that is if you don’t try? Do you hope to continue with The Arts after school? Definitely. It has become such a big part of my life, and I honestly get so much enjoyment out of it. The great thing about the arts is that they are things that you can do at any time of your life. You’re never too old, that’s a skill you have for life. Other people can also get so much enjoyment out of the artistic abilities of others. Who doesn’t love to have someone who can sit around the camp-fire and play guitar, or create a beautiful piece of artwork?