From Gunnedah to Loreto: A Boarding School Choice Built on Values with Rebecca Ryan
Episode description
Welcome back and thanks for putting us in your ears. The best thing you can do for our little podcast is follow it and share it with your friends. Some episodes may be of particular interest to you or someone you know and we’d love it if you helped more families to know the story of Australian boarding schools.
This week I’m chatting with Rebecca Ryan from Gunnedah. You might remember Rebecca from our recent Australian Boarding Schools Summit, where she was part of our panel unpacking the age-old question: does size really matter when it comes to choosing a boarding school?
It’s a topic that can stir plenty of discussion — especially when schools change the size of their boarding cohort. But as you’ll hear, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Rebecca beautifully explains how it all comes back to knowing what matters most to your family and your child.
Rebecca shares how faith, family, and familiarity guided her family’s decision-making process, ultimately leading her daughter Olivia to Loreto Normanhurst — where she’s not only thriving but discovering her passions.
There’s a lot to love in this episode, especially the way Rebecca speaks about the connection between city and country, and how the right school can feel like home, no matter its size.
Thank you to Courtney Dunn for editing this podcast episode.