Pembroke School

Pembroke School is a co-educational, non-denominational private school with boarding facilities, located in a very well established and beautiful part of Adelaide, only seven minutes from the city centre. The school prepares its graduates for both local and international school qualifications, offering both the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) and the International Baccalaureate Diploma.

1,700 pupils attend Pembroke School; however, the school has a very personal atmosphere and has two campuses: the King’s Campus (Middle School) and the Girton Campus (Junior and Senior School). The campuses are only a 5-minute walk apart and are connected by the Kensington Park Reserve Oval. The school also has sports facilities at the Torrens River in the city as well as Old Watulunga – a fantastic outdoor education facility just over an hour’s drive south of the school.

The choice of subjects is very wide and the classes are well equipped with modern facilities. There are opportunities to do practical metal or woodwork and even work with 3D printers. The school has its own theatre and an outstanding Film Making Program where students can shoot their own documentaries, music videos and short feature films.

Pembroke School is very strong on languages. French, German, Spanish and Mandarin (Chinese) are taught. For other languages there is a very good language school in Adelaide. Courses attended there are recognized by the Pembroke School as regular lessons.

An extensive music programme enables all students, from absolute beginners to talented musicians, to take instrumental lessons during their school years. There is also the opportunity to play in one of the many orchestra, choirs, rock bands or in the brass band.

Senior students can take Outdoor Education as a subject. The program includes activities such as surfing, rock climbing, white water rafting, kayaking, bushwalking and snorkelling. Places visited include Mount Arapiles Victoria, Kangaroo Island, Flinders Ranges, the Australian Alps and Beachport.

The range of leisure activities on offer is incredibly wide. Students go to all the “festivals” in Adelaide such as the Arts Festival, the Spring Festival and many more. There are even small marathons for social purposes. You can go surfing at the nearest beach and in December go on a week-long surf camp in Victoria near Melbourne.

There is a whole range of trips and excursions organized by the school. These include student exchanges with the Marree Aboriginal School, outdoor education treks in Australia and overseas, ski trips, field trips in courses such as Geography, Tourism and Biology as well as music and sports trips.

Pembroke School can accommodate 120 boarders, 60 boys and 60 girls. Boarding students in 11th and 12th grade get their own room. In the lower classes the rooms are occupied by two students, with the composition changing every three months.

The Australian boarders come mainly from rural and remote areas of the country. All boarding students have the opportunity to spend their school holidays with Pembroke families or their friends and their families in Adelaide. Visits to outback farms or other Australian states are sometimes possible.

At weekends, students can go to the 17-hectare school farm, which is located on the Finniss River, 75 kilometres south of Adelaide between the sea, several lakes and a river. The school has a number of its own sailing boats located there. The area is ideal for mountain biking, kayaking and other outdoor education sports such as abseiling, bushwalking, rock climbing and surfing.

At this school, each student is encouraged according to their abilities. Walking through the school and classrooms during a personal visit, all students seemed very happy and engaged. Many worked in motivated groups while outside the koalas were sitting in the trees.