Boarding House
As our school continues to evolve, our facilities play a critical role in delivering first-class learning experiences for all boys.
Ipswich Grammar School is one of Queensland’s oldest boarding schools, having welcomed boarders since 1864. The first boarders at Ipswich Grammar School resided in the Headmaster’s residence. From the beginning, Ipswich Grammar School has been a boarding school, not just a school with boarders. Our boarding community has always been a vital part of our story.
However, we understand that what has served us well for over 162 years must now evolve to meet the changing needs of future generations of boys. As part of our IGS 175 Master Plan, the construction of a new boarding house is the first of many projects with construction set to begin in Term 2 of 2026
While not every IGS boy is a boarder, every IGS boy benefits from what boarding brings to the school. The diversity, the friendships, the shared experiences and the spirited culture our boarders add to all aspects of school life.
Boarding enriches the whole school community and has always been at the heart of IGS, widening horizons, shaping character and bringing together boys from many different places and backgrounds.
This new building will honour that legacy and builds a home for the next generation.
Looking to the future, we know that what has worked for boarding over the past 162 years may not serve the next 162. Our new state-of-the-art Boarding Facility has been designed with the needs of current and future boarders in mind, ensuring we continue our mission to shape the next generation. The new purpose-built Boarding House will provide increased student accommodation, flexible communal spaces, updated housing for boarding staff, and will reflect our vision of a modern, accessible, and ecologically sustainable home for our boarders. The new Boarding House will be located next to the bottom oval, spanning four levels that cascade down the slope beside the auditorium. It will offer views across the oval to the City of Ipswich and beyond.
Donor recognition opportunities are available to support the foundations of the new Boarding House, with the chance to have your legacy acknowledged for a lifetime. To learn more about the new Ipswich Grammar School Boarding House and associated naming rights, please enquire now.
The new IGS Boarding House is set to open to our boys in 2028.
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Hear from our community
The best couple of years of my life were boarding at IGS. It was an amazing time, it really brought out the best part of me, I still have best mates from that period and we still catch up every now and then. We are separated across the world these days, but you still have that comradery from boarding school. Just the broad based feeling of where we have come from that’s made it great. I love the concept of the new boarding house, and it’s essential that it continues to foster a strong sense of connection. Having all the boys together in one tower will be vital for the next generation, ensuring the values established in those towers are carried forward into the boarding house.
The boarding house that we have today is the same as when I was here in 1983. It is critical that we keep up with today’s requirements and invest in what is required today for our current students. The design and location of the new boarding house will make it one of the best in the GPS system bar none. I think it’s so important that if we can help and give back to the school, we continue to do that and as a boarder giving back to the boarding facilities its terrific if you can.
Ipswich Grammar School is the building block of many a career. There have been plenty of successful academic and sporting people who have come through here. Obviously as an Old Boy you want to continue that legacy and see it continue into the future and part of that is progression rather than sitting still. The new boarding house and campus grounds are exciting, and it is probably time for an update of the boarding towers so the students in a few years’ time will no doubt reap the benefits of the vision and the hard work of the Old Boys of the school.
Why Ipswich Grammar School needs your support
Ipswich Grammar School is a place full of stories, the earliest recounting its establishment in the 19th century. The Grammar Schools Act, passed in 1860, stated government funds would only be provided to a school on the condition that the community raised money first. In other words, the founding of Ipswich Grammar School was not guaranteed, it was dependant on the generosity and commitment of remarkable people to rise to the challenge and create this wonderful school. For more than 161 years Ipswich Grammar School has been built on giving. Old Boys, parents and friends of the school have helped build classrooms, libraries, science centres, art centres and sporting facilities.
The culture of giving at IGS is as old as the school itself. Indeed, we owe our very foundation to the generosity and foresight of the Ipswich Grammar School community.
Not only do these projects improve the fabric and facilities of the school, but they also enrich the life and education of the boys. This would not be possible without the great generosity of our donors to whom we extend our profound thanks.
help Support the future of IGS
Your contribution is an investment in the future of our community and the education of the next generation. The Ipswich Grammar School Building Fund is a registered charity. All donations of $2 and over are tax-deductible.
