More than a century of school tradition comes to a close when Kinross Wolaroi opens its new Icely Road boarding facility in early 2026.

The move will mean the end of 130 years of near-continuous boarding for junior high school students at the facility’s original building, the historic “Wolaroi House.”

The new multi-million-dollar hi-tech facility is part of a whole-school redevelopment project aiming to prepare the elite private college for the future of education.

Designed to accommodate boys from Years 7–9, the new two-storey boarding house will provide a “modern, well-being-focused residential environment” as part of the school’s staged Built Environment Masterplan launched in 2023, Acting Director and Head of Boys Boarding, James Perrin, said.

“The building has progressed steadily and is on track for its original timeline, with move-in scheduled for Term Two next year,” Mr Perrin revealed. “It represents a genuine investment in the future of boarding at Kinross Wolaroi, ensuring our younger students have a comforting ‘home away from home’ that supports both learning and personal growth.”

The move, however, will no doubt be met with some sadness by traditionalists, with its original Victorian manor-style building to no longer be home to junior year boarders for the first time since the school’s establishment in the late 19th century.

“We’re reorganising our student accommodation, and the ‘Wolaroi Mansion’ is also coming up for renovation; Year Eight and Year Nine boys have been boarding at the top of that house pretty much since the school was established… it’s the end of an era,” spokesperson Jennifer Divall explained.

“The boarding, we believe, has been fairly continuous, and started out when the school purchased this site and renamed it ‘Wolaroi Grammar School’, though the school itself began at what is now the Union Bank in 1886,” she added.

The new facility will house 64 students in quad-style rooms featuring king single beds, privacy screening, individual study desks, and generous personal storage.

Senior student accommodation has also been incorporated, with four sets of paired single rooms for Years 11–12 boarders also, each sharing full bathroom facilities.

A central common room links the two floors, supported by nine additional breakout spaces designed as smaller kitchen and lounge-style areas. “Family connection” has also been prioritised, the school said, with a “dedicated parent lounge allowing families to refresh after travel and spend meaningful time with their sons.”

Alongside the new boarding wing, the school has also confirmed major restoration plans for the historic Wolaroi Mansion.

The renovation is expected to commence next year, delivering a fully-refurbished roof, restoration of its iconic tower, and the creation of three flexible classrooms on the top floor, connected to “breakout learning spaces”, the school said.

The mansion’s front section will also be repurposed for new offices and meeting rooms, with improved accessibility through lifts, ramps, and an external stairway.

The new boarding facility will combine two current housing units, with the official title for the Icely Rd build till up for hot debate.

“We’ll be closing our Year Seven Boarding House, Trathen House, and also the facility in the mansion, ‘ower House… we’re still in discussions about the name for the new house,” Ms Divall said.

“The old mansion is definitely showing some wear-and-tear, and we’re spending a lot of money to bring it up to a high standard,” she concluded.