About Tibbs House
Tibbs House is named after the School’s fourth Headmaster J. W. Tibbs, who was Headmaster from 1893 to 1922. A statue of Mr Tibbs can be found in the main foyer of Tibbs House.
The main house was built by newspaper publisher Frederick Wilson in 1904 and was originally known as Kowhatu (stone) because of the stone walls that surrounded the property, and are still in place today.
The original building had 14 rooms, covered some 650m2 and was situated on 0.6 hectares. In the 1950s, the house was sold by the Wilson family and it became the hostel for Epsom Girls’ Grammar School as they waited for their own hostel to be built.
Successive Auckland Grammar School Headmasters had attempted to establish a hostel to provide opportunity for boys outside of the Auckland province – which in those days extended from Cape Reinga to Lake Taupo – to attend Auckland Grammar School. The idea of a hostel was first mooted in 1882 and then later in 1916 when tenders for the hostel’s construction were sought but then shelved.
Sir Henry Cooper, who was Headmaster from 1954 to 1972, believed that the lack of a hostel was a serious limitation on the ability of the School to meet the needs of potential pupils from country schools.
Due to the hard work and extensive lobbying of Sir Henry Cooper, Max Grierson (who would later become president of the Old Boys’ Association) and the School Board, Tibbs House was opened in February 1962. 46 students boarded that first year and since then, many boys have had access to the fine quality of education provided by Auckland Grammar School.
Tibbs House is not funded by the School, nor is it funded by the Government, so the fees students pay to board at Tibbs House go towards the actual cost of running the hostel. The facilities at Tibbs House are the equal of any other boarding institution in the country and Tibbs House is provided with additional excellent facilities by the adjacent School.
Junior rooms sleep five boarders, and senior boarders can enjoy single or double occupancy. Recreational facilities are excellent and are continually upgraded and students have free access to the Wi-Fi network between 7pm and 10pm.
Goals of Tibbs House
The boarding environment is an integral part of School life for the students at Auckland Grammar School. It is through the providing of a safe and positive emotional, physical and social environment that our students have the opportunity to develop to their full potential.
Tibbs House supports all aspects of the academic, sporting and cultural life of the School and in so doing hopes to promote all round excellence in our boarders.
The staff at Tibbs House have a duty of care to ensure all boarders:
- Are encouraged to mature in an open, diverse, respectful and safe environment, where the School values are discussed and demonstrated on a daily basis
- Develop through a holistic balance of academic rigour, extracurricular endeavour and community consciousness
- Are motivated to maintain the highest standard of academic achievement
- Are engendered with an innate sense of self-discipline, so that all boarders take responsibility for their own learning and personal development
- Act with compassion, cooperation and consideration towards their fellow boarders
- Live in a physical environment where robust health and safety standards are regularly monitored and enhanced
- Are provided with basic health and medical assistance, including access to appropriate medical services
- Have access to pastoral support which allows for open and supportive interactions between boarders, staff and parents
Expectations of boys at Tibbs House – please click here to read the Rules and Regulations
Tibbs House boys are expected to:
- Get up and go to bed on time
- Be at meals and meetings on time
- Have all required uniforms for House and School life
- Be polite, courteous and helpful to each other, Staff and visitors
- Keep themselves clean and tidy
- keep their rooms clean and tidy at all times
- Obey instructions without question
- Be hospitable and kind to new boys
- Have respect and care for property at Tibbs House
- Have pride in the Hostel and School when in the general public
- Participate widely in the greater life of the School
Click here for further information about Tibbs House, including details of sign-outs and exeats, laundry, sickness and general tidiness.
Hire Tibbs House
Tibbs House is available for hire during the School holidays (only), making it ideal for sports groups, cultural groups and educational groups. Please click here for more information and to book.