Mission & History

List of 5 items.

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  Our beginnings in 1900

  Gill St. Bernard's is the result of the merger of two Somerset Hills schools — St. Bernard's School for boys in Gladstone and The Gill School for girls in Bernardsville.
  
  St. Bernard's School was founded in 1900 by the Rev. Thomas A. Conover. It was his vision to establish a school for farm and village boys where they could be educated concurrently with learning a trade. The first group of boys came to St. Bernard's in September of 1900. Tuition, room and board was $100.
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  The 1900s

  In the early days, academic classes alternated with work in the carpentry shop, the print shop, or on the farm. Daily attendance at religious services was mandatory. In 1912, the highest award for a student was established, and has been given ever since, the Julian T. Brown Cup. It was given to the school by Brown's mother in memory of her son who died shortly after graduation. The actual silver cup was inherited from an ancestor who owned the plantation next to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. Tradition held that the author of the Declaration of Independence had used the cup. Recipients of the award have their names engraved on it, which resides in Hockenbury Hall.
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  The 1930s and 1940s

  In 1945, Rev. Robert L. Clayton, Jr. was named Headmaster. He brought a broader vision of programs to the school. It was under his leadership that St. Bernard's first embraced the concept of academic excellence. The emphasis increased on scholarship, with an aim being the integration of the education program with the needs of industry. The work program still played a large role in the philosophy of the school, as the college prepatory program began to gain further development.
  
  The Gill School was established by Miss Elizabeth Gill in 1934 as the Wychwood School. Her educational philosophy was based on the value of the individual, and she sought, through small classes and direct teacher-student relationships, to establish a "rich school experience" for her students. The physical development of the individual was encouraged, with at least two hours each day spent outdoors. The first graduating class consisted of three students.

• The 1960s and 1970s

  The 1960s and 1970s were turbulent times for the country and for education in general. Coeducation was becoming more fashionable, and in 1972 St. Bernard's School merged with Miss Gill's School to become Gill St. Bernard's. At this time, the religious affiliation of the St. Bernard's School was discontinued. The new school had younger students on the old Gill campus in Bernardsville, and older students at the St. Bernard's campus in Gladstone.

• The 1990s to Today

  In 1996, the two divisions consolidated in Gladstone. Today there are three divisions—a Lower, a Middle and an Upper School—located on 208 acres, which span the Somerset-Morris County line between the Boro of Peapack-Gladstone and Chester Township. Today the school consists of eighteen buildings, which include Upper, Middle and Lower School facilities, two athletic centers, two theaters, and four administrative buildings. There are also a field lodge, five playing fields, including an all-weather turf field, a track, seven tennis courts, and an outdoor swimming pool.