Academics

Small classes, caring and supportive teachers, a balance between nurture and rigor: these are the hallmarks of a Gill St. Bernard's education.

From our youngest learners in Primary 3 to our AP scholars, Gill students love to learn. They benefit from the welcoming and engaging community on campus and grow in confidence as they become increasingly comfortable taking intellectual risks and challenging themselves academically.

A core of traditional subjects in Lower and Middle School prepares students with the essential foundations to explore a broad range of coursework in Upper School, including electives, independent study and Honors and AP courses. In addition, ongoing work in informational literary, research and study skills helps students become independent learners and thinkers, proud to take ownership of their work.

The resources of our 208-acre rural campus, which include extensive gardens, a designated Class-1 trout stream, a working farm and apiary, provide daily opportunities for place-based learning. Our Lower and Middle School students in particular delight in coursework that brings them outdoors and allows them to explore the beauty of the campus. By Upper School, the focus of place-based learning has shifted from the campus to the world at large. Programs like the spring unit give students the opportunity for regional, domestic and international travel while they study first-hand an area of particular interest.

By the time our students graduate, they are prepared not simply for college, but for meaningful life beyond. They are articulate, engaging and purposeful – able to make connections across a range of disciplines, instilled with a love of learning and motivated by a desire to better understand, and contribute to, the greater world.