The Governor’s Academy, the oldest boarding school in New England, draws bright, bold students in grades nine through twelve from all over the world into an open and optimistic learning community. Located north of Boston, Govs offers a full range of visual and performing arts, more than fifty athletic teams, and dozens of service, cultural, and recreational activities. Whether boarding or day, students are surrounded by dedicated faculty and staff on a beautiful, 456-acre campus. Govs students strive for excellence, discover new passions, and go further than they ever thought possible.
Unique Characteristics
Govs’ place-based academic program is enhanced by its proximity to one of the most pristine ecosystems in the world, the Great Salt Marsh. With the opening of the Alfond Coastal Research Center in Spring of 2023, Govs will have a 50,000 academic building set on the banks of the Parker River and direct access to the Great Salt Marsh. This will grow our community partnerships, opportunities to real-world data collection, increase on-River classroom space to learn about the history of the area, and provide other creative learning opportunities to the beautiful coastal area.
The Academy has performed exceedingly well in recent Boston Globe Scholastic Art Awards competitions, ranking first in total awards granted to private high schoolers in 2022. Academy students won 37 awards in the competition in 4 different art disciplines: ceramics, studio art, photography and film. Governor’s artists won 7 Gold Keys, 13 Silver Keys, and 17 Honorable Mentions.
For the afternoon activities students don’t always have to compete in an interscholastic sports team. Once they have completed their team requirements, activities such as community service, robotics, performing arts, visual arts, yearbook, the newspaper, and other options become available.