Holderness School

Holderness School was founded in 1879 by the Christian Episcopal Church General Assembly. It is located in the small town of Plymouth, New Hampshire, a popular ski destination. The school campus is nestled in the heart of New Hampshire's Lakes Region, originally part of the historic Livermore Estate. Students at Holderness School hike nearby mountains, camp in the woods adjacent to the campus, and have opportunities to boat or swim in rivers and lakes.
The school spans 600 acres and features 17 dormitories, one lighted turf field, one indoor ice rink, one 10-kilometer bike track, eight tennis courts, and an athletic center. The school also boasts Rumney Rocks, one of the premier sport climbing destinations in the United States. The school's 35,000-square-foot Davis STEM Center is designed around themes of innovation, collaboration, flexibility, and connection to the outdoors. It includes wet and dry science labs, outdoor classrooms, enhanced faculty planning spaces, and an atrium-like winter garden offering magnificent views of Stinson Mountain. The school offers over 120 courses, including 21 AP courses, and students have opportunities to visit the Squam Lake Biology Lab, the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, and countless other chances to learn from the natural environment surrounding its quiet New England campus.

Holderness School is a historic, traditional co-educational secondary school located in Plymouth, New Hampshire. The school spans 600 acres, boasting a beautiful natural environment and abundant educational resources. Holderness School is renowned for its unique curriculum design and leadership training, committed to providing students with a comprehensive educational experience.

The school not only focuses on students' academic development but also places great importance on their physical well-being and community service. It offers a wealth of sports and fitness programs, allowing students to maintain a healthy lifestyle alongside their studies. Furthermore, the school encourages students to participate in community service activities, fostering their sense of social responsibility and leadership skills.

Regarding curriculum design, Holderness School offers a range of AP courses, including Biology, Calculus AB, English Language and Composition, French Language and Culture, Spanish Literature and Culture, Latin, Statistics, U.S. History, and more. These courses are designed to prepare students for college-level studies and to cultivate their disciplinary literacy and critical thinking.

Beyond academic programs, Holderness School also emphasizes nurturing students' artistic and athletic talents. The school features art studios and music classrooms for students to create and perform. Additionally, it offers various sports programs such as soccer, basketball, swimming, skiing, and more, allowing students to develop their athletic abilities. All ninth-grade students utilize special class time to engage in community service in the local town.

Holderness School data: student population 301, student-teacher ratio 1:6, international students 15%, boarding rate 88%, teachers with advanced degrees 71%. Holderness School is a historic, traditional co-educational secondary school, covering 600 acres, founded in 1879 in Plymouth, New Hampshire. The school is approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes from Manchester Airport and about 2 hours from Boston Logan International Airport. It is currently a member of NEASC and ATSNE. The school requires students to achieve balanced development in academics and physical fitness, so in addition to regular courses, it offers many sports and fitness programs. Holderness School also provides community service and outdoor activities, and is renowned for its unique curriculum design and leadership training. Holderness is not just a school, but a symbol of a lifestyle that involves balanced development in various fields, allowing students to find confidence in different areas. Life at Holderness is always full of passion and wonder, cultivating students into global citizens who are enthusiastic about public welfare and enjoy helping others. The school fully respects students' intuition and imagination, and through school-arranged extracurricular activities, helps students elevate practical and book knowledge to a spiritual level. The school's art center provides a gallery, ceramic making center, photography studio, and recording studio, among others. Recently, new school buildings including a fitness center, library, multimedia center, and dormitories have also been constructed.

The school is approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes from Manchester Airport and about 2 hours from Boston Logan International Airport. It is currently a member of NEASC and AISNE. The school requires students to achieve a balanced development in academics and physical fitness, so in addition to regular courses, the school also offers many sports and fitness programs, including soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, skiing, etc. The school also provides community service and outdoor activities, and is known for its unique curriculum design and leadership training. Furthermore, the school's art center offers a gallery, ceramics studio, photography studio, and recording studio, among others. Recently, new school buildings including a fitness center, library, multimedia center, and dormitories have also been constructed.

The school is located in New Hampshire, and its geographical advantage provides students with further academic experiences. Students have many field study projects, ranging from biological field trips to test water quality at Squam Lake to visits to the Human Performance Lab at Plymouth State University, allowing them to better apply classroom learning in practical settings. Additionally, every March, the school holds a 10-day adventure program, including Project Outreach, Artward Bound, Out Back, Senior Thesis, Poetry Out Loud, etc. These activities are available to every grade level, helping students better understand the school's core values and fostering their individuality and curiosity.

Holderness School, founded in 1879, currently has 280 students and 48 teachers. 85% are boarding students, and 15% are international students. Academically challenging, it offers a wide range of college preparatory courses, taught in small classes, laying a solid foundation for university admission. It offers 21 AP courses. The school does not provide ESL, but ESOL teachers offer one-on-one lessons weekly for students whose native language is not English. The school has a strong sports program; in addition to traditional sports, it also offers rock climbing, mountain biking, and more. Half of the students participate in snow sports, with several at national or international levels.

Holderness School, academically, its faculty provides one-on-one extra tutoring for students. Starting with the establishment of an individual academic plan, instructors design a unique learning method for each student, encouraging them to develop skills. To help students practice public speaking and build self-confidence, the school also hosts an annual US National Poetry Competition. Students learn and recite poetry in English classes, receiving guidance from teachers throughout the process, leading many students to pursue careers in interpretation.

A major highlight of Holderness School's sports program is snow sports, including alpine skiing, snowboarding, and freestyle skiing. The school provides state-of-the-art training facilities to unleash students' maximum potential and ignite a lifelong love for skiing. The school has U19 and U16 varsity teams. Athletes have the opportunity to participate in regional, national, and even international skiing competitions. The school's mission is to provide the highest level of support for students, making them more competitive when applying to universities.

Holderness School, founded in 1879 by the Episcopal Church, is dedicated to creating a personalized and caring educational environment for students, fully unleashing their potential, and helping them pursue meaningful and successful lives in accordance with Christian values. By offering a wide range of humanities courses and comprehensive sports and outdoor activities, encouraging students to participate in school and community service, and fostering close teacher-student relationships, Holderness cultivates students' active and independent spirit of scientific inquiry.

School Advantages:

1. The school's skiing program is very strong, as New Hampshire is a skiing mecca. The school offers a diverse range of skiing activities, such as Nordic skiing and ski jumping. Furthermore, the school's ice hockey is excellent, with its own outdoor ice rink.

2. Holderness courses also support students preparing for advanced placement courses as well as those needing academic support. These will help you apply to universities and even build a network for your future career.

3. Powerful Outdoor Program: Every March, after completing a comprehensive wilderness safety course, the junior class disperses into the White Mountains. Students embark on an 11-day challenge involving winter survival skills, orienteering, snowshoeing, winter camping, and most importantly, team building.

· The student council participates in the annual American National Poetry Competition. Students learn poetry in English class, select their favorite poems to memorize, and each year, one to two students are chosen from them to participate in the national poetry competition's semifinals. Eight students will be selected to compete in the school's grand final. This program helps students master public speaking skills.
· The school offers a “Graduation Thesis” course for 12th-grade students, providing them with the opportunity to conduct in-depth research on topics of their interest with the help of teachers, external experts, and parents, and to complete a related thesis. This project can help them discover their career direction and unearth their true interests and hobbies.
· Holderness's philosophy is to cultivate students' ability and enthusiasm for lifelong learning, believing that learning is not confined to the classroom and weekly labs, but that true learning should take place in nature and the real world. Therefore, the school leads students in a large number of extracurricular practical activities, such as taking them to Squam Lake for water quality testing, hoping to stimulate their curiosity and thirst for knowledge through these practical experiences.
· Every March, after completing a comprehensive wilderness safety course, the junior class disperses into the White Mountains. Students undertake an 11-day challenge involving winter survival skills, orienteering, snowshoeing, winter camping, and most importantly, team building. Students not only stay connected with each other and their leaders, but also experience a three-day “solo” period, a powerful and increasingly rare opportunity for self-reflection.

Holderness's philosophy is to cultivate students' ability and passion for lifelong learning. It believes that learning extends beyond the classroom and weekly labs, truly happening in nature and the real world. Therefore, the school leads students in numerous extracurricular practical activities, such as taking them to Squam Lake for water quality testing, visiting the human behavior lab at Portsmouth State University, and more, hoping to spark their curiosity and desire for knowledge through these experiences. The school encourages students to participate in its daily management, with students working as dining hall servers, campus guides, flag bearers, and communication coordinators, among other roles, to enhance their sense of responsibility and social skills. Holderness offers a wide range of sports activities, including mountain biking, rock climbing, ice hockey, skiing, and golf. Academics are also strong, with 21 AP courses offered and an academic support program. The school hosts an annual poetry recitation competition, where 8 finalists are selected through multiple rounds of elimination to compete in the school finals. For 12th-grade students, the school offers a "Senior Thesis" course, giving them the opportunity to conduct in-depth research on topics of their interest with the help of teachers, external experts, and parents, and to complete related thesis papers. This project helps graduates prepare thoroughly for their upcoming university studies, helps them discover their career paths, and uncovers their true interests and hobbies.