Boarding Schools  Williston Northampton School

Williston Northampton School www.williston.com

The Williston Northampton School inspires students to live with purpose, passion, and integrity. That mission is the essence of the Williston community, of an extraordinarily diverse group of students and faculty who live, work, and learn on the campus.

The Williston Northampton School was founded through the vision of three exceptional leaders: Samuel Williston, Sarah Whitaker, and Dorothy Bement. The Williston Northampton School is home to 80 Middle School students (all day) and 450 Upper School students (65 percent boarding and 35 percent day). The student body represents 22 states and 24 countries and a full 16 percent of the student body identify as of color.

The beautiful 125-acre campus is located in the heart of the Five College area—home to Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges, and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. The school offers a diverse and challenging curriculum, with 37 honors and Advanced Placement classes. Williston Northampton is mindful of its dual legacy from Williston Academy and the Northampton School for Girls to educate students to pursue their passions with purpose and integrity.

 Academics

We promote a collaborative learning experience for our students by leveraging the resources of the outstanding colleges and universities surrounding our campus. Williston’s location is one of the country’s most vibrant research and artistic corridors, which gives our students and faculty the opportunity to research, create, and investigate across a broad spectrum of subjects at a highly sophisticated level. The connections our students form on campus and beyond allow them to gain a broader context for their studies, valuable communication skills, and the beginning of a lifelong professional network.

 Special Highlights

Clapp Memorial Library. The 40,000+ collection of the Clapp Memorial Library is built to fulfill the educational needs of the students and teachers, as well as based upon a commitment to promote reading for enrichment. The librarians select books, online databases, periodicals, videos, DVDs, and music CDs to meet these goals.

Photographers’ Lecture Series. Each year, an outstanding group of guest documentary photographers, photojournalists, commercial photographers, photo editors, and others involved in the field, visit the Williston Northampton campus to show examples of their work and offer insight and opportunity for discussion as part of the school’s Photographers’ Lecture Series.

 Top colleges attended by students

New York University, University of Massachusetts, Connecticut College, University of Vermont, Northeastern, Boston University, Hobart, Colby College, Trinity College, Ithaca College

 What the school looks for in students…

“Academic ability and work ethic are always first, but enthusiastic involvement in extra-curricular activities enhances a student’s application greatly as well.”