Northfield Mount Hermon School

NMH follows an American college-preparatory curriculum rather than an external programme such as the IB. Its College-Model Academic Program (CMAP) concentrates on three courses per semester, and the catalogue lists more than 160 courses, including around 45 advanced courses. The Advanced Scholars Program goes beyond traditional AP coursework, and NMH is an Advanced Placement test centre. Signature experiences include the Environmental Leadership Certification, a Farm Semester, a social entrepreneurship fellowship, service learning, capstone projects and teacher-led travel programmes. A postgraduate year is available for students who have already completed high school.

NMH is a high school with four year groups, from grade 9 to grade 12, plus an optional postgraduate year for students who have already graduated from high school and want an additional year of preparation before college. Postgraduates have their own advisor and join the senior class. Students can enter as boarders or day students, mainly in grades 9 and 10, with some places in grade 11 and the postgraduate year; applications are due in mid-January.

NMH describes its purpose as helping students discover their potential so they can contribute to a more equitable and just world. Its approach is summed up as education for the head, heart and hand: learning with passion, acting with humanity and leading with intention. The school stresses experiential, multidisciplinary learning, cultural understanding and service, reflected in the long tradition of the weekly work programme. NMH is a secular school that welcomes students of all faiths and none and supports a range of religious and spiritual traditions.

The rural campus covers 746 acres beside the Connecticut River. Academic buildings include the Gilder Center, a sustainably designed home for mathematics and science with labs and a fabrication laboratory, and the Schauffler Library with a podcasting studio. The Rhodes Arts Center offers a 250-seat performance hall, an 80-seat black box theatre, practice rooms and art studios. Sports facilities include Forslund Gym with its pool, the Calagione Fitness Center, a running track, multiple playing fields, tennis courts, a wrestling centre, a riverside boathouse and the Ice Barn rink. A 34-acre farm and the Alumni Hall dining hall complete the campus.

Every student has a faculty advisor, with around six students per advisor, and college counsellors guide the university application process. The O'Connor Health and Wellness Center provides round-the-clock medical care while school is in session, plus licensed counsellors. The Center for Academic Strategies and Achievement (CASA) arranges accommodations for students with documented learning differences and offers academic coaching. NMH meets the full demonstrated financial need of admitted students and supports international students through its Office of Multicultural Affairs.

Most NMH students board. Ninth graders live in a dorm reserved for first-year students and then move to mixed-grade houses, usually staying there until graduation. Houses range from about 14 to 150 residents and include lounges, kitchens and study spaces, with advisors and dorm faculty living on site and student resident leaders supporting younger pupils. Day students are attached to a dorm so they can share in its social life and occasional weekend stays. Boarding fees include room and board, laundry service and health services.

NMH fields around 33 varsity sports and competes in NEPSAC and against fellow Eight Schools Association members. Teams include alpine and Nordic skiing, baseball, basketball, cross country, field hockey, fencing, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, mountain biking, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, ultimate, volleyball and wrestling. The arts programme stages about 60 performances a year, with orchestras, a concert band, a jazz ensemble, a large concert choir, a cappella groups and dance companies. Clubs include Model United Nations, a debate society, chess, a math team, game development, the WNMH radio station, the weekly newspaper and many cultural and service groups.