Berkshire School

All independent college preparatory schools should offer an outstanding core experience: a first-rate academic program, distinctive opportunities in the arts, and excellent athletics. Berkshire is no exception; it provides an exceptional college preparatory curriculum with advanced courses and AP offerings in all disciplines. It is what happens at the periphery of this exceptional core that sets a school apart. Berkshire’s motto Pro Vita Non Pro Schola Discimus, “Learning not just for school but for life,” is as well suited to guide a learning institution in the 21st century as it was over 100 years ago when Berkshire was founded by Seaver Buck as a school for just seven boys. The motto underscores the timeless values that Berkshire has embraced for over a century: to help students become independent thinkers, to help them make value judgments, to encourage them to take risks and to respect each other. These are qualities critical to a high school education and essential in life. Above all Berkshire strives to prepare students for college and the complex world they will enter as adults. In order to accomplish this dual mission, we recently launched the Berkshire Model: Learning for the 21st Century. We have taken existing strengths like our track record as leaders in environmental conservation and developed new programs which speak to the changing nature of the world we live in. The Berkshire Model places academics, the arts and athletics at the core of the Berkshire experience and maps out a constellation of programs that provide a full spectrum of opportunities....