Overview

Portsmouth Abbey School is a coeducational, Catholic Benedictine boarding and day school for students in grades 9-12.  Founded in 1926 by the English Benedictine community, the School is located on a 500-acre campus along the picturesque shores of Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay. The Portsmouth Abbey education is grounded in the Western intellectual tradition, from ancient Greece and Rome and continuing into this century. This classical curriculum is balanced by a focus on spirituality, athletics, the arts and fun. The School's Mission encompasses the importance of reverence for God and the human person, respect for learning and order, and responsibility for the shared experience of community life.  

School Life

Imagine these next four years.  What do you see?  In what direction do you want to grow?  Your high school years reveal so much about your future self, the adult you are becoming.  And the place in which you spend those years imbues you with certain enduring qualities.  Students undergo a definite transformation during their time at Portsmouth Abbey.  And it's a transformation they never forget. If you ask a Portsmouth Abbey student why he or she chose to spend his or her high school years at the Abbey, you're likely to hear a recurring answer – "because of the people I met when I visited." That's because at Portsmouth Abbey, we place a very high value on living in a close-knit community. We are fiercely loyal. We support each other through triumphs and challenges. We arrive as strangers and quickly grow into friends.  And we keep those bonds of friendship alive long after we leave. If you are a student and want your high school experience to be the best imaginable, the Abbey can make your high school years fun, challenging, and meaningful.  

Academics

At Portsmouth Abbey, you enter a new landscape full of new ideas, new people, new relationships and revelations.  Imagine these next four years.  What do you see?  In what direction do you want to grow?  Your high school years reveal so much about your future self, the adult you are becoming. And the place in which you spend those years imbues you with certain enduring qualities. Students undergo a definite transformation during their time at Portsmouth Abbey.  And it's a transformation they never forget.  

Athletics

The athletic program at Portsmouth Abbey School plays an integral role in the development of Portmouth Abbey students.  Athletic participation offers unique learning opportunities that provide each student and opportunity to develop his or her whole self.  While each student-athlete strives to improve their fitness and sport skills the concepts of teamwork, communication, respect, and selflessness are stressed.  We have a strong commitment to sportsmanship and our students developed an "Athletic Code of Conduct" which is articulated and reinforced throughout the athletic program. Our diverse athletic offerings provide students opportunities in a variety of team and individual sports.  We offer 26 varsity sports and 42 athletic teams overall.  Our JV program places an emphasis on participation, skill development, and opportunities to learn a new sport.  The varsity program places a greater emphasis on competition, pursuit of excellence, and preparation for those who aspire to play in college.  Abbey teams win championships, successfully compete at a local, regional, and national level; our athletes earn All League, All State, All New England, and All American honors.  Many Abbey athletes continue to be student-athletes at the college level. For Portsmouth Abbey School student-athletes, the rewards of athletic participation are immediate and enduring.  Our co-curricular athletics program provides a balance to the academic and spiritual life on campus and helps to promote a sense of community.  

Student Life

Ask a Portsmouth Abbey student why he or she chose to spend his or her high school years at the Abbey, and you're likely to hear a recurring answer: because of the people I met when I visited. That's because at Portsmouth Abbey, we place a very high value on living in a close-knit community.  We are fiercely loyal.  We support each other through triumphs and challenges.  We arrive as strangers and quickly grow into friends.  And we keep those bonds of friendship alive long after we leave. If you are a student and want your high school experience to be the best imaginable, the Abbey can make your high school years fun, challenging, and meaningful.  

Spiritual Life

At the core of the mission of Portsmouth Abbey School is the desire to "grow in knowledge and grace," in a life dedicated to Christ. In light of this basic apostleship, the spiritual life of the school is inspired by the Benedictine ideal of a community life of work and prayer ("orare et laborare"). As Saint Benedict sought in his Rule for monks, so too does the school community seek a life of spiritual growth, centered in intellectual development and balanced with physical and social activities, recreation and rest. To this end, oriented by the Catholic tradition, the school offers a comprehensive and structured academic, athletics, and residential life program. Spiritual life programs seek to integrate all of these dimensions of school life into the "work of God," centering the school life in personal and community prayer and service. This includes school liturgies, form and group retreats, service and pilgrimage trips, volunteering and community service, and a variety of additional programs and events. The presence of the monastic community and the involvement of many of its members adds a depth and vitality to spiritual life at the school. The presence of non-Catholic and non-Christian members of the school community creates a rich diversity and promotes an atmosphere of acceptance and respect for various religious traditions. This diverse community is drawn into a reflection on and an attentiveness to the life of the spirit, as it lives out its central mission.