Pomfret School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory boarding and day school in Pomfret, Connecticut, United States, serving 350 students in grades 9 through 12 and post-graduates. Founded in 1894, Pomfret is consistently ranked one of the top independent schools in the country for their expert faculty, challenging curriculum, competitive athletics, deep human relationships, and stunning hilltop views. The average class size is 12 students, with a student–teacher ratio of 6:1. Over 80 percent of faculty hold master's degrees or doctorates. Typically, 40 percent of students receive financial aid, 25 percent are students of color, and 21 percent are international students.[1]
Architectural rendering and facilities plan of Pomfret School c. 1906Construction of the George Newhall Clark '04 Memorial Chapel at Pomfret School c. 1908
The school opened on October 3, 1894,[2][3] founded by William E. Peck and his wife, Harriet.[3] In the first decade of the 1900s, Pomfret was transformed from mainly Colonial Revival buildings to a "planned institution".[4] By 1906, architect Ernest Flagg had designed a master plan for the school.[4] The pavilion arrangement reflected the influence of Thomas Jefferson's design for the University of Virginia.
For the chapel, commissioned by Edward Clark in 1907, Flagg used Norman architecture as a model and emulated the rich textures of the unpolished stonework characteristic of that style.[5]
After visiting the campus in 1910, when construction was near completion, Flagg compared Pomfret to his design of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, remarking, "The school is better architecturally than Annapolis." While his design for Annapolis had been repeatedly altered by the Navy during construction, the work at Pomfret scrupulously followed his design.[6] Flagg hoped that his work for Pomfret would set a trend and lead to a "national style of architecture".[6]
Harriet Peck Jones designed Pomfret's coat of arms. She contacted members of the Fermor family, holders of the earldom of Pomfret in England. They suggested the school's coat of arms should be that of their family: Argent, a fess sable (black) between three lions' heads erased gules (red).[7]
Campus and Location
Pomfret is nestled in The Last Green Valley — a federally-designated, 35-town National Heritage Corridor in Northeastern Connecticut. The 500-acre campus, located in the Pomfret Street Historic District, was designed by landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted,[8] and expanded over the years to its current size through gifts and acquisitions. The facility's master plan was designed in 1906 by American architect Ernest Flagg.[9] A number of Pomfret's buildings and houses are listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).[10][11] Two-thirds of Pomfret's land holdings are undeveloped, home to a patchwork of woods, meadows, and streams. Pomfret's extensive trail network is available to all students, faculty, and staff, and thanks to hard work of a dedicated group of Pomfret trail stewards, they are clearly marked and accessible.
The Venue for Innovation, Science, Technology, and Academics at Pomfret School.
School Building
Opened in 1907, the School Building, originally named the Recitation Building, was paid for through “subscription." Its crown jewel, a tower clock manufactured by E. Howard & Co., was donated by a parent named Stephen Peabody. It was put into operation on April 12, 1907 and still chimes to this day.
Centennial Academics and Arts Center
The Centennial Academic & Arts Center (CAAC) is home to fourteen academic classrooms, a small auditorium that doubles as a black box theater, and two expansive art studios: a sculpture and ceramics studio and the iconic Cole Studio.
VISTA
Opened in 2024, the 22,000-square-foot Venue for Innovation, Science, Technology, and Academics features new classrooms and learning commons, state-of-the-art lab spaces, and a central gathering point called the Hub. The building was designed by Annum Architects of Boston and constructed by Shawmut Design and Construction.[12]
du Pont Library
The du Pont Library was designed by Cambridge Seven Associates, finished in 1969, and won many awards. With its bright and inviting space, the Library inspires students to explore and grow through its rich resources. The first floor houses the Technology Department and Digital Arts Lab, equipped with some of the most powerful computers on campus. The second floor is home to our Collaborative Learning Center (CLC), which leverages advanced technology and provides private rooms for one-on-one tutoring.
Hard Auditorium
Featuring telescoping stadium-style seating, the newly renovated Hard Auditorium plays host to Pomfret's largest school gatherings, including theater performances and the Schwartz Visiting Fellow lecture series.
Parsons Lodge
In 2010, the Lodge won the AIA Connecticut People's Choice Award for “the building in which people would most like to study” and the 2009 Best Fireplace Award from Masonry Construction Magazine.[13]
Academic Program and College Prep
Pomfret student in class.
Pomfret is home to seven academic departments, each featuring a carefully crafted catalogue of introductory courses, compelling electives, and challenging advanced courses. The School offers 75 honors and advanced college prep courses. Pomfret is known for its use of experiential education inside and outside of the classroom as a primary means of teaching and learning.
Today, Pomfret's most subscribed subject is science, but it also has a long and proud legacy of supporting the Arts. The Arts Department offers classes in seven distinct disciplines, including dance, digital media and design, music, painting and drawing, photography, sculpture and ceramics, and theater. All freshmen participate in a yearlong Arts Immersion course, which exposes them to the breadth and depth of our creative offerings. The Pomfret Grifftones and Chorus give concerts in the United States and overseas; in 2015 they performed in Florence, Lucca, at St. Stephen's School in Rome, and at the University of Connecticut.[14]
Competency-based Learning (CBL) underpins Pomfret's pedagogical philosophy. At Pomfret courses are based on sets of clearly defined learning outcomes. There are typically between five and ten unique learning outcomes in a given course. Students are assessed on a four-point scale that is applied to individual course outcomes for every assessment. Students also receive detailed written feedback to help them understand where they are succeeding and where they are falling short.
Based on Pomfret's Portrait of the Pomfret Graduate, the Pomfret Learning Record (PLR) is a digital, interactive document that provides a framework for students to reflect on their learning and growth. The top layer is an easy-to-digest snapshot of all the competencies a student has earned during their time at Pomfret. The bottom layer consists of a robust student-curated portfolio that they can share with colleges.
Pomfret's College Counseling Office is staffed by an experienced team of counselors. The college placement rate is 100 percent, with the vast majority of applicants earning admission at one of their top choices, which includes some of the most selective colleges and universities in the world.
Sample Matriculation List
IVIES
Columbia University
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Harvard University
Princeton University
University of Pennsylvania
NESCAC
Amherst College
Bowdoin College
Middlebury College
Tufts University
Wesleyan University
Williams College
STATE
Pennsylvania State University
Purdue University
University of Florida
University of Michigan
University of North Carolina
University of Virginia
University of Wisconsin
TECH
Georgia Institute of Technology
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rochester Institute of Technology
Virginia Tech
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
INTERNATIONAL
Duke Kunshan University
IE University
Polimoda
Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
University of Exeter
University of St Andrews
Athletics and Afternoon Program
A member of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC),[15] Pomfret fields 42 teams in 15 different sports[16] and has won numerous championships during its history in both boy's and girl's sports.[17] Girls Varsity Volleyball won the 2015 NESPAC Class B Championship.[18] Boys Varsity Hockey won the 2017 NEPSAC Small School Championship.[19] Most recently, Girls Varsity Soccer won the 2024 NEPSAC Class C Championship and Varsity Ultimate Frisbee won the 2025 NEPSUL D2 Championship after a 14–0 undefeated season.
Boys varsity baseball celebrating.
Pomfret's sports medicine team is committed to keeping student-athletes safe, along with helping the return to play following any injury. Their athletic trainers examine, diagnose, and treat the injured player, in conjunction with the school health center and school physician.
On average fifteen Pomfret athletes are recruited to play in college every year. College athletic counseling services begin when the student's coach at Pomfret assesses their candidacy for college athletics and provides guidance regarding where to direct the student’s search. After the initial consultation, student athletes can choose to pursue one or more of the following support services in partnership with the College Counseling Office and the Athletic Department.
In 2021, a rivalry began. The Pomfret Griffins vs. the Millbrook Mustangs, two schools on opposite sides of the same road. Now an annual event, the Battle for Route 44 is one of the biggest days on the school calendar. The daylong tournament includes field hockey, volleyball, soccer, and cross country, culminating in the raising of the Peck-Pulling Trophy, named after the founders of our two schools. Pomfret has won the competition all five times the two schools have met.
Former Brown University athletic deputy Colin Sullivan is Pomfret's current athletic director.
Corzine Athletic Center
Lewis Gymnasium, located on the main level of the Corzine Athletic Center, is the home of our basketball and volleyball teams. One of the largest high school wrestling rooms in New England, Merjian Wrestling Room holds the equivalent of more than three full-size competition mats. In the Training Room, the School's 800-square-foot athletic training room features two taping tables and five treatment/exam tables and offers a comprehensive range of treatment options including ultrasound, electrical muscle stimulation, GameReady, and whirlpool therapies. Also located in Corzine is Pomfret's state-of-the-art squash complex, one of the best in the New England preparatory school circuit. The facility hosts eight international squash courts, home to both our girls and boys squash programs. The Center is also home to state-of-the-art fitness center includes cardiovascular and strength training equipment, a variety of free weights, and locker room areas.
The Jahn Rink at Pomfret School.
Jahn Ice Hockey Rink
In 2005, Brown Rink underwent a major renovation and was renamed Jahn Rink after Helmut Jahn, the architect who helped design it. Jahn's son attended Pomfret. Jahn Rink, known for its iconic glass entryway, underwent extensive renovations in 2021, including a state-of-the-art mechanical room, new ice-making equipment, and a dehumidification system that extends the rink's season from September 1 through April 1. The 200-by-85-foot hockey arena offers ample seating for spectators on one side, with additional space for dressing rooms and ice surfacing equipment.[20][21]
Blodgett Boat House
Perched on a hill overlooking picture-perfect Quasset Lake in nearby Woodstock, Blodgett Boathouse is home to our crew teams and their boats. The state-of-the-art facility features a 1,500-meter race course.
Strong Field House and Blodgett Tennis Center
Strong Field House comprises four indoor tennis courts and a multi-use wellness studio, where students can take yoga and meditation classes. The field house’s soaring space is utilized by a number of athletes during the cold winter months. Just outside, the Lawrence W. Blodgett Tennis Center is the site of six newly resurfaced outdoor tennis courts and a shaded spectator pavilion.
Fields and Courses
Pomfret boasts two modern, multipurpose turf fields that serve as home to our field hockey and lacrosse programs. These versatile surfaces host practices, games, and postseason tournaments, providing student-athletes with top-tier facilities in the heart of our hilltop campus. In addition to top-notch turf fields, Pomfret boasts eight meticulously maintained grass athletic fields. Among them is Mallory Field, one of New England’s premier grass fields and home to our Griffin baseball team. The cross country course is a sinuous 3.1-mile ramble through dense forest and open field, with several bridges spanning Mashamoquet Brook. This same area is home to Pomfret's adventure ropes course.
Residential Life
Pomfret students gather around a fire pit behind Orchard Cottage.
More than 85 percent of our students live on campus in one of twelve dormitories.The residential life program at Pomfret is designed to complement the student's academic journey by offering life-changing experiences rooted in character building, cultural competency, and social-emotional fluency. This is only possible at a school where everyone lives and works and learns together.
Third form students are housed in cozy house dorms around Freshman Circle. Sophomores tend to live in larger cottages, while juniors and seniors mostly live in traditional college-style dorms. In total, Pomfret offers twelve unique residence halls.
Pomfret is known for its advisory program. At the heart of the advisory experience is the advisory group that pairs one faculty advisor with six student advisees: a surrogate family led by a faculty advisor who serves as in loco parentis and who is always there to offer advice or lend a hand.
There are also dozens of on-campus activities and off-campus excursions each week.Though Pomfret is rural, it is also centrally located, convenient to several major metropolitan areas. Boston, Hartford, and Providence are only an hour away. New York City is three hours by car.
Main House
The Pomfret Main House is home to the dining hall, which offers a wide variety of hot entrees and vegetarian options, complemented by a full salad bar, homemade soups, artisan pizzas, and handcrafted desserts. Just outside, the Class of 1964 Terraces provide ample space for outdoor dining.
Clark Memorial Chapel
Dedicated on St. George's Day, 1908, and consecrated on May 16, 1909,[22] the chapel was designed by Ernest Flagg[23] and houses three stained-glass windows from 13th-century France.[24][25][26]
The ten-foot-high rose window above the chapel doorway and two of the arched-top, oblong windows along the walls are apparently from the 13th-century cathedral Saint Julien of Tours, on the Loire river. The windows were donated to Pomfret in 1947. They are recorded as having been imported to the U.S. in 1904; they were auctioned in New York to an anonymous bidder and installed in Clark Chapel in 1949.[24][25]
One of The Bricks dormitories from the Quad.
The Bricks
The Bricks are a set of four ivy-covered dormitories — Dunworth, Pontefract, Plant, and Bourne — built in the early 1900s in the Collegiate Georgian style. These dorms are typically home to juniors, seniors, and post-graduates.
Freshmen Circle
Kniffin is the largest dorm in Freshman Circle, known for its strong spirit and sibling-like bonds among first-year students. Clement houses fourteen first-year students across seven double rooms, making it a dynamic and spirited home base for newcomers. Hale’s intimate size fosters a close-knit, family-like environment, ideal for students adjusting to their first year of boarding school.
Other Dorms
Olive Cottage is a three-story Colonial Revival building was once a guest cottage of the historic Grosvenor Inn. It’s now a spacious dorm with six rooms in a mix of doubles and triples. A former guesthouse of the Grosvenor Inn, Orchard Cottage is a cozy dorm with seven double rooms and a warm, close-knit atmosphere. Picerne House, affectionately known as The Villa, is a historic south-campus dorm with a cozy common room and convenient location near the Main House. Pyne is a ten-room dorm with a distinctive history (it's the former school infirmary) and a prime location close to Corzine Athletic Center.
Olmsted Student Union
The Olmsted Student Union houses Pomfret's school store and Tuck Shop, a vibrant space for students to unwind. It’s fully equipped with comfortable couches, flat screen televisions, ping pong tables, a snack bar, and a day student common room.
Tim & Anne Richards Health and Wellness Center
Pomfret’s Health and Wellness Center opened its doors in the fall of 2018. This $4 million state-licensed facility features private exam rooms and counseling offices, and employs a medical director, an APRN, a team of registered nurses, and three certified counselors. The Center is named for former Head of School Tim Richards and his wife, Anne.
Signature Programs
Student delivering her senior chapel talk in Clark Memorial Chapel.
Senior Chapel Talks
The senior chapel program was initiated by former headmaster Brad Hastings ’68 as an important milestone experience for members of the senior class. Every member of the senior class is required to deliver a short talk in front of the assembled school as a condition of graduation. Typically, each chapel meeting allows for three senior chapel talks. Each senior develops his or her authentic ideas and makes creative decisions around the what, why, and how of chapel talks in conjunction with the faculty advisor and Director of Spiritual Life Bobby Fisher. Chapel talks are 6-8 minutes in length and recorded by the Pomfret Communications Office.
Certificate Tracks
Pomfret describes its Certificate Program as a "a college major for high school students," which gives motivated, independent-minded students the opportunity to gain deep exposure to a specific area of study during their time at Pomfret. The result is a rare and powerful experience that encourages students to pursue a genuine interest with purpose and passion. Certificates are diploma distinctions that appear on a student’s transcript.
Project: Pomfret
Each year Pomfret sets aside ten days to explore problems that inspire and perplex its students. These projects strive to answer essential questions, have real-world applications, and align with at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The culmination of the experience is a Project Fair, where students get the chance to share what they have learned with other members of the Pomfret School community.
QUEST
QUEST is the cornerstone of our student life curriculum. The heart of our student’s social and emotional learning, QUEST is an integral component of their growth and development. QUEST enables students to learn more about who they are, who they are becoming, and how we can be and belong together in this community. QUEST is integrated into the daily schedule. Students participate by grade level, and sessions and activities are facilitated by a team of student leaders and faculty.
Honored Visitors
Schwartz Visiting Fellow
Since 1989, world-renowned experts in their fields have visited Pomfret School under the auspices of the Schwartz Visiting Fellow program. Fellows include dancer Bill T. Jones, animal science professor Temple Grandin; author Bill Bryson; human rights activist Madame Jehan Sadat; historian David McCullough; celebrity chef Ming Tsai., and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Engineer Kobie Boykins. This extraordinary speaker series is the result of the vision and generosity of Michael ’66 and Eric ’69 Schwartz.
Ming Tsai visited Pomfret in 2022.
W.P. Carey Lecture
The W.P. Carey ’48 College Admission Lecture Series is held annually as part of Family Weekend. This lecture series brings a representative from a highly selective college or university to address students, parents, and faculty about the college admissions process. This lecture series was endowed by William Polk Carey ’48. Past lecturers include directors from Harvard, Vanderbilt, Middlebury, Yale, University of Chicago, Davidson, Brown, Dartmouth, Duke, Boston College, Williams, University of Pennsylvania, and more.
Lasell Visiting Alumni
The Lasell Visiting Alumni Program brings alumni home to Pomfret to share their time, talent, knowledge, and real-world experiences with students and faculty. Visiting alumni typically spend two or three days delivering presentations, hosting small group discussions, and engaging with students informally. Funding for the Lasell Visiting Alumni Program is made possible through the generosity of the late Chester Lasell ’54. “I was heavily influenced by my education at Pomfret," Lasell says. "With its caring faculty and its ability to cultivate a student’s creativity and independence, I learned the value of listening to and learning from others. It just seemed natural to create a program that would benefit the students in the same way.” Past alumni include Nobel Prize Winner and Yale Professor James Rothman ’67, Academy Award-winning producer Caroline Waterlow ’91, and Gossip Girl creator Josh Bank ’86.
The Grauer Institute
An engineering teacher shows students how to use a rover.
In 2013, Pomfret established an ambitious goal: to permanently endow a position that would exist at the center of major cultural and pedagogical shifts in secondary education. Not long after, The Grauer Family Institute for Excellence and Innovation in Education was born — made possible by a generous gift from former Board Chair Peter Grauer and his wife, Laurie.
The Grauer Family Institute exists to equip each and every student with the skill, knowledge, character, and confidence they will need to meet society's most pressing challenges. It does this by working with teachers and students across four unique areas of focus: programmatic alignment, curricular development, student agency, and mastery learning.
Every summer, the Grauer Institute hosts a number of unique professional development opportunities for educators by educators. Grauer Institutes are open to any teacher, dorm parent, or administrator who wants to experiment with emerging teaching methods in the company of like-minded peers. All residential programs are held concurrently on the Pomfret campus during the third week in June.
Learning Support
Located on the second floor of the du Pont Library, the Collaborative Learning Center (CLC) is the hub of learning at Pomfret. Here, a dedicated team of academic support specialists will equip Pomfret students with the skills, tools, and confidence necessary to succeed at Pomfret and beyond. The EDGE program offers specialized learning support to students with diagnosed learning challenges. This one-on-one class offers students the opportunity to develop compensatory strategies for remediating specific and general learning challenges in reading, written expression, receptive and expressive language, test taking skills, and executive functioning.
In addition to one-on-one class meetings, students in the EDGE program have two additional study hall options. During regularly scheduled evening study hours, a faculty member oversees and supports each student with a plan to complete nightly assignments in a quiet, monitored environment.
Any student seeking a structured work environment during the day may enroll in our Coached Study Hall, which takes place three days each week during a regularly scheduled class block. Subject area tutoring is also available through the Collaborative Learning Center.
↑ "Pomfret Street Historic District". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Services. Archived from the original on November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
↑ "Brian Flynn - Men's Ice Hockey". University of Maine Athletics. Captain as a senior at the Pomfret School where he scored 60 goals and added 52 assists for 112 points in two seasons
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
