Welcome to The Fessenden School Web site!
After 100 years, Fessenden continues its focus and commitment to the education of boys at a time when many schools have become co-educational. Much has been written about the advantages of an all-male learning environment for school-age boys in the early 21st century. Our state-of-the-art facilities, curriculum and programs are designed with the necessities of boys in mind.
Fessenden consistently works to incorporate both time-honored traditional values and contemporary pedagogical practices. Course work and offerings in the arts at Fessenden are deliberately chosen to foster an alluring climate in which boys can develop their interests in an uninhibited fashion. Fessenden is deeply devoted to offering a program that encourages each student to develop his own unique talents in an environment that cherishes individual differences.
Fessenden prepares students for the array of challenges that lie ahead of them. Our boys pursue each and every activity from their schoolwork to their athletic and creative interests with enthusiasm. Fessenden has a long-standing history of bringing out the best in boys by encouraging boys to grow and achieve in all areas of their development.
Our faculty, many of whom live on campus, are acutely attuned to the strategies and craft of teaching young boys. The rich boarding environment features a sense of community and around-the-clock accessibility to teachers that pervades the atmosphere for day students as well as boarders. It is the balance between academic mastery and the acquisition of life skills that is the School’s hallmark. Each boy’s ethical development is as highly valued as his intellectual growth, and all teachers are fully dedicated to the ideals of honesty, compassion and respect that adorn classrooms and hallways as a daily reminder of the priorities we espouse.
In February 2010, I announced plans to conclude my career as Headmaster at Fessenden in 2011. As I anticipate my remaining service to Fessenden, I am eager to put everything in place to make my successor’s transition occur seamlessly. The past four and a half years have been extraordinarily fulfilling me and my wife Nancy. We look forward to our continuing time with the Fessenden community, all of us working creatively, yet never losing sight of Fessenden’s overriding goal — “Bringing Out the Best in Boys.” It has been and will continue to be an honor and privilege to be associated with this exceptional community and school. For updates about the progress of Fessenden's search for its next Headmaster, visit the Headmaster Search page on this site.
In my mind, Fessenden’s commitment to putting the boys’ needs “front and center” could not be emulated in another setting. Please explore Fessenden's website and join us on campus for a visit and experience for yourself the intangibles that make Fessenden truly distinct.
Peter P. Drake
Headmaster |
|  | BRINGING OUT THE BEST IN BOYS
"THE BEST" IS AN ENVIRONMENT THAT PRESENTS OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES BOYS TO STEP OUTSIDE THEIR COMFORT ZONE AND PROVIDES THEM WITH ENCOURAGEMENT TO SUCCEED ON
THEIR OWN. |
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