Walnut Hill School for the Arts is an independent boarding school for the arts located in Natick, Massachusetts.
Walnut Hill was founded in 1893 by Florence Bigelow and Charlotte Conant as a college preparatory school for women and a feeder school for Wellesley College. Even as a traditional private boarding school for girls, Walnut Hill`s arts programs were strong. The school was home to acclaimed Fenway Studio artist and teacher Marion Pooke, class of 1901, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Poet Laureate Elizabeth Bishop `30. It became coeducational and arts-focused in the late 1970s in respond to changes in the educational landscape.
Mission statement
The mission of Walnut Hill is to educate talented, accomplished and intellectually engaged young artists from all over the world. The School does so in a diverse, humane and ethical community.
Students at Walnut Hill major in one of five arts disciplines: dance, music, theatre, visual art, and creative writing. With the exception of voice students, music students at Walnut Hill take their weekly private lessons at The New England Conservatory in Boston and perform in NEC`s Preparatory Ensembles. Admission to Walnut Hill is by academic application and artistic audition or portfolio submission (depending on the artistic discipline).
In addition to pursuing expert training in one of five core arts disciplines, students also engage in an innovative and rigorous college-preparatory curriculum. The academic program is designed specifically to both leverage and foster the excellent habits of a young artist’s mind—careful observation, critical thinking, and a desire for deep and enduring understanding. Students are able to pursue their academic and artistic studies on a single campus, taught by faculty who respect and accommodate the demands placed on each student.
www.walnuthillarts.org - 17222 - Walnut Hill School
