welcome to hcs

When you drive onto Hampshire Country School’s campus you can’t help but feel as if you’ve gone back in time. The road turns to dirt as you veer left and climb the driveway, the cows blithely note your presence, and Main House looms large at the opening beyond the maples lining the entrance.

There is a sensory awareness of the nearly constant breeze, the mix of earthy farm smells, and the vibration of footsteps just inside as the school day charges on. There will likely be a boy taking a break from class to ride his bike for a few minutes.

head of school

If you were to look up, you would probably see another boy enjoying a quiet moment in the branches of a nearby tree. You might wonder, rightly so, why these boys are just beyond the periphery of the school day.

At HCS our boys have always been just beyond the periphery, but rarely by choice. Their unique idiosyncrasies might have made it difficult to connect with peers, they may feel shy or uncertain in social situations, or they might make connections easily before struggling to maintain them. Most will have felt criticized or excluded by former teachers or peers who were frustrated by their quirks like challenges to connect, organize, or sit quietly during an activity. When boys arrive here they are often at the cusp of believing they are lesser or do not belong.

At HCS we help boys reconnect and reintegrate by leveraging play and adventure, academic options and rigor, our compassionate team of faculty, our historic campus, and the family-style learning community. We persevere in finding ways to invite our students away from the margins so that they may leave us feeling empowered to advocate for themselves and their place in the world.

When you talk to members of the HCS learning community past and present there is almost always a reference to the “magic” of HCS. The truth of this is in the inherent belief that what our boys need most is not complicated. It is simply the time and space to find their place guided by a team that continually reminds them of their high ability, value, and good company. Welcome to our community.

We look forward to sharing more about what we do through the pages of this website, a phone call, or by scheduling a visit.

Beth Venable
Head of School