Portsmouth Abbey School, founded in 1926, is a Catholic coeducational boarding school operated by Benedictine monks on a stunning 525-acre campus overlooking Narragansett Bay in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. The school is one of the most distinctive institutions in American secondary education — a place where intellectual rigor, spiritual depth, and natural beauty combine in an unusually powerful way.
Portsmouth Abbey enrolls approximately 380 students from across the United States and over 20 countries. The Benedictine tradition of ora et labora — prayer and work — shapes the rhythm of daily life, and the school's Abbey Church, designed by Pietro Belluschi, is one of the great works of modern ecclesiastical architecture in America.
The academic program is rigorous and traditional. Portsmouth Abbey offers a strong liberal arts curriculum with particular strengths in Latin, classics, theology, and the humanities. The school consistently sends graduates to the most selective universities in the country, and its alumni include distinguished figures in law, medicine, business, and public service.
The campus setting is one of the most spectacular of any school in America. Narragansett Bay forms the western boundary of the campus, and the school's boathouse, sailing facilities, and waterfront provide extraordinary opportunities for sailing, rowing, and marine studies. Newport's cultural resources — the Newport Mansions, Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals, and the Naval War College — are just minutes away.
From New York City, Portsmouth Abbey is approximately 3 to 3.5 hours by luxury SUV. T.F. Green Airport (PVD) in Providence is approximately 20 minutes from campus. MyNYSUV provides luxury SUV service from JFK, Newark, LaGuardia, and New York City directly to Portsmouth Abbey's campus for all term events and vacation breaks.