What comes to mind when you think about a boarding school? Rigorous curriculum. Caring teachers and staff. Talents from all over the world.
Add a good location and the student’s experience is enhanced further. Some of the top boarding schools offer the best of both worlds in this aspect: rural peace with acres of green combined with great urban features.
At Chaminade College Preparatory School, it is possible to get an excellent balance between the two. Situated in Saint Louis, Missouri, this independent Catholic school’s suburban campus is home to boys who are preparing to become men ready to tackle global challenges.
Less than a 10-minute drive from the school’s 55-acre campus is Forest Park, one of the largest urban parks in the country. Chaminade students can explore the Saint Louis Zoo, skate at the Steinberg Skating Rink, visit the World’s Fair Pavilion and many more over the weekend – all of which serve to enrich what they learn in school.
Stroll within the park to find the Saint Louis Art Museum and the Missouri History Museum. Here, students can discover masterpieces and ancient artefacts reflecting years of human culture or documents to illustrate important historical events in Missouri, allowing them to better understand the city they’re living in.
Beyond Forest Park, Saint Louis – affectionately known as the Gateway to the West – is home to travellers and settlers from various ethnicities and backgrounds. Like the city, Chaminade mirrors this diversity. With students from nearly 20 countries, they will instantly feel welcomed in a city that hosts numerous festivals that celebrate the French, Spanish, Italian, Irish, German, and Latin heritage, among others.
Preparing students for success in college and beyond
Within the classroom, all aspects of school life gear students for university. In middle school, students start honing pre-Advanced Placement (AP) skills such as critical thinking and reasoning.
Through the PACE Programme, high school students can access 28 AP classes and 120 Dual University Credit courses. They can experience an introduction to college-level expectations while in high school, taught by authorised Chaminade Adjunct University Instructors for partner universities.
How effective is this programme? Hear it from graduates like Vincent Laury, who went on to study at the University of Dayton: “I would recommend taking PACE classes for all the reasons why it financially makes sense in the long run; so those college courses are paid for and cheaper, in the high school setting.”
On average, graduates can earn up to two years of college credit – totalling over 40 credit hours. This means that they are not only ready for a demanding academic environment, but some families can also save more than US$100,000 in tuition fees.
“Chaminade made my collegiate and professional goals possible in my expedited time frame,” says graduate Nick Mollett. “Of my 61 Chaminade Dual University Credits that Mizzou accepted, 26 credits applied directly to my civil engineering degree programme.”
“Those credit hours will allow me to complete my Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, a Master of Business Administration (MBA), and a minor in Construction Management (while still taking a semester off to complete a Co-Op work/study opportunity with ARCO Construction) in 4.5 years.”
Apart from an academically challenging curriculum, students are free to join the school’s 70 athletic teams across 19 varsity sports and 45 clubs and activities. In the city, relish the true team spirit of a bona fide sports town – home to three professional sports franchises: the St. Louis Cardinals, the St. Louis Blues and St. Louis City SC, covering basketball, hockey and soccer, respectively.
Is this a future you envision for your child? Click here to learn how you can kick start their academic journey at Chaminade College Preparatory School.
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