Cardigan Mountain School

At Cardigan Mountain School, our forward-thinking program is informed by the School’s rich history and traditions. We embrace the vision of our founders, Harold P. Hinman, a Dartmouth College graduate, and William R. Brewster, headmaster of Kimball Union Academy: they imagined a School that offered a beautiful natural setting and balanced instruction, helping boys build a foundation for future success.

In 1945, these men joined with Dartmouth president E. M. Hopkins to obtain our School’s lakefront home, nestled below Mt. Cardigan’s peak. Cardigan has integrated thoughtfully into this campus, expanding from an initial graduating class of seven boys, merging with the Clark School in 1954, and settling intentionally into our current enrollment of just over 200 boys in grades six through nine. Cardigan Mountain School is an independent boarding and day school for boys in 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th grade in Canaan, New Hampshire. We understand and appreciate boys at this great age and stage of development. We’ve created an environment designed to nurture not only their academic achievement, but also their physical, social, ethical, and personal growth.

Everything here—from teaching and learning to arts, sports, and fun—is geared toward helping boys reach their potential. We offer boys just the right amounts of structure and independence, challenge and support, and a focus on both individual growth and a strong, positive sense of community. This time-tested, comprehensive approach to the education of boys is what we call the Cardigan Way. Cardigan Mountain School offers a close-knit community that prepares middle school boys—in mind, body, and spirit—for responsible and meaningful lives in a global society.

To achieve our mission, we reward effort and accomplishment, helping each boy realize his academic, physical, and personal potential through the integration of the following Core Values in all aspects of daily life.