The Frederick Gunn School

In 1850, Frederick William Gunn, educator, prominent abolitionist, and outdoorsman, along with his wife, Abigail Brinsmade Gunn, founded their school on a hilltop in bucolic in Washington, Connecticut. For more than 170 years, The Frederick Gunn School has flourished by standing squarely on the ideals of its founders: intellectual strength, moral courage, physical rigor and character.

Today, there are reminders all around us of Mr. Gunn’s legacy. Most are not as tangible as a school building or a sepia-colored photograph but have shown to be even more lasting. Mr. Gunn’s philosophy of education, with its emphasis on character development, curiosity and independent thinking, remains relevant today. What was regarded as iconoclastic at the time has proven to be universal. Today’s graduates are not only prepared but eager to face the challenges of the 21st century and, like our founder, be a force for good.

FGS offers many things only possible in a school of 300 students: the chance to know and be known by every fellow student; the individualized care for students only possible when every faculty member knows every student by name; multiple early opportunities for leadership and discovery. If you enjoy being known well by your friends and your teachers, if you enjoy developing friendships with peers from around the country and the world, and if you enjoy learning, playing, and creating in an environment in which it is safe to try, fail, and try again, then you'll love our school. We believe that real learning happens best when put into action, whether the topic is physics, the violin, a zone defense, or leadership – and when students take real, incremental risks. At FGS, you will have more opportunities than at larger schools to put theory into practice – to experience the rewarding thrill of learning from risk – and, as a result, will learn exponentially.

At FGS, you will have more opportunities than at larger schools to put theory into practice – to experience the rewarding thrill of learning from risk – and, as a result, will learn exponentially.

Think about it this way: There are in essence three buckets in our lives. The first is filled with all the things you already know you are good at; the things that you know you like to do and feel confident in, whether that’s a science class, a language, an instrument, a sport – or maybe all sports. Then there’s a second bucket, filled with things that are less familiar, or that perhaps you’ve never even tried. Maybe you’ve never tried acting, or never really tried to like math. The third bucket is for those things you know you don’t like. Maybe it’s something you’ve written off, as in: “I’m never doing that.” The point is, when it comes to choosing a school, if you make your decision based only on the things in the first bucket, you might realize in a year, or two years, or 10, that you’ve limited yourself in ways you can’t yet imagine. Our competitive advantage is that we’ve created an environment in which you as a high school student can develop the confidence to take risks both in the areas you already love and excel, and, most importantly, in trying the things that are less familiar or you never would have considered before.

What our founder, Frederick Gunn, cared about, and what we continue to emphasize today through our programs, people and place, is you developing your character such that you are ready to put it to work in the world as an active citizen. It’s not just doing the right thing, but getting comfortable challenging yourself, and being challenged, secure in the knowledge that the teachers and friends around you believe in you.

So when you choose your bucket – and choose your school – think about how you can become that person you can’t even imagine yet; a person who can go out into the world with an appropriate kind and level of confidence and be someone who literally makes the world a better place by engaging with it and serving other people. That’s what our founder did and that’s the definition of a FGS graduate. If you’re up for the challenge, we hope you see yourself here.