Nobles at a Glance
Mission: Noble and Greenough School is a rigorous academic community dedicated to inspiring leadership for the public good. Through mentoring relationships, we motivate students to achieve their highest potential and to lead lives characterized by service to others.
Read more about the Nobles Mission.
| Fast Facts by Category |
| Students, Faculty and Campus | Academics | Arts | Community Service | Student Life | Athletics |
Students, Faculty and Campus
- 585 total students
- 155 students of color
- 122 Middle School students, 463 Upper School students
- 291 Male students, 294 female students
- 119 faculty members; 31 reside on campus
- 25 percent of employees identify as people of color
- 187-acre campus bordered by the Charles River; 10 miles from Boston
- Day tuition: $39,150; Five-day boarding tuition: $44,600
- Endowment: $92 million (May 2012)
- 400 computers on campus plus 60 iPods, 25 iPads, 15 PC Tablets, 25 netbooks, 10 Kindles, four specialized computer labs and 10 computer kiosks
- Average class size is 12.5.
- 5 to 1 student/faculty ratio
- 106 elective courses are offered in many disciplines, including psychology, languages and computer science.
- Nearly 200 students (36 percent of the student body) experience educational travel opportunities (domestic and international) during the course of a typical school year. Recent destinations have included Chile, France, Greece, Honduras, India, Japan, New Orleans, New Mexico, New York City, Northern Cheyenne Reservation, Montana, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Vietnam, and Israel/Egypt.
- 81 percent of seniors will have traveled and/or studied away before graduating from Nobles.
- The Putnam Library contains more than 35,000 print volumes; 44 online databases and e-book accounts providing access to thousands of journals, newspapers, films and books; circulates iBooks, MacBooks, Kindles, iPods, digital recorders, and cameras to support students' classroom and extracurricular projects; and staffs three professional librarians.
- There are an average of five theatre productions each year including one musical, two main stage plays, a Middle School production and student-directed plays.
- More than 10,000 photographs are produced in the Nobles photo lab each year.
- 25 percent of Nobles students take visual arts at the AP Level by the time they graduate.
- The ceramic department boasts four different kilns: electric, natural gas, raku and wood-burning.
- 20 percent of our students take on-campus private music lessons.
- Every year the Nobles Theatre Collective brings interested students to New York City for a long weekend of Broadway and off-Broadway productions.
- Art students most recently traveled to: Rome (Art History and Classics Dept. sponsored) with visits to the Vatican Museum, Villa Borghese, Capitoline Museum, the Forum and the Colosseum and other sites; and Florence (Visual Arts). The trip included studio experience of painting, drawing and photography in Tuscany along with visits to the Uffizi, Medici Chapel, Brunelleschi's Duomo, as well as the smaller cities of Sienna and San Gimignano.
- Community service graduation requirement is 80 hours.
- Students have performed service at more than 400 sites throughout Boston and the world, including Veteran's Hospital, Community Servings, NICE Daycare, YMCA After School Programs, Roxbury Prep, Sages and Seekers/Needham Senior Center and many more.
- Service partnerships exist between Nobles and organizations in Romania, India, South Africa, New Orleans, New Mexico and Montana which involve Nobles students traveling to and working with these service organizations during spring break and summer vacation.
- Morning Assembly, held four mornings per week, brings the entire Nobles community together in a unique and powerful way. Recent speakers include activist Paul Farmer, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai, and Natasha Trethewey, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for poetry.
- The mandatory Afternoon Program expands the curriculum outside the classroom with over 80 different offerings each year, of which more than 95 percent are staffed by Nobles faculty members.
- Students can join a variety of clubs and organizations.
- The boarding program hosts 48 students in the Upper School who live on campus five days a week.
Member of Independent School League (ISL) and New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC)
Over the Past Five Years (2006-2011):
- 85 percent (94 out of 110) of varsity teams have had a winning record
- 63 percent (69 out of 110) of varsity teams have finished in the top 3 of the ISL
- 38 varsity teams have won ISL Championships
- 80 percent (32 out of 40) of eligible varsity teams invited to New England tournaments
- 10 varsity teams have won New England Championships
Over the Past 10 Years (2001-2011):
- 81.5 percent (181 out of 222) of varsity teams have had a winning record
- 51 percent (113 out of 222) of varsity teams have finished in the top 3 of the ISL
- 61 varsity teams have won ISL Championships
- 72.5 percent (58 out of 80) of eligible varsity teams invited to New England tournaments
- 16 varsity teams have won New England Championships
2010-2011 Championship Summary:
- 7 ISL Titles: Boys Soccer, Girls Cross Country, Girls Basketball, Girls Hockey, Boys Alpine Ski, Girls Alpine Ski, Girls Lacrosse
- 1 New England Championship: Girls Soccer
