Residential Life

Home Away From Home

Each dorm is a home with its own family. Dorm parents work hard to build a sense of community and to make each student feel as safe, cared for, and happy as they would in their own home. The faculty who live in the dorms are mom and dad, teacher and advocate, all rolled into one. They help students with their homework, watch a favorite TV show together after study hall, or chat about life over a snack.

Students are part of an extended family that works and plays together, because they are living with the dorm parents as well as with the rest of the faculty who live on campus with their spouses and children.

Watch the video below to see how boarding and day students connect organically and easily at Solebury School. Then, scroll down to learn more about residential life.

An Ideal Location

Solebury School's location in Bucks County, PA enables us to visit many of the attractions of the northeast while enjoying the quiet, safety, and open space of a 140-acre rural campus. We're an hour from Philadelphia and the New Jersey beaches and an hour and a half from New York City and the Pocono Mountains. Our immediate area boasts wonderful outdoor activity options as well as the malls and multiplexes students love just a short van ride away.

"When you’re here, you feel like you’re at home. I love that about Solebury." —SASHA '19

Dorm Life

Solebury's 100 boarding students thrive in the structure that boarding life provides. Nightly study halls, activities, and lights out to ensure a good night's sleep all contribute to an environment where students can develop the discipline and the habits that lead to long term success. The most significant part of the boarding experience for students is the lifelong friendships they form with one another. Their memories of the time they shared, their maturing and growing up together, will be something they will cherish forever.

Solebury has several dormitories ranging from larger dorms to smaller house-like dorms. Each features a full kitchen, WIFI internet access, laundry facilities, and plenty of space for boarders to work and enjoy their free time. More than half of the faculty live on campus. All of the teachers, but especially the dorm parents, are there for students at every turn—to offer extra help with that history paper, toss a baseball outside, spend an afternoon baking cookies, or drive a van of kids to take a hike, or to go to the movies, local apple orchard, or even to New York City for the day.

 

Dining

When Solebury was founded, students and teachers had their meals together. Tables are still shared by boarding and day students, faculty, and their families in the Herbert S. Boyd Dining Hall. Staffed by four wonderful chefs, the dining hall offers a full breakfast every weekday—eggs made to order, pancakes, oatmeal—and a larger brunch on weekends. Lunches and dinners include homemade soups, a full salad bar, and a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. Fruit, snacks, and hot and cold drinks are available throughout the day. If there’s something students would like to see on the menu, they can simply ask the chefs. See a sample menu.

 

Weekends

Weekends are a time for boarding and day students to form connections with one another and with the faculty, to experience new things, and to make lasting memories. There's something offered for everyone, including trips to nearby New York City or Philadelphia, hikes, evening bonfires, or study groups for a class. 

 

 

Boarders Bonding (B2)

Every Wednesday night between dinner and study hall, all boarders have a mandatory program called Boarders Bonding (B²). Students bond with their dormmates and the entire boarding community through games, discussions, and events. Proctors and social chairs help to guide the programming. 

Dress Code

Within the close-knit fabric of our community, students have the freedom to express themselves in many ways. As with any community, there is an inherent responsibility within this right of expression to be conscious of and respect others. Solebury does not have a dress code. We expect each student to be responsible regarding their selection of clothing at school, during school functions, and in the dining hall for meals.

Health

A three person nursing staff who are available from 7:30am to 10:30pm seven days a week. Our expanded health facilities provide office space for our nurses, an examination room, and six separate spaces for isolation and/or quarantine.