Bolles School

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The Bolles School
Motto Respect. Responsibility. Hard Work. Concern for Others. Pride.
Established 1933
Type Private, Boarding
Head John E. Trainer, Ph.D.
Location Jacksonville &
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA
Campus Suburban, 84 acres
Enrollment 1,800
Tuition $32,500 (7-day boarding)

$15,500 (Day Student 9-12)

$15,000 (Day Student 6-8)

$12,000 (4-5)

$9,500 (K-3)

$6,500 (preK):
Colors Blue & Orange
Homepage www.bolles.org

The Bolles School of Jacksonville, Florida, United States, was founded as an all-boys' military academy in 1933 by Agnes Cain Painter, a friend of philanthropist Richard J. Bolles. The school dropped its military status in 1961 and began admitting women in 1971. Today, Bolles enrolls 1,800 students (approximately 800 in the Upper School) spread across four campuses:

Upper School (grades 9-12) - San Jose Campus (Jacksonville)
Middle School (6-8) - Bartram Campus (Jacksonville)
Lower School (preK-5) - Ponte Vedra (Ponte Vedra Beach) and Whitehurst (Jacksonville) Campuses

Contents

[edit] Academics

Bolles has been a fully accredited Florida high school since 1934, and is known throughout the Jacksonville area for its challenging college preparatory curriculum. The Bolles Faculty hold 13 doctorate degrees and 90 masters degrees. There is a ratio of one faculty member for every nine students. Bolles operates on a two-semester academic year.

For students looking to challenge themselves, Bolles offers Advanced Placement courses in American history, biology, calculus (AB and BC), statistics, chemistry, American government and politics, comparative government and politics, computer science (A and AB), English literature and English language, modern European history, French, Latin, Spanish, portfolio art, and art history. In 2001, Bolles had 15 National Merit Finalists, the most in the Jacksonville area.

[edit] Athletics

Bolles is particularly well-known nationally for its athletics program. In 2005, Sports Illustrated named Bolles's athletic program the ninth best in the country, and second best in Florida. Of the top twenty-five schools, Bolles was the only one with an Upper School enrollment of under 1,000 students. Bolles has received the Florida High School Athletic Association's Floyd E. Lay All-Sports Award (given to the best overall athletic program in Florida in each classification) for eleven consecutive years. The school has recently won state championships in baseball, cross country, football, soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field, and wrestling. Bolles's football team is coached by Charles "Corky" Rogers, the all-time winningest Florida high school football coach, and has won seven state championships since 1990.

The swim team, which established prominence under Coach Gregg Troy, who now coaches at the University of Florida, is arguably the nation's best. Bolles's boys and girls swim teams have been state champions every year since 1984, usually sweeping most events at state meets. The school recruits swimmers sometimes from as far away as Asia. The school's swimming facility has its own offices, weightroom (apart from the weightroom that the rest of the school uses), and two swimming pools (one Olympic-sized). Bolles has had at least one alumnus or student competing in every summer Olympics since 1972. In recent Olympics, up to two dozen Bolles students and alumni have swum for their respective countries. The Bolles Sharks, Bolles's club swim team, competes and practices year-round.

[edit] Activities

Bolles places a particular emphasis on community service. Although there is no community service requirement, the majority of students devote serious time to service clubs like Dreams Come True, Habijax, and Magnolia Pointe.

The school has had significant success in academic competitions. Bolles perennially ranks among the best in state and national Spanish, French, and German competitions. Most recently, Bolles's Spanish Congreso team placed first in the state, and its French team placed second at the State French Competition.

Although Bolles's Superintendent's Academic Challenge team is the youngest in the Jacksonville area, it has quickly established itself as one of the best in Jacksonville, winning first place in 2005 and second in 2006. In its short history, Bolles's team has already placed four different individuals on Team Duval, which represents Duval County in the Commissioner's Academic Challenge, Florida's precursor to the Panasonic Academic Challenge.

Bolles's drama program has had recent success, as well. Every other year the school performs a musical, every third year a Shakespeare play. There is also an annual night of one-act plays directed by students. Students frequently garner "Excellent" and "Superior" ratings at local and state drama competitions, and mainstage plays are often chosen to perform at the State Thespian Competition in Tampa.

The OBC (Obnoxious Bolles Club) is a tongue-in-cheek spirit organization founded in 1997 that has gained significant notoriety around campus. It leads school spirit efforts during Bolles's well-attended football games in the fall.

Students participate in a wide variety of other clubs, ranging from Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Jewish culture club to the Military club and Young Republicans.

[edit] Honor Code

Bolles's Honor Code reads "I will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate anyone who does." The school takes its Honor Code very seriously, and students are often requested by their teachers to write "I have neither given nor received help on this assignment" on their papers and examinations. Students who are accused of an Honor Code infraction are brought before the school's Honor Council, which is composed entirely of students and reports its verdicts directly to the Head of School.

[edit] Notable Alumni

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