Home - Portsmouth Abbey School

What it means to be a Raven

As you browse our website, or visit our campus, you will note our beautiful location and our rich offerings. I hope you will also get a sense of our community life and the value we place upon it as an equal part of our 3 Rs: Reverence, Respect, and Responsibility

Mr. Daniel McDonough
Headmaster

Daniel McDonough

Headmaster

"As my family and I begin our 32nd year at Portsmouth, it's easy to look back and realize how quickly the School became not just a job, but a home. It's the same feeling a great number of our students have, as the School becomes their home away from home, sometimes to their surprise. As someone who left Portsmouth after three years, and then returned "for one more year" 28 years ago, I can say with assurance that Portsmouth has a way of growing on you."

Every day is different in the classroom. The beauty of teaching literature is that it raises an unbelievable array of topics, which allows for varied discussions that reveal the students’ skills, but also who they are.

Mrs. Laureen Bonin
English Department

Mrs. Laureen Bonin

English Department

"Every day is different in the classroom. The beauty of teaching literature is that it raises an unbelievable array of topics, which allows for varied discussions that reveal the students’ skills, but also who they are. Over the years of teaching English I, Creative Writing, and Fifth Form English, or house parenting in St. Mary’s and St. Brigid’s, or advising The Raven, The Beacon, and the Culinary Arts Club, or just plain old advising Advisees, I have met really terrific students who made my job incredibly fun. I’m thrilled that I still keep in touch with so many through photos and comments (thanks Facebook), and I have been proud of them for the lives they are leading beyond the Abbey. It began with the Word and continues with the Word."

Being a Raven means supporting each other as we grow in community. In teaching Humanities, I feel like I am a student again, constantly learning from conversations with my students and from reading books of the past that have the power to speak to us in the present.

Dr. Katie Zins
Humanities Department

Dr. Katie Zins '04

Humanities Department

"Being a Raven means supporting each other as we grow in community. In teaching Humanities, I feel like I am a student again, constantly learning from conversations with my students and from reading books of the past that have the power to speak to us in the present. I try to model this love of learning for my students and show them the rewards of embarking on this journey together. What’s more is that Abbey students have the chance to live out what they learn in the classroom in other aspects of their lives – whether in the house, on the stage, on the field, or in our daily interactions with one another. Getting to be a witness to and participant in this process is a privilege and part of what makes working here so exciting. "

My experience at Portsmouth Abbey was instrumental in shaping who I am today. The rigorous academics prepared me for a very different academic system in the UK.

Genevieve Gralton
Class of 2009

Genevieve Gralton

Class of 2009

"My experience at Portsmouth Abbey was instrumental in shaping who I am today. The rigorous academics prepared me for a very different academic system in the UK. Outside of studies, my passion for running was born at the Abbey (however, my "runs" are more like leisurely jogs, not the hill sprints in the rain, next to the bay that Mr. McDonough would have us endure). Most importantly, at Portsmouth Abbey, I learned a strong sense of self and the value of true friendship."

Before I began teaching at Portsmouth Abbey, I was a chemical engineer at the North Carolina Division of Air Quality.

Mrs. Susan McCarthy
Mathematics and Science Departments

Mrs. Susan McCarthy

Departments of Mathematics and Science

"Before I began teaching at Portsmouth Abbey, I was a chemical engineer at the North Carolina Division of Air Quality. Now while teaching AP Statistics, I try to bring in real-world applications into the classroom as much as possible even if it doesn’t relate to chemical engineering or the environment. The students really get into the real-life applications, and the quality of their work is amazing."

From my first assembly Form III year I knew I wanted to be head girl because it was an opportunity to represent the student body and make an impact on the School.

Ella '21
Head Girl

Ella

Class of 2021, Head Girl

"Portsmouth Abbey School has become so much more than a school to me. It is a community that encourages you to grow. I have found that no matter who you are or what you do, someone is always there cheering you on."

525 Acres on Campus

350 Total Students

7:1 Student:Teacher Ratio

80% Faculty with Advanced Degrees

43 Athletic Teams

3Plays Performed Each Year

75Courses Offered

76% Of students admitted to at least one or more college ranked as “most” or “highly” competitive by Barron

10 Grants awarded to students for scientific research each year

21 AP and Post- AP courses offered

The Aim of Portsmouth Abbey

Helping young men and women grow in knowledge and grace.

Grounded in the Catholic faith and 1,500-year-old Benedictine intellectual tradition, we foster:

Reverence for God and the human person
Respect for learning and order
Responsibility for the shared experience of community life

About Portsmouth Abbey

For 90 years, our liberal arts curriculum has been preparing students for lives of significance and purpose.

Part of our mission is to live in a community that values each of its members. This enables students to better understand themselves and the world around them. We celebrate our achievements and we offer help to those in need in an effort to make this a more gracious community.

Securing our Academic Future

New Science Building Dedicated

This past year, Portsmouth Abbey School dedicated our new state-of-the-art science education facility. The new building features seven laboratories & seven classrooms, a multi-purpose seminar room, a two-story commons and a student project lab for independent work in areas such as robotics, hydroponics, autonomous gliders, and more.