Over the summer, 16 faculty members traveled overseas to Wembley, England, to join boys’ schools from across the globe at the 2024 International Boys School Coalition (IBSC) Conference. One of the IBSC’s primary missions is to provide opportunities for educators at boys’ schools to work and grow together. This year, the assembly took place at the historic Harrow School, founded over seven centuries ago.
In smaller group panels and workshops, teachers dove into topics ranging from masculinity and gender identity to the pastoral—non-academic and ethics-based—curricula partially utilized at some schools. Belmont Hill contributed to these workshops through three distinct presentations. Mrs. Hamilton and Mrs. Rupley led a workshop on community block and advisory; Ms. Wallace and Mr. Hegarty led a seminar on increasing pleasure reading; and Ms. Schmunk and Dr. Thompson led a conversation about Family Group and Injury Group. Attendees also heard from conference keynote speakers, including Contender Charlie, a former Shakespeare actor whom Mr. George described as an “entertaining and well-crafted speaker,” who gave a speech about Henry V that reflected on topics concerning leadership, humility, and inspiring people.
After returning from the overseas journey, teachers have a newly reformed vision of how an all-boys school should function, considering the several workshops they participated in while at Harrow. Additionally, teachers have learned more through communicating with other all-boys schools at the conference. Mr. George hopes to integrate more discussion topics related to character in his classes. A high involvement of community service was also prevalent among many schools, and reinforced the importance of volunteering at Belmont Hill.
Belmont Hill will have the privilege of hosting the 2025 IBSC Conference. An original member of the IBSC, Belmont Hill has had a prominent role in the conference. When faculty members from other schools worldwide come to Belmont Hill, the community looks forward to welcoming them to our campus.
Mr. Schneider best described the excitement to host this amazing event: “Hosting the IBSC annual conference is a huge opportunity for Belmont Hill to showcase our school and the city of Boston and to boys’ school educators from around the world. As one of the founding members of the IBSC, our school has always tried to be an important voice globally in best practices for educating boys—particularly in the area of character education. We expect over 700 delegates to be in attendance, and the program will include keynote speakers, dozens of workshops, a reception right on campus, and a signature social gathering at the Museum of Fine Arts. We hope that a number of our boys will participate as performers, introducers, and ambassadors for our guests.”