The Hun School Difference

Learn with Joy
smiling students

Hun students know academic excellence and joy aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, neuroscience research suggests that a good chuckle activates long-term memory and stimulates students’ sense of wonder. Our community is both kind and vigorous.

Talking in Class is a Good Thing
Harkness Discussion

At Hun, Humanities classes are taught Harkness style, giving equal weight to all voices.

Mentorship
faculty talking with students

Our faculty get to know their students as individuals in class, in the dorm, and during a special period each day designed for one-on-one collaboration.

Innovative, High-Powered Academics
students solving equations

Our curriculum boasts a remarkable breadth of classes. Coursework is experiential and dynamic, with an emphasis on teaching skills over content.

Signature Programs

We are a joyful, striving community of learners and teachers who want to experience something profound every day: that sweet spot between challenging academics and the personal endeavors that make our hearts soar

STEM Program

STEM has become a buzzword in education in recent years, but it has been a part of our DNA long before it was touted as the “next big thing.” Founded as The Princeton Math School, our legacy is inextricably tied to founder John Gale Hun’s firm belief in teaching with a holistic mindset and interdisciplinary approach—tenets of a STEM program.

Centennial Speakers Series

Each year, The Hun School’s world-class Centennial Speakers Series welcomes thought leaders, performers, and artists to campus to stretch our students' understanding of the world and provoke discussion on the topics and issues of our time. Our guest list has included: Jeb Bush, Sons of Mystro, Dan Harris, Angelique Kidjo, Congressman John Lewis, Monks of Drepung Gomang, Casey Neistat, and Mandy Harvey.

Cultural Competency

Cultural competency is one of the foundational skills of a Hun School education. With students from dozens of countries and states, how could it not be?! We’ve implemented strategies and programs that create mutually beneficial exchanges of learning, and are constantly evaluating our programming and looking for new ways to expand our approach.

Middle School Debate

We believe that talking in class is a good thing. Arguing? Even better! All Middle School students learn the art of debate to improve their critical thinking and communication skills. Our Middle School faculty dream up fun scenarios, split students into small groups, and guide them in crafting their debate skills.

NextTerm

NextTerm is the embodiment of our innovation. For three weeks each May, students in grades 9 through 11 participate in a travel-based immersion learning experience designed to offer a deep exploration of real-world topics. NextTerm courses are project-based, credited courses that fall outside the constraints of traditional disciplines. 

Scholars Program

Upper School students can identify interdisciplinary interests and then select courses that inform and support that study. In two of those courses, they complete a portfolio project which, along with successful completion of their related Senior Capstone, results in an Honors Distinction on their Hun School Diploma.

Coursing with Creativity

A Place for Creativity and Collaboration
computer science class

The Computer Science Discoveries course demystifies computers and shows students the collaboration and creativity involved in computer science. The curriculum comes from code.org, an organization dedicated to exposing students to the field.

Middle School Power Plays
Middle School sock puppets

Middle School English students create their own sock puppets to dramatize the story of “Tobermory” and enhance their understanding of comedic satire.

Getting Down to Business
students in the library

Know any other high school students who run real businesses? Students in Hun's Entrepreneurial Studies classes learn about business plans, finances, and real-world market opportunities before pitching a new business opportunity to a panel of judges. They are then given $300 in seed money to launch and operate their businesses. 

Playwriting Students Take Center Stage
student performance

The Playwright and Productions course allows students to flex their performing, directing, and producing muscles as they present their own one-act play to the community. "A class like this gives students a voice,” said teacher and Hun Theatre Director Bill Esher.

Life-Sized and Bound for Biotech
student scientist

In the biotechnology elective, students work with graduate students from Rutgers University to synthesize a protein sequence using the Worldwide Protein Data Bank. Discoveries like these help scientists discover new treatments for cancer, infections, cardiovascular or respiratory issues, and more. 

News and Events

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Hun teachers presenting project-based learning
A Learner’s Perspective: Faculty Partner with PBLWorks on Project-Based Learning Professional Development

As Hun School faculty prepare for the 2024-2025 academic year, teachers are putting themselves in the mindset  of the students. Experiential learning and student-centered teaching pedagogies are at the forefront of the student experience at The Hun School. In order to advance that commitment, Hun faculty are partnering with PBLWorks,a nonprofit organization of current and former educators with expertise  in project-based learning. PBLWorks facilitators partnered with faculty members in August to share resources, services, and tools on how to implement classroom projects that provide students an opportunity to engage in deep, long-lasting, and relevant learning projects.. 

Read More about A Learner’s Perspective: Faculty Partner with PBLWorks on Project-Based Learning Professional Development
Devyn M. '25
Devyn M. ’25 Gives New Meaning to Lifer Status

In just a few days, Devyn M. ’25 will embark on her last first day as a Hun Raider. Devyn’s journey as a Hun student began when she was in sixth grade, earning her the coveted title of Hun School “lifer” — a title only given to seniors who have been at Hun all seven years. But her time here on campus began far before sixth grade, when she and her mother, Ms. Martin, moved to campus when Devyn was just seven years old, giving new meaning to the word “lifer.” 

Read More about Devyn M. ’25 Gives New Meaning to Lifer Status
Blueprints of New Residence Hall with Sunglasses
Brick by Brick: Dara Martin Recalls the Moment That Made Her a Dorm Parent

As we construct The Hun School’s newest dormitory this year, we will share a series of stories and reflections that illustrate how we build community in The Hun School boarding program.

In 2017, Dara Martin, English Department faculty, director of Global and Immersion Programs, and co-director of NextTerm, was finishing up her third year at Hun. A member of the resident faculty, she had no idea that one routine event was about to become a guidepost for her role as a dorm parent.

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Meet Our Students

We are a joyful, striving community of learners and teachers who want to experience something profound every day: that sweet spot between challenging academics and the personal endeavors that make our hearts soar

Marie-Ève Hébert swimming
Marie-EVe.mp4

Marie-Ève 
Hébert
'20

Alex Marinzoli presents a science project
Hamilton.mp4

Alex
Marinzoli
'24

Gigi Schadrack
Gigi.mp4

Gigi
Schadrack
'19

Marie-Ève Hébert swimming
Marie-EVe.mp4

Marie-Ève 
Hébert
'20

Moments That Matter

The Young Women's Leadership Cohort Sets Girls on a Path of Skill Development, Networking, and Breaking Barriers

"For a long time I thought to be a good leader I had to show up every day and be this perfect version of myself and through this cohort I learned that is simply not the case... The best leaders I know are raw, honest, and the first ones to admit when they are having a bad day. I’ve really learned about the power of honesty and integrity and how important it is to be honest about where I am mentally and understanding that one bad day doesn’t make me a bad leader.”

Bella G. '22

Read More about The best leaders I know are raw, honest, and the first ones to admit when they are having a bad day.

Experiential learning is key

There are few other high schools that place such a large emphasis on experiential learning—these experiences are a huge reason why I chose Hun. Watching a live surgery, along with a visit to Penn's animal labs and a research presentation, presented all sides of the medical industry, from administrative to research to clinical. This gives us a significant advantage by helping us find our passions early.

Blane Soper '19

Read More about “There are few other high schools that place such a large emphasis on experiential learning—these experiences are a huge reason why I chose Hun.

Hun is a moveable feast

Follow your heart in looking for a job as opposed to taking a strictly pragmatic path. If you love your job, you tend to stay with it longer. Hun is a moveable feast that we carry with us all our lives. The caring we experienced there will nourish us forever.

Shawn Tully '66

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You will be part of a giant family

The word “hon” is short for the word honey, but sounds like the word “Hun”. Everyone at Hun is sweet and we stick together when we face difficulties. I chose Hun because Hun welcomes you like no other school. The people at Hun make you feel like you are part of a giant family, and everyone will always stick by your side, just like honey.

Elizabeth '21

Read More about I chose Hun because Hun welcomes you like no other school. The people at Hun make you feel like you are part of a giant family.

A day has not gone by where I have not felt welcomed

Hun is a different kind of community, the people here aren't here to beat out other kids in school. Kids are here to make friends, do well, and to set themselves up for the future. Hun has a community that is welcoming and friendly. A day has not gone by where I have not felt welcomed and like something amazing and great would happen that day.

Andrew ’20

Read More about Hun is a different kind of community, the people here aren't here to beat out other kids in school.

Feel what it is like to truly belong

My family lives in three different countries. Work brought my mom to Indonesia, my dad remains in Korea, and my sister and I go to school here in the United States. The family situation has always been like this, and it works in our own way. However, I have always craved a sense of belonging and togetherness that my family, by its nature, could not provide. Three years ago, on my first day as a boarding student at the Hun School of Princeton, I felt out of place and uncomfortable. I was in a new country, surrounded by an unfamiliar culture and foreign faces. Back then, I could not have imagined that I would find a second family here. Of course, there wasn’t a day when I just declared that Hun had become my family.

The values that constitute a family, such as love, loyalty, and unwavering support and respect for one another, cannot be fully seen at first glimpse. These values reveal themselves to you slowly, through moments and lasting feelings of warmth. When my dog in Korea died freshman year, I met girls from my dorm that I’d never spoken to before, because they came to my room and comforted me until I stopped crying. It did not matter that they did not know me, nor that I did not know them. This is just one of many memories that would follow - some filled with sadness, some with joy, but all precious when looked back upon. Now, when I am back in Korea, I find myself missing Hun, just like I miss my home when I am here. At Hun, you will not only find a sense of belonging, but feel what it is like to truly belong. Everyone who comes here eventually sees that there is a magic about this community that turns strangers into family.

Erika ’20

Seoul, Korea

Read More about Everyone who comes here eventually sees that there is a magic about this community that turns strangers into family.

Experience Hun

At The Hun School of Princeton, we learn with joy, share in each other’s successes, and shape– action by action—a community where caring opens us to the best in ourselves and others. We meet our students at a seminal moment in their lives, when their sense of self is still evolving and their vision and capacities are beginning to emerge. We know that at such a pivotal moment, kind encouragement is as necessary as intellectual challenge.