Welcome to John Bapst, proud to be one of America’s best high schools. Motivated, friendly, involved, creative — these words describe John Bapst students. And you could be one of them.

Located in the attractive, safe city of Bangor, Maine, John Bapst is an independent boarding and day school serving 498 girls and boys in grades 9 through 12.  Our mission is focused on excellence, friendliness, community, and personal growth. Each year John Bapst is home to students from nearly 40 Maine towns, and since 2007 John Bapst has also welcomed students from a long list of other countries: China, Vietnam, South Korea, Ghana, Japan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Russia, India, Italy, Israel, Egypt, Spain, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Singapore, South Africa, Albania, Mexico, Ecuador, and the United Kingdom. The school’s accelerated English immersion program with ESL support allows international students to challenge themselves while making friends in America.

Every student is unique, which is why a 21st-century school has to know its students. We believe in a traditional, well-rounded education, and all John Bapst students learn how to read critically, write clearly, work math problems, and investigate the sciences. But the John Bapst experience also includes opportunities for students to explore something they’re passionate about in a way that’s deep and meaningful. Art, music, and technology are vital subjects at John Bapst. We celebrate citizenship and service, and our students prepare for the real world through courses in economics, world cultures, and languages.

John Bapst has been known as an exceptional academic high school for years. Four times the school has been ranked #1 in Maine by The Washington Post. In 2018, John Bapst students took 538 AP (Advanced Placement) exams in 23 subject areas. Students go on to Ivy League colleges, top public and private research universities, and great liberal arts colleges. Our graduates currently study at Yale, Columbia, MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Boston College, Wellesley, Smith, UMass-Amherst, Tufts, NYU, Fordham, Northeastern, Chicago, Illinois, Indiana, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Penn, Virginia Tech, Emory, Florida, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Michigan State, Texas, Texas A&M, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, several campuses in the University of California system, and many others. Our students have also gone on to art and music schools like the Parsons, Pratt, the Art Institute of Chicago, and Berklee College of Music. Here in our state, dozens of John Bapst scholars have entered the honors programs at the University of Maine; followed the liberal arts to Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin; or specialized at Husson University, Maine Maritime, University of New England, and other schools.

Let us tell you more: contact us at admission@johnbapst.org. Choose the school that starts by saying, “Be yourself” – and then shows you just how limitless the possibilities are!

Mel MacKay
Head of School