What the über-wealthy and a catholic priest in Newark, NJ, know about world-class secondary education that you should, too.

THE TOP .1 PERCENT know there’s more to a top-shelf secondary education than just great instruction, lots of personal attention, and state-of-the-art, country-club campuses. The world’s great high schools offer (at least) two more advantages—a raft of extraordinary experiences and an exceptional peer group that provides both intellectual stimulation and a life-long network. That’s how such elite schools as Le Rosey, Aiglon, and TASIS in Switzerland manage to charge sky-high tuitions and still have waiting lists to enroll. Their students tour Europe’s great cultural capitals, they ski, they hike, they climb mountains, they cycle through postcard-perfect countrysides, they sail, they attend concerts, they travel to remote parts of the world to lend a helping hand. You name it—they do it. And all these experiences make a significant impact on teenagers, academically and personally.

There’s a strong argument to be made that experiences are every bit as important as classroom instruction (see our blog post on St. Benedict’s School in Newark, New Jersey, here); Albert Einstein once famously quipped that an education is what remains after you forget everything you learn in class. It’s experiences—cultural, physically challenging, community-service, personal—that we always remember and that shape not only our characters, but our world outlook. Experiences in high school tend to have more transformative power, because teenage minds are more malleable. It’s just a fact that the experiences we have in childhood and adolescence, good and bad, often set our life trajectories, including our career decisions.

Most families can’t afford a school like Le Rosey. Only a small number of youngsters can get in to, say, Andover or Choate. But you CAN avail yourself of a breakthrough enrichment program that rivals, and likely exceeds, what the best high schools offer as part of their curricula.

The QBE European Leadership School is an adventure sailing program based in Saint-Malo, France. Run by a former international-school expeditions leader and accomplished sailor, it checks all the boxes: European cultural discovery; new skill mastery; the opportunity to make new friends from around the world; and a gratifying, confidence-building physical challenge—all at an affordable price. Here’s your chance to embark on a truly special overseas adventure. Join us next summer on our strikingly handsome traditional sailboats for an extraordinary expedition to magical, off-the-beaten-path destinations along the coastlines of western France and the Channel Islands.

Sign up now and come feel the wind in your hair next summer! Don’t wait, places are always limited.

new skills • new perspectives • new adrenaline rushes • new confidence