If you want to learn by doing, Chatham Hall is the place for you.
To equip curious thinkers to lead lives of impact, Chatham Hall believes students must experience life beyond their homes. All of our students are fortunate to have access to a wealth of international and domestic travel opportunities.
The School has enjoyed a long history of travel tailored to Chatham Hall students in South Africa, India, and technology-rich Finland and Estonia. The School recently entered into an exchange for both students and faculty with St. Margaret’s Anglican Girls’ School in Brisbane, Australia - an amazing experience that will also have two of St. Margaret’s students spending time on the Chatham Hall campus.
Through the Hallam Hurt Travel Award and iQuest programs, students can search for the answer to an essential question in locations around the world by writing a grant application and being awarded the financial support necessary to do so.
Summer travel through the Student Diplomacy Corps allows students to participate in dynamic cultural and academic programs in regions and countries to which they might never have thought they could travel.
Immersive travel offers you the unique opportunity to not only explore the world but make a difference while doing so. From building houses to teaching English as a second language, students and faculty can choose courage over comfort wherever they go. In March 2024, a group of Chatham Hall students traveled to Kenya on a leadership and community engagement trip. During Spring Break 2025, students and faculty will venture to Cambodia.
Discovery Challenge
Unique to boarding schools in Virginia, Discovery Challenge is an independent study program. It offers you the opportunity to pursue a topic of particular interest in depth under the guidance and direction of a faculty mentor of your choosing.
iQuest
iQuest makes funds available for students and faculty to add local, national, and international travel components to traditional courses, new courses, and independent study. Students have applied for and received support to take on subjects as wide ranging as a science/chemistry internship to create a line of makeup, veterinary studies, self-sustaining environmental work, and learning about small city development.
Australian Exchange
Chatham Hall partners with St. Margaret’s Anglican Girls School in Brisbane, Australia for an exchange program. In the summer, Chatham Hall students and/or faculty travel to Australia to become a part of the term at St Margaret’s, an independent day and boarding school for girls. Australian students then travel to Virginia in the fall. During their two-month exchanges, students complete coursework from their home schools while also attending classes of interest at their host institutions, participate in athletics, clubs, and residential life programs, and have an opportunity to explore their host region and culture through travel and other programs. Learn More >
Student Diplomacy Corps
Student Diplomacy Corps (SDC) conducts rich, experiential programs with a network of leading international non-profit educational organizations. These cross-cultural programs are 3-5 weeks in duration and are enhanced through the exploration of universal issues like biodiversity, sustainability, anthropology, food and nutrition, art and music, and voluntary service. All Chatham Hall current sophomores and juniors are eligible to apply to participate in SDC summer programs. We are fortunate that a Chatham Hall alumna devoted to experiential learning and educational opportunities helps fund scholarship opportunities for our students in need of financial assistance to participate. Recent Trips >
Global Scholars
If you decide to become a part of Chatham Hall's Global Scholar program, you will do coursework, participate in organizations as a member and leader, and create and develop a service program in an area of interest that could lead to a lifelong commitment. The program is topped off by a capstone research paper that also reflects on the work a Global Scholar has done to prepare themself to enter the workforce with a knowledge of the world and its inhabitants. Successful Global Scholars are recognized with a certificate at Graduation.
Foreign Travel Awards
Established in 2005, the Hallam Hurt '63 Student & Faculty Foreign Travel Award helps Chatham Hall students pursue a question they’ve been burning to answer. Past recipients have used their awards to travel to Italy to study the acoustics in opera houses, ride with gauchos in Argentina to learn about the grass-fed beef industry, and visit Jerusalem to study the confluence of three major world religions. With the Hallam Hurt '63 Foreign Travel Award, you decide how to follow your passion.
Spanish Immersion
As a participant in the Chatham Hall Study Abroad Program, you will travel to Spain where you will spend a week traveling to different cities in the country, and then two weeks studying in the beautiful city of Seville in Andalusia. This is a total immersion experience. For these two weeks you will live with a family and take classes with other students from around the world at the Centro de Lenguas e Intercambio Cultural (CLIC). You will study with native professors from Spain at CLIC in the morning and take Flamenco dance classes in the afternoon.
French Immersion
As a participant of Chatham Hall’s study abroad program in France, you will be immersed in the French language and culture by living with a French family, attending a French-language school, and sightseeing with the Chatham Hall group. You will attend classes and enjoy the natural beauty of Amboise, France as you canoe and kayak on the Loire River, swim, and bike in this beautiful region. There will also be opportunities for travel to Paris, Mont St. Michel, Chartres, Arles, and other destinations of interests. The success of our 15-year-old program is evident in the increased performance of our students when they return to class and in the excitement they show in describing their wonderful memories.