Harrow International School NY set to open this fall at former LaSalle campus in Oakdale
The former LaSalle Military Academy in Oakdale will become the Harrow International School New York. Above, Harrow vice principal Matthew Sipple leads a campus tour on Tuesday. Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
A British-style boarding school complete with uniforms and boater hats is preparing to open in Oakdale in September, after receiving a provisional charter for a 6-12 school from the state Board of Regents.
Harrow International School New York is scheduled to be the first American affiliate of the 450-year-old Harrow School in London, whose alumni include Winston Churchill and Benedict Cumberbatch. The Oakdale campus is undergoing a $100 million-plus renovation, officials said.
Harrow officials led an open house at the 170-acre campus of the former LaSalle Military Academy and St. John’s University in Oakdale on Tuesday. Renovation work is underway in many of the buildings that will house student dorms, classrooms, a dining hall and a gymnasium. Officials said the first phase of work will be complete by the time classes start this fall. "We will have everything that we need to open in September," vice principal Matt Sipple said.
The school expects to open for up to 80 students in grades 6 through 10 this year, but a grade a year will be added to get to full 6-12 capacity. Sipple said the school will eventually be able to accommodate about 400 students.
"We’d love to have anybody and everybody who’s hungry for this type of education," Sipple said, "to push their boundaries, to expand their possibilities, to be in a vibrant international community ... to be the best versions of themselves that they can. To build upon the legacy of Harrow."
Students who live on campus for seven days will pay $75,000 for the 2025-26 school year, while five-day boarders will pay $70,250 and day attendees $61,700 for the full school year.
The Oakdale campus and the license to operate the school is owned by Amity Education Group, which had previously hosted international students for Adelphi University. Amity has filed an ongoing tax challenge against the Town of Islip over whether the facility qualified for an academic tax exemption. In the past Amity has filed its taxes "under protest," and tax arrears were $5.7 million, Newsday reported last year.
In its opposition papers, Islip Town has noted that revenue from for-profit entities, amounting to more than $1 million a year, went not to the nonprofit Amity CA, the named owner of the property, but instead to the for-profit Crossborder Group, whose owners also have ownership ties to global educational institutions and large industrial companies in India. Newsday reported that Amity hosted three Suffolk County officials on a trip to India in 2022, a week before the county was hit by a ransomware attack, though officials have said the events were unconnected.
The Harrow International School New York pays a licensing fee to Harrow School and must also undergo stringent thrice annual reviews by that institution and file an annual report.
The property will continue to host weddings and weekend events at the Bourne Mansion, which is the central building on the waterfront property, with efforts to segregate students from those weekend venues, Sipple said.
The school will have a health facility staffed 24/7, a dining hall that will be catered by Lessing's catering operation, dorm rooms, a 400-seat theater and two floors of classrooms. Squash courts were recently completed and a gymnasium is expected to be renovated by the start of classes, Sipple said.
The buildings retain names from prior owners, but Sipple said they will be changed over time "to make them more Harrow-like."
A boathouse on the Great South Bay remains in disrepair and off-limits, but Stipple said the plan is to eventually renovate that and offer boating, sailing and kayaking programs for students. Two adjoining dormitory "houses" — one for 30 boys, the other for 30 girls — will be joined by four others in the future, Sipple said, adding the school expects most of the work to be completed in 5 to 10 years.
The school has begun recruiting teachers for the 2025 school year and plans to have 30 teachers and staff in house by September, said spokesman Ryan Allison, and about 16 students per class. School leaders may also serve as teachers, said Sipple, who is a history teacher.
Since recruitment began, "we are attracting interest from the world’s best teachers," said James Mower, director of studies. Enrollment for students opened three weeks ago.
Classes will start at 7 a.m. each weekday and the "extended school day" can continue through 5:30 p.m. with athletics and other activities, Mower said. Those who graduate from the school have a "lifelong network of people you can call up around the world," he said.
Admissions director Julie Kaplan said the school would continue to accept applications this winter, spring and summer "until all spaces are filled." Students will be drawn from across the tristate region and across the country, she said. The school offers "needs-based" financial aid. The plan is to offer admission to international students with a special visa by January, with a special certification.
The original Harrow School opened in 1572, with a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I. The school in north London remains an all-boys school, but there are now 13 Harrow International Schools worldwide, many in Asia, educating more than 9,000 students a year.
A British-style boarding school complete with uniforms and boater hats is preparing to open in Oakdale in September, after receiving a provisional charter for a 6-12 school from the state Board of Regents.
Harrow International School New York is scheduled to be the first American affiliate of the 450-year-old Harrow School in London, whose alumni include Winston Churchill and Benedict Cumberbatch. The Oakdale campus is undergoing a $100 million-plus renovation, officials said.
Harrow officials led an open house at the 170-acre campus of the former LaSalle Military Academy and St. John’s University in Oakdale on Tuesday. Renovation work is underway in many of the buildings that will house student dorms, classrooms, a dining hall and a gymnasium. Officials said the first phase of work will be complete by the time classes start this fall. "We will have everything that we need to open in September," vice principal Matt Sipple said.
The school expects to open for up to 80 students in grades 6 through 10 this year, but a grade a year will be added to get to full 6-12 capacity. Sipple said the school will eventually be able to accommodate about 400 students.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- A British-style boarding school serving grades 6-12 is scheduled to open in September at the former LaSalle campus in Oakdale.
- Harrow International School New York is set to be the first American affiliate of the 450-year-old Harrow School in London.
- The school expects to open for up to 80 students this year, with plans to eventually accommodate about 400, a school official said.
"We’d love to have anybody and everybody who’s hungry for this type of education," Sipple said, "to push their boundaries, to expand their possibilities, to be in a vibrant international community ... to be the best versions of themselves that they can. To build upon the legacy of Harrow."
Students who live on campus for seven days will pay $75,000 for the 2025-26 school year, while five-day boarders will pay $70,250 and day attendees $61,700 for the full school year.
The Oakdale campus and the license to operate the school is owned by Amity Education Group, which had previously hosted international students for Adelphi University. Amity has filed an ongoing tax challenge against the Town of Islip over whether the facility qualified for an academic tax exemption. In the past Amity has filed its taxes "under protest," and tax arrears were $5.7 million, Newsday reported last year.
In its opposition papers, Islip Town has noted that revenue from for-profit entities, amounting to more than $1 million a year, went not to the nonprofit Amity CA, the named owner of the property, but instead to the for-profit Crossborder Group, whose owners also have ownership ties to global educational institutions and large industrial companies in India. Newsday reported that Amity hosted three Suffolk County officials on a trip to India in 2022, a week before the county was hit by a ransomware attack, though officials have said the events were unconnected.
The Harrow International School New York pays a licensing fee to Harrow School and must also undergo stringent thrice annual reviews by that institution and file an annual report.
The property will continue to host weddings and weekend events at the Bourne Mansion, which is the central building on the waterfront property, with efforts to segregate students from those weekend venues, Sipple said.
Students at the Harrow International School will wear uniforms and are schooled much as they would be at an English boarding school. Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
The school will have a health facility staffed 24/7, a dining hall that will be catered by Lessing's catering operation, dorm rooms, a 400-seat theater and two floors of classrooms. Squash courts were recently completed and a gymnasium is expected to be renovated by the start of classes, Sipple said.
The buildings retain names from prior owners, but Sipple said they will be changed over time "to make them more Harrow-like."
A boathouse on the Great South Bay remains in disrepair and off-limits, but Stipple said the plan is to eventually renovate that and offer boating, sailing and kayaking programs for students. Two adjoining dormitory "houses" — one for 30 boys, the other for 30 girls — will be joined by four others in the future, Sipple said, adding the school expects most of the work to be completed in 5 to 10 years.
The school has begun recruiting teachers for the 2025 school year and plans to have 30 teachers and staff in house by September, said spokesman Ryan Allison, and about 16 students per class. School leaders may also serve as teachers, said Sipple, who is a history teacher.
Since recruitment began, "we are attracting interest from the world’s best teachers," said James Mower, director of studies. Enrollment for students opened three weeks ago.
Classes will start at 7 a.m. each weekday and the "extended school day" can continue through 5:30 p.m. with athletics and other activities, Mower said. Those who graduate from the school have a "lifelong network of people you can call up around the world," he said.
Admissions director Julie Kaplan said the school would continue to accept applications this winter, spring and summer "until all spaces are filled." Students will be drawn from across the tristate region and across the country, she said. The school offers "needs-based" financial aid. The plan is to offer admission to international students with a special visa by January, with a special certification.
The original Harrow School opened in 1572, with a Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I. The school in north London remains an all-boys school, but there are now 13 Harrow International Schools worldwide, many in Asia, educating more than 9,000 students a year.
Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.
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