Public & Private Schools


Public & Private Schools in Dover NH

High quality education is a priority for Dover businesses and residents. A solid elementary and secondary school education helps lay a strong foundation for the next generation of citizens and employees to build on.

The Dover public school system serves more than 4,000 students. Dover students historically have tested higher than the national average in scholastic tests, and the district is among a select group fitting the model of “What Parents Want.” Only 14 percent of the nation’s 15,620 school systems receive this distinguished honor. The challenging academic program is complemented by a full array of extracurricular activities, including music, sports, clubs, and social events.

Dover High School is a modern facility offering advanced placement and honors courses, as well as a well-equipped regional career technical center featuring many programs to prepare students to enter the area workforce. Students in kindergarten through fourth grade attend either Horne Street, Garrison, or Woodman Park Elementary Schools, and the new state-of-the-art Dover Middle School serves fifth through eighth grades. YMCA of Strafford County partners with the Dover School Department to provide high-quality, on-site after school programs for children in grades 1 through 8.

A number of distinguished private schools in the area provide superb options for parents and students. Cochecho Arts & Technology Academy is a specialized charter school in Barrington. St. Mary Academy, a Catholic school serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade students, offers challenging academic programs combined with an emphasis on moral development. St. Thomas Aquinas High School provides an intensive college preparatory program in the Catholic tradition and welcomes students of various religious and social backgrounds. Portsmouth Christian Academy, located along the scenic Bellamy River in Dover, offers a superb kindergarten through 12th grade education in a nondenominational Christian setting. Tri-City Christian Academy in Somersworth serves students of all backgrounds pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. Nearby Barrington is home to the Good Shepherd School, a nondenominational Christian school that offers a day-school program for kindergarten through eighth grade. Berwick Academy is an independent, coeducational country day school serving the Seacoast area of Southern Maine and New Hampshire. The school offers programs for kindergarten through 12th grade students.

Encompassing an area of more than 1,700 acres, the University of New Hampshire is located in Durham, which is only six miles from Dover. Known for the quality of its undergraduate and graduate degree programs, the university started in 1892 as an agricultural college.

The University of New Hampshire’s Continuing Education program in Durham offers part-time day and evening certificate and degree programs, as well as professional seminars throughout the region. Almost 10,000 continuing education students enroll annually in courses and programs that will further their education and career skills.

McIntosh College has served the region from Dover since 1896, continuing a century-long tradition of providing academic programs that integrate the acquisition of job-related skills with the development of clear, critical thinking and effective reasoning. This career-oriented college offers majors in accounting, computer studies, business management, massage therapy, paralegal studies, criminal justice, medical assisting, and more. The College’s Atlantic Culinary Institute offers the Le Cordon Bleu culinary program.

Granite State College, formerly the College for Lifelong Learning, is a fully accredited college of the University System of New Hampshire and specializes in adult education. The college offers Associate and Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of General Studies degrees and certificate programs to students in the Seacoast area.

For more than 60 years, Southern New Hampshire University, formerly New Hampshire College, has been preparing students for distinguished business and related careers, and it remains a leader in continuing education. Its Dover center is an accredited college offering a number of bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.

New Hampshire Technical College in Stratham provides business and industry training with certificate, diploma, and associate degree programs in business and technology. For more than 100 years, Hesser College has provided relevant, career-focused educational programs. Franklin Pierce College offers an MBA in Leadership as well as numerous bachelor’s and associate degree programs, including secondary and elementary teacher certification. Founded in 1965, Daniel Webster College is dedicated to professional development in aviation, computer science, management, social science, and engineering.

Each year, the Dover Adult Learning Center of Strafford County provides adult education for more than 2,000 students in literacy and basic skills, GED and high school completion, job related skills and community enrichment.