From the Archives: 1960s
key moments
- On September 9, 1964, 11 boys traveled aboard the MS Aurelia bound for Barcelona with math teacher Ted Hammond (Phillips Academy, Andover, MA). Founder and Resident Director Clark A. Vaughan and Co-Founder Daniel Olivier (English teacher) arrived early to welcome the group.
- The Instituto de Estudios Norteamericanos is the location of SYA's first school.
- Ángel Vilalta, a lawyer in Barcelona, becomes the first local hire for SYA Spain. He was the first host family coordinator and taught art history until his retirement in 1998.
- In the summer of 1965, Olivier heads to Rennes, France, to meet with Adjunct Mayor Victor Janton, president of L’Institut Franco-Américain, and chooses the site for the next campus, SYA France.
- In 1965, Phillips Exeter Academy (NH) becomes co-sponsor of Schoolboys Abroad.
- In September 1965, 17 boys sail to SYA Spain with Resident Director Clark Vaughan, Daniel Olivier (English) and Frank Gutman (math, Phillips Exeter Academy).
- In September 1966, 37 boys sail to SYA Spain with Resident Director Clark Vaughan, Len Stevens (English, Phillips Exeter Academy) and Sherman Drake (math, Phillips Academy).
- In 1967, Leila Perosky is hired as the secretary at SYA France and Edna Atkinson as secretary at SYA Spain.
- In September 1967, 34 boys sail to SYA Spain with Resident Director Clark Vaughan, John Heath (English, Phillips Exeter Academy) and Robert Grant (Melrose High School, Mass.); 42 boys sail to Rennes, France with Resident Director Harris Thomas, Crayton Bedford (math, Phillips Academy) and Len Stevens (math, Phillips Exeter Academy).
- In 1968, St. Paul's School (NH) becomes Schoolboys Abroad's third sponsor.
- In the fall of1968, Clark Vaughan teaches Spanish at Phillips Academy.
- In September 1968, 33 boys sail to Barcelona with Resident Director John Tomlinson, Frederick Tremallo (English, Phillips Exeter Academy) and David Penner (math, Phillips Academy); 48 boys sail to Rennes with Resident Director Harris Thomas, Rennie McQuilkin (English, Phillips Academy) and Walter Burgin (math, Phillips Exeter Academy).
- In September 1969, 29 boys sail to Barcelona with Resident Director John Tomlinson, George Carlisle (English, St. Paul's School) and Robert Cornell (math, Phillips Academy); 51 boys sail to Rennes with Resident Director Harris Thomas, Rodney Marriott (English, Phillips Exeter Academy) and Frank Hannah (math, Phillips Academy).
Leadership in the 1960s
Executive Director:
1964–1972 Colonel Edward Harris (Phillips Academy)
SYA Spain Resident Directors:
1964–1968 Clark A. Vaughan (Wilbraham Academy)
1968–1971 John Tomlinson (Phillips Academy)
SYA France Resident Director:
1967–1971 Harris Thomas (Phillips Exeter Academy)
Flashback to the 60s
Clark Vaughan, SYA founder and Resident Director of SYA Spain from 1964-1968.
The first marketing materials for Schoolboys Abroad.
Application photos of our first class, the Class of SYA Spain 1965.
SYA's first hire in Barcelona was Ángel Vilalta, whose tenure with SYA lasted from 1964-1998, when SYA Spain relocated to Zaragoza. Ellen Olivier, wife of co-founder Daniel, was an asset to SYA during the early years and helping to create the earliest newsletters and documenting the history of SYA's launch.
Members of the Class of SYA Spain 1965, our first class, all decked out enjoying a boat ride.
Members of the Class of SYA Spain 1965, our first class, on an excursion to Vienna.
In the summer of 1965 SYA's first Executive Director Ed Harris, who served from 1964-1972, and co-founder, former SYA Spain faculty and SYA France Resident Director Daniel Olivier meet with Adjunct Mayor Victor Janton, president of L’Institut Franco-Américain, and chooses Rennes for the next campus, SYA France.
Adjunct Mayor Jaunton, Daniel Olivier and André Vernet meeting to plan SYA's campus in Rennes, France. André later served as Resident Director of SYA France from 1986-1991.
Members of the Class of SYA Spain 1966 enjoying a meal together.
While 6 a.m. did seem awfully early to wake up, the Class of SYA Spain 1967 boys who participated in sailing and crew thought it was worth it.
The Class of SYA Spain 1967 boys' soccer team had an unblemished record, with nothing in the win column. Helping to round out the team of SYAers, the coach drafted students from a local American school ... but in the end, the SYA team demonstrated that high school soccer in Spain is for the locals.