On September 9, 1964, two teachers and the original 11 "schoolboys" set sail from Hoboken, New Jersey to Le Havre, France aboard the MS Aurelia. Their eastbound fare was $196. At $3,200, tuition covered this travel expense and most others for the year. The original school was located at the Instituto de Estudios Norteamericanos in Barcelona.
Schoolboys Abroad was conceived by Clark Vaughan (pictured left), Spanish teacher at Wilbraham Academy, and SYA's first Resident Director. Wilbraham Academy wanted to launch the program in 1963-64 and had at least 20 processed applications for that fall, but an emergency expenditure at the school put the program on indefinite hold. Vaughan then took the idea to Phillips Academy (Andover) where Headmaster John Kemper backed the program and gave it space for an administrative office. Daniel (Dan) Olivier, head of the French Department at Germantown Friends School, was Vaughan's assistant in setting up the program and taught English for SYA.
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