North Bennet Street School, Boston | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

We leave unmolested those who set the fire to the house, and prosecute those who sound the alarm. –Sebastien-Roch Nicolas De Chamfort

I would gladly submit to a lie-detector test to support all statements in this review.

North Bennet Street School has now had more than five years to offer a peaceful truce to this dispute. They have chosen instead to sit silently or offer weak excuses. As a result, their unwillingness to resolve this issue has fostered hatred, rancor, and malice against me on the part of their “happy” and “successful” graduates and clientele. One has to look no further than the rebuttals to my reviews to see how this reviewer has been portrayed (by people who are ignorant of the facts of this dispute) as stupid, unreasonable, incapable, and possessing a host of other undesirable traits.

As I continue my training and form relationships with colleagues and with skilled, award-winning and highly respected artisans and craftsmen in the field, they are impressed by my work ethic, enthusiasm, determination, ability and dedication to this craft. When I share with them my bitter experiences with NBSS, they are shocked and appalled that an institution with “such a good reputation” would behave in such a shameful manner.

This “charitable”, “philanthropic”, tax-exempt, non-profit corporation, whose mandate is to benefit the community and stand out as a beacon for what is just and what is right, has failed miserably in this regard. Proof of one’s character is in one’s deeds. Their hurtful words and deeds will stand in perpetuity as a witness against them. NBSS’s own actions will forever point an accusatory finger at its self.

Quoting someone who has completed a similar course, he/she stated, “Any school worth anything will know that to achieve perfection in a jewelry piece is to work long hours after the teaching is over. The fact that they did not allow you to take the work home is ridiculous.” I was not allowed to take the work home, not allowed to stay adequate after-hours to work in the studio, and not allowed to hire even a school-approved tutor (even at my own expense) to complete my projects. This commenter goes on to state, “One of the first lessons in jewelry school was that you will be painfully slow at first, and that speed will only increase with practice and repetition.” This is a concept NBSS’ instructors and administrators simply could not seem to grasp.

I don’t doubt that others have had wonderful experiences with NBSS. I too have read about the stellar successes of others after the completion of their courses there. I wrote this review to speak of MY experience. MY complete disillusionment and betrayal.

I’ve been in the Locksmithing program since September 2020 and have had an awesome experience thus far. Rob Dwyer is very personable and was extremely helpful throughout my entire application process. Bob at the front desk and Kristen at the gift shop are super nice people and I look forward to coming in every morning and greeting them.

The program head, Barbara Baker, is an amazing teacher and has taught me so much in so little time. She takes the training very seriously and not only expects you to put out the best work that you possibly can, but she will motivate you to do so. Through her instruction, I have gained a large amount of confidence in myself and my abilities both in and out of locksmithing. My time at the school has gone so well that I made the choice to apply for their carpentry program and continue growing my skillset here.