While many schools provide opportunities for students to participate in service, QUEST represents our unique brand of service learning, rooted in the Quaker tradition of inquiry, reflection, and continuing revelation.
Beginning in the earliest grades, students are exposed to major needs and themes, locally and globally. From lower school classrooms with service projects that link to the curriculum (e.g. sup- porting a wildlife protection agency during a study of Asia), to middle school advisories that build long-term community partnerships, to the upper school boys lacrosse team that recently coached a group of young players from Wilmington's Hilltop Neighborhood -- WFS is, and always has been, fully committed to the ideals of service learning, and provides opportunities, time, and funding for those ideals to become actionable.
QUEST service learning programs teach students to develop a global understanding of problems and questions they encounter; gives them the skills, motivation and sense of responsibility to engage those questions in thought and in action; and teaches them, in the words of George Fox, to “let your lives preach, let your light shine, that your works may be seen...”
Additional examples of signature QUEST programs include:
QUEST Service/Leadership Trips
These trips engage students in an experiential learning model to increase their understanding of global issues as well as strategies to mitigate the impact of these challenges.
The QUEST Scholars Program
This provides students with significant service learning opportunities that combine academic studies with experiential learning. All upper school students are eligible for participation in the QUEST Scholars program and receive recognition for their achievement during Final Assembly.
Peace posters from the WFS Class of 2038 were on display as part of the 2026 Visionary Peace Youth Art Exhibition with Pacem in Terris at the Wilmington Library!
Aubrey Ashman ’26, Abigail Thurlow ’26, Easton Martinenza ’27, Emma Furman ’28, Bayan Katirai ’29, and Will Van Druff ’29 spent the weekend in Providence, Rhode Island with chaperones Megan Hegenbarth and Katie Wolf Martinenza ’99 at the Quaker Youth Leadership Conference (QYLC).
Our WFS Chamber Singers joined choirs from Tower Hill, Sanford, and Tatnall for a full day of music-making at the annual Four School Choir collaboration—an experience of learning, rehearsal, and shared artistry.
Our 8th-grade Chinese students recently completed a unit on dining culture and brought their learning to life with a visit to LeShio Restaurant in Wilmington!
The WFS Upper School Student-Run Production is an annual tradition in which students are chosen to create, direct, and produce (and often write) their own vision for the stage.
A huge thank you to our incredible Grounds and Building Services team for their tireless work over the past three days—morning and night—clearing snow and making sure our campus is accessible for members of our community. Your dedication, care, and behind-the-scenes efforts make a real difference!
At Wilmington Friends School, our partnership with The Social Institute (TSI) supports students, families, faculty, and staff in navigating the digital world with intention and care.
Statement of Nondiscrimination as to Student Enrollment
Wilmington Friends School admits students of any race, color, gender, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students of these schools. Wilmington Friends School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national and ethnic origin in administration of their educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school administered programs.