Westminster School, Connecticut
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| Westminster School | |
| Virtute Et Numine (Grit and Grace) |
|
| Established | 1888 |
| School type | Private, boarding |
| Religious affiliation | None |
| Headmaster | W. Graham Cole, Jr. |
| Location | Simsbury, CT, USA |
| Campus | Township, 260 acres |
| Enrollment | 375 total 256 (68%) boarding 119 (32%) day |
| Faculty | 89 |
| Average class size | 12 students |
| Student:teacher ratio |
5:1 |
| Average SAT scores (2006) |
1220 |
| Athletics | 17 Interscholastic Sports 52 Interscholastic Teams |
| Color(s) | Black, Gold |
| Mascot | The Martlet |
| Homepage | www.westminster-school.org |
[edit] History
Westminster School was founded by William Lee Cushing in 1888 as a boys’ school in Dobbs Ferry, New York. A graduate of Yale University, and a firm believer in the traditional form of English boarding school education, Mr. Cushing was strongly influenced by the Reverend Edward Thring, headmaster of Uppingham School in England. Thring believed in “education as training for life.”
Mr. Cushing’s formula for education was endorsed by many in the emerging influential American families, who sent their sons to Westminster, including John Hay, Advisor to Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State to Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.
The Move to Simsbury
In 1900, as enrollment increased, Mr. Cushing moved the school to its current location in Simsbury, Connecticut. The move to Simsbury provided more land, which had been donated through a trustee of the school, Arthur M. Dodge, a member of an old Hartford family. Williams Hill, the site of the school, offered more than 230 acres, with commanding views of the Farmington River. The Simsbury location also provided train service for students to New York and Boston, a boon to families from those areas.
Mr. Cushing remained as headmaster until his death in 1921. Along with his educational philosophy, he also left the school its inspiring motto. The Cushing family coat of arms bears the Latin motto Virtute et Numine (“by human righteousness and Divine grace”) which translated literally as “Grit and Grace.”
Career and Service
Westminster graduates have gone on to achieve eminent positions in industry, the military, government, social services, the arts, and athletics, thanks to the outstanding teachers and headmasters who followed in the tradition of William Cushing’s teaching ideals of “performing daily tasks cheerfully, fostering an ambition to learn lessons well, playing fair in sports, being clean in thought and word, and cleaving to that which is good.”
The Modern Era
In the early 1970s, Westminster School opened its doors to day students and also became a leader among independent schools in active recruitment of minority students. In 1972, girls were admitted for the first time as day students, and in 1977 as boarding students.
W. Graham Cole, Jr., Associate Headmaster and Dean of Faculty at Lawrenceville School, became Westminster’s seventh Headmaster in 1993. In 1996, Water E. Edge, Jr., a member of the Class of 1935, bequeathed $30 million, the largest benefaction to the School in its history. “The wellspring of Mr. Edge’s affection for Westminster flowed from his abiding, high regard for the faculty of this great School,” said Headmaster Cole. “His benefaction testifies eloquently to the transforming power of teachers in the experience of young people, and to the difference those young people can make in their adult lives.”
[edit] Mission and Core Values
Mission Statement
The Westminster community inspires young men and women of promise to cultivate a passion for learning, explore and develop diverse talents in a balanced program, to reach well beyond the ordinary, to live with intelligence and character, and to commit to a life of service beyond self.
Core Values
Community: Westminster is a small, caring, cohesive, residential community firmly committed to the "common good."
Character: In addition to prizing intellect, Westminster insists upon and fosters integrity, high ethical standards, leadership, mutual respect, tolerance and teamwork.
Balance: Westminster maintains, through high expectations and a structured environment, a balance among challenging academic, athletic, artistic and extracurricular programs.
Involvement: Westminster believes that students learn best through active participation in all aspects of school life.
