The Hill School

The Hill School
Whatsoever things are true.
Location
Pottstown, PA, USA
Information
Type Co-ed, Private, Boarding
Religious affiliation(s) None
Established 1851
Headmaster David R. Dougherty
Faculty 68, 70% hold or are working toward advanced degrees
Enrollment 503
Average class size 12
Student to teacher ratio 7:1
Campus 300 acres (1.21 square km)
Color(s) Confederate Gray, Union Blue
Athletics 29 Interscholastic
The Hill School - Athletics
Mascot Ram
Website www.thehill.org

The Hill School is a preparatory boarding school for boys and girls located in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about 35 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

Founded in 1851, The Hill is part of an organization known as the Ten Schools Admissions Organization. This organization was founded more than forty years ago on the basis of a number of common goals and traditions. Member schools include The Hill, Choate Rosemary Hall, Deerfield Academy, The Lawrenceville School, The Taft School, The Hotchkiss School, St. Paul's School, Loomis Chaffee, Phillips Exeter Academy, and Phillips Academy Andover.

In 2010, The Hill's endowment was approximately $100 million.

Contents

History

The Hill School was founded in 1851 by the Rev. Matthew Meigs as the “Family Boarding School for Boys and Young Men.” The School opened on May 1, 1851, enrolling 25 boys for the first year. The Family Boarding School was the first of its kind in America. According to John Chancellor’s The History of The Hill, “He [Meigs] wanted to stress that he was not founding still another academy, but a type of school quite new and rare in America. There is a tendency to think that the boys’ boarding school as we know it existed as long as there have been private schools. It has not. Most of the 12 to 15 schools generally considered the “core” group were established in the last half of the nineteenth century…Of this whole group of schools, The Hill was the first to be founded as a family boarding school." Rev. Meigs' son, John Meigs, became headmaster in 1876 at the age of 24. In the 35 years that followed, the School grew from an institution with two teachers and 20 boys to a school of 40 masters and 375 young men. From 1911 to 1914, Alfred G. Rolfe served as headmaster, succeeded by Dwight R. Meigs, from 1914 to 1922. In 1920, ownership of the School was transferred from the Meigs family to Hill alumni, marking the beginning of a new era of alumni loyalty and service. Headmaster Boyd Edwards led the School from 1922 to 1928. Edwards was followed by James I. Wendell, credited with greatly expanding the physical plant and library resources. At the time of The Hill's centennial celebration, which attracted nationwide attention, Dr. Wendell announced his retirement, closing 24 years of leadership. Edward T. Hall was appointed to fill the void. In his 16-year tenure, Hall raised academic admission qualifications, enhanced scholarships and faculty salaries, and expanded the School's physical facilities. Upon his retirement in 1968, the Trustees appointed Archibald R. Montgomery III, who served until 1973, succeeded by Charles C. Watson.

For nearly its entire history The Hill has maintained roughly 500 students per year from which the school song "A Thousand Hands" is drawn. The Hill was an all-boys institution until 1998. As of 2010, the Hill student body was composed of 56% boys and 44% girls. Legacy students make up roughly one-third of the student body.

Throughout the first century of The Hill's operation, the school acted as an unofficial feeder school to Princeton University, with over 90% of each graduating class matriculating to Princeton.

Owing to its age, The Hill has a campus rich with historic architecture. The Hill's all wood-paneled Dining Hall houses a valuable collection of paintings by the famous American illustrator N.C. Wyeth, father of the notable American painter Andrew Wyeth. These paintings were a gift from former director of athletics, Michael F. Sweeney. A photo of the Dining Hall interior, taken in 1967 and picturing members of the class of 1971 in the foreground, is the cover of Tobias Wolff's novel, Old School.

School motto

“Whatsoever things are true” ("Quaecumque Sunt Vera" in Latin) is The Hill’s motto. It is extracted from St. Paul's Epistle to the Philippians 4: 4-9

School traditions

Academics

The Hill School’s renowned rigorous curriculum is founded firmly on the classical and Judeo-Christian traditions that value refinement of thought and fortification of character to liberate and charge the individual with responsibility to the common good. Of primary importance is the value of the strengths taught by the liberal arts and sciences: thinking critically, writing effectively, speaking forcefully, and solving problems analytically. The challenging curriculum provided to Hill’s 503 students emphasizes critical thinking and writing and offers 53 Advanced Placement courses as well as an array of honors classes and independent studies.

The academic year is divided into trimesters lasting 10 weeks each. Classes are held six days a week, including Saturday morning. Student-teacher ratio is 7-1 and typical class size is 13-15 students.

All Hill students (day and boarding) are required to own a laptop. Boarding students are required to participate in a nightly study hall (7:45 to 9:45 p.m) which ensures a quiet productive study environment.

Athletics

The Hill competes in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League. The Hill's athletic teams are known as the Blues, and a ram serves as a mascot. The Hill's arch-rival is The Lawrenceville School of Lawrenceville, New Jersey. The rivalry is celebrated annually on the first or second weekend of November. The festivities alternate between the two schools each year, and it is the 5th oldest school rivalry, and the 3rd oldest high-school rivalry, in the nation, dating back to 1887.[1] In 2006 the Hill-Lawrenceville rivalry entered into a new era as a combined Hillville soccer team traveled to England and Scotland to compete against Charterhouse School and Eton College defeating both schools on their home pitch.

Besides Hill and Lawrenceville, other schools in the league are Hun School of Princeton in Princeton, New Jersey, Mercersburg Academy of Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey, and Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey.

Some of the schools that The Hill also competes against include St. Andrew's School in Middletown, Delaware, Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, The Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut, Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts, Governor Dummer Academy in Byfield, Mass; Westminster School in Simsbury, Connecticut, and Wyoming Seminary College Prep, in Kingston, Pa.

All students are required to participate at some level of athletics, whether it be at the varsity or intramural level. Interscholastic sports include cross country, football, field hockey, soccer, tennis, squash, water polo, swimming, basketball, ice hockey, wrestling, baseball, softball, lacrosse, track, and golf.

Some team highlights include the 2010 girls water polo Eastern Champions and the 2009 football MAPL champions. Also, Varsity girls field hockey has won repeated MAPL titles.

Notable alumni

Years not listed

Headmasters

References

  1. ^ Ross, Rosemarie. "Hill ends season with key victory", Mercury (Pennsylvania), November 13, 2005. Accessed October 31, 2007. "In the game that annually means the most to them, it was near total Blues dominance as visiting Hill routed arch rival Lawrenceville, 41-18, Saturday to take home the silver trophy bowl for the second straight year. This was their 103rd showdown in a rivalry that started in 1887."
  2. ^ JOHN BACKUS: a restless inventor, accessed December 24, 2006
  3. ^ James A. Baker, 3rd, Current Biography, March 2007. Accessed December 25, 2007. "Like his father, Jim Baker, as he prefers to be known, attended the Hill School, a college prep school in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, then enrolled at Princeton University."
  4. ^ Martin, Douglas. "Henry S. Coleman, 79, Dies; Hostage at Columbia in '68", The New York Times, February 4, 2006. Accessed September 12, 2009.
  5. ^ Severo, Richard. "William Proxmire, Maverick Democratic Senator From Wisconsin, Is Dead at 90", The New York Times, December 16, 2005. Accessed October 31, 2007. "The family was well-to-do, and he was sent to the Hill School in Pottstown, Pa., and then to Yale, where he was an English major."
  6. ^ http://www.myspace.com/thedavidstein

External links

Colleges and Universities
Public school districts

Abington School District • Boyertown Area School District • Cheltenham Township School District • Colonial School District • Hatboro-Horsham School District • Jenkintown School District • Lower Merion School District • Lower Moreland Township School District • Methacton School District • Norristown Area School District • North Penn School District • Perkiomen Valley School District • Pottsgrove School District • Pottstown School District • Souderton Area School District • Springfield Township School District • Spring-Ford Area School District • Upper Dublin School District • Upper Merion Area School District • Upper Moreland School District • Upper Perkiomen School District • Wissahickon School District • Bryn Athyn School District
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Academy Of The New Church Boys School • Academy Of The New Church Girls School • Abington Friends School • Akiba Hebrew Academy • Baldwin School • Bishop McDevitt High School • Calvary Baptist School • Christopher Dock Mennonite High School • Coventry Christian Schools • Episcopal Academy • Friends' Central School • Germantown Academy • Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School • The Haverford School • The Hill School • Huntingdon Valley Christian Academy • Indian Creek Mennonite School • Akiba Hebrew Academy • Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic High School • Lakeside School • Lansdale Catholic High School • La Salle College High School • Lincoln Academy • Main Line Academy • Martin Luther School • Mary, Mother of the Redeemer Catholic School • Meadowbrook School • Merion Mercy Academy • Mount Saint Joseph Academy • New Life Youth & Family Svcs • The Pathway School • The Perkiomen School • Pope John Paul II Catholic High School • Reformation Christian School • Saint Aloysius School • Saint Basil Academy • Saint Katherine Day School • Saint Pius X High School • Stowe Lighthouse Christ Academy • Shipley School • Torah Academy of Greater Philadelphia • Trinity Christian Academy • Valley Forge Baptist Academy • Wyncote Academy