Belmont Hill School

Belmont Hill School is an independent boys' school located on a 68-acre (280,000 m²) campus in Belmont, a suburb of Boston, in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The school enrolls approximately 440 students in grades 7-12, separated into the Middle School (grades 7-9) and the Upper School (grades 10-12), and refers to these grades as "Forms" with a Roman Numeral I through VI. While the majority of attending students are day students, there are some who enroll in the school's five-day boarding program, which becomes an option for students in their 9th grade year. The school participates in the competitive ISL (Independent School League). Members of the Class of 2010 were accepted at 42 colleges and universities.^[1] Belmont Hill is also a founding member of the International Boys' Schools Coalition.

History

The school was founded in 1923 by a group of seven incorporators seeking a non-boarding institution for their sons that would allow for small classes and personal accountability. At the time of its incorporation, the location atop Belmont Hill was not yet developed and belonged to the Belmont Hill Trust. With the help of Robert Atkins, an incorporator and member of the Trust, 19 acres (77,000 m²) of undeveloped, rough, and swampy land was purchased in March 1923^[2] and Belmont Hill’s first Headmaster, Reginald Heber Howe, was appointed.

Howe, a member of the faculty at Middlesex School for 20 years, raised money for the necessary facilities. By the fall, renovations to the Headmaster’s house had taken place, along with the construction of an athletic field, a dormitory, and a single academic building, later named the Howe Building. The school finally opened its doors in the fall of 1923 to 43 boys (grades 3-9) and four faculty.^[3]

Athletics

Jordan Athletic Center

Belmont Hill's athletics program offers 16 interscholastic sports, 57 teams, and over 700 athletic contests each year.^[4] Almost all Belmont Hill coaches are members of the teaching faculty. Belmont Hill competes in the Independent School League.^[5]

Belmont Hill constructed its Jordan Athletic Center in 2000 and later installed two new turf fields used for football, lacrosse, and soccer. "The JAC" also contains two basketball courts, a wrestling room, seven squash courts, a free weights and workout facility, and an Olympic-size hockey rink that is converted into four full tennis courts during the non-winter months. Sports offered for middle school and upper school students at Belmont Hill include:

Fall

• Football (5 teams)
• Soccer (7 teams)
• Cross Country (3 teams)

Winter

• Hockey (5 teams)
• Basketball (5 teams)
• Wrestling (3 teams)
• Squash (3 teams) (not including a middle school and upper school intramural team)
• Alpine Skiing
• Cross Country Skiing

Spring

• Baseball (6 teams)
• Lacrosse (4 teams)
• Crew (4 teams) (New England Champions 2003-2013)
• Track (3 teams)
• Tennis (3 teams)
• Golf
• Sailing

Visual and performing arts

Arts center

Belmont Hill offers both curricular and extracurricular tuition in visual arts, music and theater. Students engage in class-related and independent projects in drawing, painting, digital photography, ceramics, mechanical drawing (architecture) print development, music composition, and theatre productions. Student work is displayed throughout the year in the school's Landau Gallery alongside independent professional artists.

The music program at Belmont Hill is carried out in the school's Prenatt Music Center. Students may join a number of performance groups including Jazz Ensemble, Rock Ensemble, Orchestra, Glee Club, and the B Flats (an a cappella group). The school has close ties with the Berklee College of Music in Boston, allowing the boys to take individual lessons on campus during the week. Serious musicians often enroll in the program’s advanced courses.

Theatre productions are held regularly in the school's small Kraft Theatre. Belmont Hill puts on a total of seven productions over the course of the school year including three middle school productions, three upper school productions, and a senior-directed production each spring. These performances are put on in collaboration with the Winsor School and/or Dana Hall School, Belmont Hill's sister schools. Performances during the 2009-10 school year included The Bridge to Terabithia, The Curious Savage, The Foreigner, The Music Man, and Rent.

Extracurricular activities

Campus view

Students' schedules include a variety of different extracurricular activities. These are broken up into Middle School and Upper School organizations, with leadership positions filled by middle or upper school students accordingly.

Belmont Hill has student-run organizations including a school senate, school newspaper (The Bell for the middle school, The Panel for the upper school), yearbook (The Sundial), and literary magazine (the "Sextant"). New student clubs and organizations are founded every semester based on interest level. Other clubs include:

• Lyceum - Debate Society
• Peer Leadership
• Aeronautics
• Mock Trial
• Investment Club
• Outing Club
• Chinese Cultural Society
• Peer Tutoring
• S.A.D.D. - Students Against Destructive Decisions
• S.A.F.E. - Students Actively Fostering Equality
• French Film Club
• Meadowgreen Volunteer Group
• Green Team - Environmental Group
• Orbis - Conflict Resolution and Micro-loan Club
• Middle/Upper School Community Service
• Young Republicans/Democrats

Over 70% of the student body participates in voluntary clubs and service trips for community service. Groups include SAFE (Students Actively Fostering Equality), Peer Leaders, Reading Buddies in Mattapan, Meadowbrook Retirement Home, and PRIDE. An extension of the community service program includes an annual week-long spring break trip to different regions throughout the United States. Groups have travelled to New Orleans, Appalachia, and Guadalupe, AZ participating in several service projects.^[6]

Global education

Belmont Hill has various programs to study and travel abroad. Typically, students who choose to do so will spend a semester or the entire year during their Junior (Form V) year in these programs which range from:

• HMI Semester - Colorado
• CITY Term - New York, NY
• Mountain School - Vermont
• Island School - Bahamas
• China
• Spain
• France
• Vietnam

Enrollment and admission

The application process begins early in the fall, a full year prior to the intended fall of enrollment. Belmont Hill enrolls approximately 50 new students in the 7th grade (Form I) every year, 10-12 in the 8th grade (Form II), and 15-25 in the 9th grade (Form III). On occasion, a few boys may join the school in the 10th grade as well. Graduating classes tend to fluctuate from 60-90 boys, depending on the year, however the school functions with an enrollment of approximately 445 students.

The average AP Exam Score is 4.1.^[7]

The application requires ISEE scores (grades 7-8) or SSAT scores (grade 8-10) along with a student and parent application. In addition, applicants are required to visit the school for a campus tour and interview. The deadline for applications has historically been February 1.^[8]

Notable alumni

• Kingman Brewster, former president of Yale University
• C. Loring Brace IV, biological anthropologist and Professor at U Michigan
• Edmund S. Morgan, historian and Emeritus Professor at Yale
• Robin Moore, author of The French Connection
• David E. Kelley, television producer (L.A. Law, Ally McBeal), husband of Michelle Pfeiffer
• Mark Fusco, NCAA Hockey Hobey Baker Award Winner
• Scott Fusco, NCAA Hockey Hobey Baker Award Winner
• Bill Cleary, Harvard Athletic Director
• Bob Cleary, Olympic ice hockey gold medal winner
• Paul Mara, NHL Player (Montreal Canadiens)
• Ian Moran, NHL Player (New Jersey Devils)
• Jonathan Kraft, President of the New England Patriots
• Thomas H. Lee, founder of Thomas H. Lee Partners private equity firm
• Parelius Hjalmar Bang Berntsen, four-time Norwegian parliamentarian
• Tony Maws, award-winning Boston chef
• The Romney Brothers, sons of the former Governor of Massachusetts and Republican Presidential candidate
• Christian Ruuttu, former NHL Player
• Robert Carlock, writer and producer for 30 Rock
• Ted Murphy, 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist (rowing)
• Gotham Chopra, writer, entrepreneur, TV Host

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Belmont Hill School.

• Belmont Hill School official website

Coordinates: 42°24′26″N 71°10′47″W / 42.4073°N 71.1798°W / 42.4073; -71.1798