Belmont Hill School is an all-boys day and optional five-day boarding school in Belmont, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. The school enrolls approximately 470 boys in grades 7–12, separated into the Middle School (Forms I-III, or grades 7–9) and the Upper School (Forms IV-VI, or grades 10–12).
History
The school was founded in 1923 by a group of seven incorporators, including William H. Claflin Jr. and John W. Hallowell, who wanted their sons to attend a nearby day school. (At the time, most of the major Boston day schools were to the south of Boston.) They appointed Middlesex School master Reginald Heber Howe as its first headmaster. The school opened its doors in the fall of 1923 to 43 boys and four faculty, and grew rapidly, reaching 123 boys and 12 full-time faculty by 1926. Howe initially intended to educate students in grades 3–12, but the school eliminated the lower grades over time and adopted the current six-year structure in 1961. Author Munro Leaf taught at the school in the 1920s.
Belmont Hill has been an all-boys school since its founding, although its articles of incorporation originally envisioned "a Country Day School for the education of boys and/or girls." In 1973, the school adopted a sister-school relationship with Winsor School; the two schools share various extracurricular activities. The school also holds joint social events with Dana Hall School and Newton Country Day School.
The school was hit hard by the financial turmoil of the Great Depression, and enrollment fell to 96 by 1942. The trustees tabled several proposals to merge with Rivers and Browne & Nichols in the 1940s, all of which proved unsuccessful. America's entry into World War II, and the resulting increase in government spending, helped revive the school's fortunes. Under headmaster Charles F. Hamilton (h. 1942–71), enrollment and Upper School day student tuition nearly quadrupled. In 1970, the school's scholarship budget was $50,800, roughly equivalent to 22 full scholarships (6% of the student body).
The school celebrated its centennial in 2023, paired with a fundraising campaign that seeks to raise $100–125 million. The campus currently occupies 37 acres.
Admissions and student body
In the 2023–24 school year, Belmont Hill educated 471 boys, 28% of whom were on financial aid. The school maintains a small five-day boarding program for up to 27 local students who commute home on weekends. It previously operated a traditional seven-day boarding program from 1923 to 1966.
In the 2021–22 school year, the school reported that of its 463 students, 331 (71.5%) were white, 39 (8.4%) were multiracial, 35 (7.6%) were Asian, 32 (6.9%) were black, 25 (5.4%) were Hispanic, and 1 (0.2%) was Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.
In 2023, the school admitted 30% of applicants.
Belmont Hill provides need-based financial aid and commits to meet 100% of each admitted student's demonstrated financial aid. In the 2023–24 school year, 28% of students were on financial aid, and the average financial aid grant was $48,800 (79% of day student tuition).
Athletics
thumb|right|Jordan Athletic Center
Belmont Hill has valued athletics since the school opened in 1923. Reginald Howe had previously coached the Harvard varsity crew, and he "employed as faculty young men, often just out of college, who had distinguished themselves athletically as well as academically." As of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the school has educated 16 Olympians, including hockey gold medalists Bill and Bob Cleary.
Today, Belmont Hill offers 16 interscholastic sports and 58 teams, and claims that "virtually all teachers are coaches." The Jordan Athletic Center, opened in 2000, contains two basketball courts, a wrestling room, seven squash courts, a free weights and workout facility, and an Olympic-size hockey rink that converts into four tennis courts. The school also has three baseball fields, a grass soccer field, and two artificial turf fields used for football, lacrosse, and soccer.
Belmont Hill's athletic teams compete in the Independent School League, a group of day and boarding schools in Greater Boston.
Sports and achievements
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Team
!Term
!Championships
!Source
|-
|Football
|Fall
|5 New England; 13 ISL
|
|-
|Soccer
|Fall
|2 ISL
|
|-
|Cross Country
|Fall
|2 ISL
|
|-
|Ice Hockey
|Winter
|2 New England; 30 ISL
|
|-
|Basketball
|Winter
|
|
|-
|Wrestling
|Winter
|6 New England; 19 ISL
|
|-
|Squash
|Winter
|3 New England; 19 ISL
|
|-
|Skiing (Alpine)
|Winter
|2 New England; 17 ISL
|
|-
|Skiing (Nordic)
|Winter
|2 Lakes Region League
|
|-
|Baseball
|Spring
|17 ISL
|
|-
|Lacrosse
|Spring
|15 ISL
|
|-
|Crew
|Spring
|1 Henley Royal Regatta; 5 National; 14 New England
|
|-
|Track and Field
|Spring
|14 New England; 14 ISL
|
|-
|Tennis
|Spring
|17 ISL
|
|-
|Golf
|Spring
|16 ISL
|
|-
|Sailing
|Spring
|1 Massachusetts
|
The music program includes jazz and rock bands, an orchestra, and multiple singing groups. Students may take classes and lessons at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
The theater program puts five productions a year in collaboration with the Winsor School and/or Dana Hall School.
Extracurricular activities
thumb|Hamilton Chapel
Belmont Hill's student-run extracurricular organizations include a debate team, school newspaper (The Hill for the Middle School, The Panel for the Upper School), yearbook (The Sundial), and social sciences magazine (The Podium). Every other edition of The Panel is co-produced with Winsor students.
Over 70% of the student body participates in voluntary clubs and service trips for community service. The school holds an annual week-long spring break trip to different regions throughout the United States, including California, Alabama, and Florida.
Belmont Hill participates in a University of Pennsylvania-led research consortium to "systematically mobilize student insights and voices to improve school culture, policy and practice."
Notable alumni
Literature, journalism, and the arts
- John Authers (exchange student), financial journalist
- Andy Cadiff, Broadway, television, and film director
- Robert Carlock, television writer and showrunner, notably 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
- Gotham Chopra, media entrepreneur; sports documentarian
- Dan Gabriel, film director and producer, notably Mosul
- David E. Kelley, television producer, notably L.A. Law and Ally McBeal
- Peter Rowan, bluegrass musician
- Kevin J. Walsh, Oscar-nominated film producer
Academia
- C. Loring Brace IV, professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan
- Kingman Brewster, president of Yale University; U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom
- Edmund S. Morgan, professor of history at Yale University
- Charles Appleton Meyer, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs
- Thomas H. Lee, investor
- Taggart Mitt Romney, venture capitalist
References
External links
- Belmont Hill School Official Website
- The Panel Online
- Belmont Hill School on Instagram. Archived from the original on ghostarchive.org