Hopkins School is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational, day school for grades 7–12 located in New Haven, Connecticut.
In 1660, Edward Hopkins, seven-time governor of the Connecticut Colony, bequeathed a portion of his estate to found schools dedicated to "the breeding up of hopeful youths." With a portion of the bequest, Hopkins Grammar School was founded in a one-room building on the New Haven Green. The school relocated to its current campus in 1926. Hopkins has been coeducational since merging with Day Prospect Hill School in 1972.
History
Founding
John Davenport, a founder of the New Haven Colony, was an early proponent of education in the colony. Grammar schools of the time generally prepared young men for college, but the Puritan colony was too far from England for its citizens to attend the existing English schools.
The exact date of Hopkins School's founding is a matter of definition. The historical record of the executors' report implies the trust was created on May 4, 1660, but since the Julian calendar was in use then, the date corresponds to May 14 on modern calendars. The papers that created the fund were presented and accepted on May 30, and many use this date as the official date of the school's founding. Finally, on June 4 (June 14 on modern calendars) Davenport transferred control of the bequest to the colony, on the condition that the colony accept responsibility for the support of the school.--> In 1838 the school moved once again, as the trustees believed that moving the school away from the town center would allow its students to focus more on their studies. Throughout August and September that year, they rushed through the necessary transactions to buy the new plot of land, currently the site of the Yale Law School. Following this move the trustees released an announcement to New Haven's three newspapers summarizing their hope that this new location would provide sufficient space for the boys to learn and be separate enough that they could do so in peace. Graduate Henry Murphy laid out plans for the new campus in 1922, and designed the original Baldwin Hall building in 1925. The school opened at the new premises, the present campus, in 1926. Baldwin Hall was initially the only building, but the campus expanded greatly over the next century.
Hopkins had begun to refer to itself without "Grammar School" in the casual name by 1935, <!-- REMOVING UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS UNTIL RESOLUTION IS REACHED ON ARCHIVE MATERIALS Both schools had been considered sister schools to Hopkins and the merged DPH immediately had a close relationship with Hopkins. In 1969 both schools began considering a merger — DPH for expansion and Hopkins for diversification. Coordination between the two schools was considered, but in August 1971 officials announced that Hopkins School would become coeducational with or without DPH, and the merger was finalized in February 1972. DPH paid for the construction of a new building on Hopkins' campus by selling its former campus to the city of New Haven.
On March 24, 2020, it was announced that Hopkins School and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford agreed to settle a sexual abuse lawsuit involving a Catholic school teacher who was regularly allowed access to the Hopkins School and who was accused of sexually abusing boys while coaching at the school between at least 1990 and 1991. Both Hopkins and the Archdiocese of Hartford were accused of covering up the sex abuse and shielding the teacher from potential prosecution. It has four floors, including the basement. It houses a computer lab, the language lab, and the Calarco Library. The library is a two floor, space with group study rooms, an art gallery, and a faculty reading room.
The Kneisel Squash Center was originally built as an all-purpose gym in 1935 and named the Reigeluth Gym in honor of a trustee. It was designed by the architect Douglas Orr. In 2010, it was converted into a squash center, housing six squash courts.
Lovell Hall held the Townshend Auditorium, classrooms, and offices. The building was named after longtime headmaster George Lovell, who led the school in the first half of the 20th century. It was constructed in 1960 with funds raised during the school's tercentenary. It underwent renovation, and was replaced with the new Academic and Performing Arts Center in 2024.
The Academic and Performing Arts Center (APAC) has a theater, practice performance spaces, costume studios, language and social science classrooms, and common spaces. It was constructed in 2025.
The Malone Science Center is at the center of campus and houses the science classrooms and labs. Donated by John C. Malone, it was opened for students in 1999 and has three floors of classrooms and labs. In 2025, a new robotics lab was constructed with areas for 3D printing, machining, and more.
Heath Commons is a two-story building that houses the school dining hall and a student lounge. Heath Commons was designed by the S/L/A/M collaborative. It was completed in 2003 and won a Connecticut Design Award in 2005.
Thompson Hall was opened on 30 November 2009 on the former site of one of the upper playing fields. It is named for Mary Brewster Thompson, a long-time head of the Prospect Hill School. The three-story building has two floors of classrooms, as well as art studios, pottery, photography, wood shop, and choral and orchestral spaces.
Academics
thumb|The 1911 school body. Headmaster Charles H. Weller is first on the left in the third row and George Lovell is 7th from the left in the top row (he would go on to be headmaster from 1916–1953).
Applicants to Hopkins undergo a series of standardized tests, and upon matriculation, testing is done to place students at the appropriate level of instruction in mathematics and languages. Hopkins' academics are broken into departments including English, mathematics, science, history, arts, modern language, classics, and computer science. Each of the three class levels — Lower, Middle, and Upper — has a different level of choice in classes.
Humanities
The English Department is the only department in which Hopkins requires a student have at least one class in every semester. Upper-class students have two required semester classes: a college-prep writing course and a Shakespeare-centered course. The History Department core is the Atlantic Communities series that focuses on Europe, the Americas, and West Africa between 1450 and modern times. In addition, elective courses go into detail on subjects such as political science, regional studies, philosophy and religion. Advanced Placement courses are offered in United States History, European History, and Human Geography. The Language Department is divided into two subdepartments: the Classics, which covers Ancient Greek and Latin; and Modern Languages, which teaches four other languages (French, Spanish, Chinese, and Italian are currently offered). and the Fairchester Athletic Association. Hopkins competes with many other private and boarding schools throughout New England and the northeast.<!-- REMOVING UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS UNTIL RESOLUTION IS REACHED ON ARCHIVE MATERIALS
The Hilltoppers
The Hopkins school mascot was originally the stag, first appearing on Edward Hopkins' self-designed seal in 1660. The stag did not make live appearances as the mascot, but was the animal generally associated with the school. Hopkins' sports teams were first referred to as "Hilltoppers" in the 1980s. School archivist Thom Peters is responsible for the adoption of the goat as a school mascot. He had been organizing a fundraiser in the 1990s and was planning on selling photographs with the school mascot. No stag was available, but a school family was willing to lend a goat to Peters. In addition, the school was able to find a goat costume but not a stag costume, so the goat was an easier mascot for large sporting events.