The Hill School was founded in 1851 by the Rev. Matthew Meigs as the Family Boarding School for Boys and Young Men. However, it has been known as the Hill School since 1874.[6]
The school opened on May 1, 1851, enrolling 25 boys for the first year. It considered itself a new type of boarding school, namely a "family boarding school" with students housed on campus, not boarding with families in the town.[7]
In 1998, the school became coeducational, enrolling 88 girls in its first year.[8]
Academics
In the early 20th century, The Hill was a feeder school for Princeton University;[9] The Hill School Club was active at Princeton for the benefit of Hill alumni.[10] Princeton's admissions standards were relaxed for Hill School students.[11] At one point, Lawrenceville and Hill sent more students to Princeton than all public schools combined.[12] Today, Hill alumni attend a wide variety of colleges.[13]
The Hill School offers classes in each of its nine academic departments and offers 28 Advanced Placement courses.[14]
Partner schools
The Hill School has cooperated with Charterhouse School in the United Kingdom since 1994; they organize instructional trips and exchanges of extracurricular programs and teachers.[15] It is linked with the Maru a Pula School in Botswana.[16] As well, the Hill hosts a Thai King's Scholar every year.[17] The Hill School is a participating school in the Naval Academy Foundation Prep Program.[18]
Athletics
In the early days of the school, boys played shinney, town ball, football and cricket. During John Meigs' tenure as headmaster, organized and interscholastic sports began at The Hill. Tennis became the dominant sport during this period, unlike baseball at other schools.[19]
The Hill School is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL), which the School joined in 1998.[20] The Hill School was a charter member of the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA), which became an officially sanctioned organization in 2011.[21] In 2014, The Hill School received associate membership in the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC).
The Hill School's rivalry with Lawrenceville dates back to 1887. It is the fifth-oldest high school rivalry in the United States.[22] Originally an annual football game, the schools compete against each other in all of the fall sports on either the first or second weekend in November.
Peddie School also maintains a "Hill Day" during which several teams from Hill and Peddie compete.[23]
Culture
The Quad, facing west
The Hill School has been described as different in style and spirit from its counterparts in New England, and has been described as strict and demanding.[24][25] It has also been described as conservative.[26]
Alumnus Oliver Stone described his experience at The Hill School: "I hated the Hill School at the time. It was monastic. Horrible food, no girls. It was truly one of those Charles Dickens' types of experiences. And I really hated it. Years later I came to appreciate it."[27] The Hill has been criticized, alongside other East Coast Protestant schools, for promoting "snobbish", undemocratic, and "un-American values".[28][29]
E. Digby Baltzell's book The Protestant Establishment identified the Hill School as one of the "select sixteen" best boarding schools in the United States.[30]
^"The Hill School, Pottstown, USA", Charterhouse School. Accessed March 13, 2017. "The relationship between Charterhouse and The Hill School, Pottstown, USA, started in 1994 and has developed into a strong working partnership that has seen regular science trips (every year for over ten years), a theatre trip, choir visits, football matches, and a teaching exchange."
^A Handbook of the Best Private Schools of the United States and Canada, p. 146. Accessed January 7, 2018. "Established by the Rev. Matthew Meigs in 1851 prospered under its founder but owes its great success to the executive capacity of his son Dr. John Meigs, who reorganized the school in 1876 and to whose genius it remains a lasting monument."
^Seated Meals in the Dining Room, The Hill School. Accessed January 7, 2018. "Constructed in 1914, the present Dining Room was the first distinguished accomplishment of The Hill's third headmaster, Dwight Meigs, grandson of our founder, the Reverend Matthew Meigs."
^Staff. "Hill School Gets New Headmaster.", The New York Times, May 21, 1922. Accessed January 5, 2018. "Elaborate ceremonies this afternoon marked the induction into his new position of the Rev. Dr. Boyd Edwards, formerly of Orange, N.J., as headmaster of the Hill School."
^Strauss, Michael. "Prep School Sports; Hill Headmaster Builds Interest in Hockey Despite Forecast of Warmer Winters", The New York Times, January 5, 1953. Accessed January 7, 2018. "Ned Hall, the new headmaster at The Hill School, came upon a disconcerting item over the holidays. While on a junket through New England and New York, Hall read a report in which a Yale scientist said winters in this hemisphere would be warmer and drier for approximately two centuries."
^Staff. "Watson Is Appointed As Hill's Headmaster", The New York Times, June 10, 1973. Accessed January 5, 2018. "Charles Caldwell Watson has been appointed to succeed Archibald R. Montgomery 3d as headmaster of the Hill School, the boy's preparatory school in Pottstown, Pa."
^Brandt, Evan. "Hill School headmaster reveals plans to retire", The Mercury (Pennsylvania), May 1, 2011. Accessed January 6, 2018. "David R. Dougherty, the headmaster who oversaw the historic conversion of The Hill School from a boys' college preparatory school to a co-ed facility, has announced he will retire next year, ending a 19-year career at the school."
^Brandt, Evan. "Maine educator chosen to lead The Hill School", The Mercury (Pennsylvania), November 14, 2011. Accessed January 6, 2018. "An assistant headmaster at a Maine private school has been selected as the new Hill School headmaster it was announced Monday. Zachary Gimbel Lehman, 38, who has served for six years as the assistant head of school for advancement at Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine, will take over for retiring Headmaster David R. Dougherty, who, with his wife Kay, will retire on June 30, 2012 after 19 years of service to the school."
