Worcester Academy is an independentcoeducationalpreparatory school spread over 67 acres (270,000 m2) in Worcester, Massachusetts in the United States. The school is divided into a middle school, serving approximately 150 students in grades six to eight, and an upper school, serving approximately 500 students in grades nine and above, including some postgraduates. Approximately one-third of students in the upper school participate in the school's five- and seven-day boarding programs. Currently there are approximately 80 international students enrolled from 10 different nations.
Founded in 1834 as the Worcester County Manual Labor High School, it did not change its name until 1847. The school moved to its current location on Union Hill in Worcester in 1869. Worcester Academy was all-male from its founding until 1856, and again from 1890 to 1974. It has been coeducational since.
Campus
Warner Memorial Theater
Walker Hall, The Megaron, and Adams Hall
Dexter Hall
Kingsley Laboratories
Walker Hall
Rader Hall (library)
1898 advertisement for the school.
Worcester Academy's campus is currently spread over four main parcels: the main campus, which contains approximately twelve acres; Francis A. Gaskill Field, a twelve-acre parcel two blocks from the main campus; and the New Balance Fields on Stafford Street, comprising about thirty acres. Worcester Academy also recently relocated some of its offices and alumni facilities to a renovated Victorian home two blocks from the main campus. In 2006, Worcester Academy signed a purchase and sale agreement to purchase an additional thirteen acres between Gaskill Field and the main campus, with the intent of creating a new indoor athletic complex.
On the main campus, several brick buildings are listed on the national historic register, including Chester W. Kingsley Laboratories, Joseph H. Walker Hall, Reverend Robert J. Adams Hall, and William H. Dexter Hall. The headmaster lives in the Daniel W. Abercrombie House, named for the principal of Worcester Academy from 1882 to 1918[1]. A new addition to the Worcester Academy campus is Harold G. "Dutch" Rader Hall, which houses the school's library and is used for middle school classes and activities. Kingsley Lab was recently re-done to make more mondern and increase the learning of the students.
One of the most notable architectural buildings on the campus is the Lewis J. Warner Memorial Theater, a gift from Warner Brothers Studio President Harry Warner. He donated the building in memory of his son Lewis Warner '28, who died shortly after graduating from the academy. The Academy's formal student assemblies are held in Hervey S. Ross Auditorium, Warner Theater to this day, though the theater is no longer able to seat the entire middle and upper school student bodies at once.
In 2005-2006 the girls varsity basketball team had an undefeated season, winning the NEPSAC championship.[citation needed]
Since 2000, the year the hockey team was re-instated, it has grown into a powerhouse in the NEPSAC Division 2 ranks. Having sent students onto a variety of Division 1, 2, and 3 college teams. Notable Alumni include Pat Brosnihan(Yale), Adam Sinewitz (AIC and pro in Holland), Billy Kasper (Norwich), Mike Mortimer and Ryan Crapser (Trinity), Mike Dwyer (Assumption).
Other
In September 2006, Boston Magazine rated Worcester Academy the sixteenth best private school in the Boston Area, and the best in Worcester County. In an article entitled "The Right Private School for Your Kid," Boston Magazine rated Worcester Academy the best private school in the Boston area for students to exercise their mathematical talents.[citation needed]
Trivia
Parts of the 1992 movie School Ties were filmed in Worcester Academy's gymnasium.
Arctic explorer Donald B. MacMillan was a member of the faculty from 1903 to 1908, when he joined Robert Peary in his effort to reach the North Pole. He donated a kayak from the expedition to the Academy, which now rests in the Megaron.
A rafter in the Megaron has Greek writing on it, which translates to "Let no evil enter here."
The Andes Pit Theatre used to be the gym.
Notable alumni
Notable faculty and alumni of Worcester Academy include:
Naomi Schaefer Riley 1994, Wall Street Journal Editor
Hervey S. Ross 1946, insurance executive, Academy benefactor
John Edward Sawyer 1937, President Williams College
Dennis Shulman 1968, clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst, author, rabbi, and Democratic Party nominee for the United States Congress in New Jersey's Fifth Congressional District
In addition, many student-athletes attend Worcester Academy solely for their senior year, or for a single postgraduate year, to increase their exposure to college coaches or to improve their academic standing. Notable student-athletes include: