St. George's School (Rhode Island)

Coordinates: 41°29′28″N 71°16′24″W / 41.49111°N 71.27333°W / 41.49111; -71.27333
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St. George's School
Address
Map
372 Purgatory Rd, Middletown, RI 02842

,
United States
Coordinates41°29′28″N 71°16′24″W / 41.49111°N 71.27333°W / 41.49111; -71.27333
Information
TypePrivate secondary, day and boarding
MottoSapientia Utriusque Vitae Lumen
("Wisdom, the light of every life.")
DenominationEpiscopal
Established1896
Head of SchoolAlixe Callen
Grades9–12
GenderCoeducational
Enrollment370
CampusSuburban
Color(s)Red, black, and white
Athletics conferenceISL
MascotDragon
RivalMiddlesex School
NewspaperThe Red & White
YearbookThe Lance
WebsiteSt. George's website
St. George's School—Church of St. George, Little Chapel, and Memorial Schoolhouse
St. George's School (Rhode Island) is located in Rhode Island
St. George's School (Rhode Island)
St. George's School (Rhode Island) is located in the United States
St. George's School (Rhode Island)
Location372 Purgatory Rd., Middletown, Rhode Island
Coordinates41°29′27″N 71°16′6″W / 41.49083°N 71.26833°W / 41.49083; -71.26833
Arealess than one acre
Built1910
ArchitectCram, Ralph Adams; et al.
Architectural styleTudor Revival, Late Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No.04001235[1]
Added to NRHPNovember 12, 2004
Old School
Diman Dormitory
Memorial Schoolhouse

St. George's School is a private, Episcopal, coeducational boarding school in Middletown, Rhode Island, United States, just east of the city of Newport, on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

It is a member of the Independent School League and is one of five schools collectively termed St. Grottlesex.

History[edit]

The school was founded in 1896 by reverend John Diman, a member of a prominent Rhode Island family.[citation needed]

The school became co-educational during the tenure of Anthony Zane, who served as headmaster beginning in the fall of 1972 until 1984.[2]

Campus[edit]

The school's campus is known as "The Hilltop", as it is located on a hill just east of Newport. Its oldest buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places.[3] The layout of the campus was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.[4]

  • Memorial Schoolhouse – The main academic building, in which most classes are held, in subjects other than art, music, and science. Designed by McKim, Meade & White[5]
  • Old School – The oldest building on campus
  • Academic Center
  • Chapel – A Gothic chapel built in 1928, with John Nicholas Brown's donation and designed by Ralph Adams Cram.
  • Hill Library – Contains more than 40,000 volumes and 75 periodicals.
  • John Nicholas Brown '18 Center – Named in honor of school alumnus John Nicholas Brown, class of 1918, the Brown Center was dedicated in the spring of 2005. It houses the College counseling offices on the main level; deans' offices on the second floor (director of studies, dean of students, dean of faculty).
  • Sixth-Form House – Originally used as the school gymnasium in 1903, it was converted to classroom use in 1911. Dormitory rooms for school prefects were also once located in the building.
  • King Hall – The school's dining hall.
  • William H. Drury and Richard Grosvenor Center for the Arts – St. George's arts building.
  • Charles A. and Carol J. Hamblet Campus Center – Named in honor of the 10th headmaster and his wife, the Campus Center was dedicated in the fall of 2004. I
  • Dorrance Field House – Built in 1987, the Field House includes four indoor tennis courts, three basketball courts, and a ninth-of-a-mile indoor track.
  • Hoopes Squash Center – The Joseph C. Hoopes Sr. Squash Center, housing eight international glass-backed courts, was completed in 1996. Using the German made ASB court system, it serves during the summer months as the home for Mark Talbott's Squash Academy, the official training center of the U.S. Squash Racquets Association. It served as the site for both the National Junior Squash Championships in 1996 and 1998, and the Men's Squash Softball Championships in February 1997.
  • Stephen P. Cabot and Archer Harman Ice Center – The $4.5 million Stephen P. Cabot and Archer Harman Jr. Ice Center, completed in November 2000, has two ice hockey facilities. Originally built in 1954 as an outdoor rink and enclosed in 1968, the Cabot Memorial rink has new boards, a new surface (200′ × 85′) and a new roof.
  • Norris D. Hoyt Pool – The Norris D. Hoyt Swimming Pool is an eight-lane pool which hosts the St. George's Dragons Varsity Swim Team. The pool was completed in the fall of 2004, holding a large balcony seating area as well as deck-level glass viewing windows.
  • Ted Hersey Track – The track is all-weather, completed in the fall of 1996. It is a six-lane, 400-meter oval, with an eight-lane sprint chute along the east side. All St. George's field events are held on the inside, with the exception of the javelin throw. The area inside the oval is Redway Field and is large enough for an international-sized soccer field (360 feet by 225 feet).
  • Blazer and Wood Tennis courts – Blazer Tennis Courts are hardcourt-surfaced courts located at the main entrance of the school. The Wood Tennis Courts are six hardcourt-surfaced courts located across the street from the main entrance of the school.
  • Playing Fields – The 10 athletic fields include Crocker Field (used for varsity football and girls' varsity lacrosse), Elliott Field (used for varsity baseball), a JV baseball field, two field hockey fields, four lacrosse/soccer fields, and a softball field.
  • There are five boys' dorms and six girls' dorms.

Extracurricular activities[edit]

The school is a member of the Independent School League (ISL) and the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC).[6][7]

Geronimo is a Ted Hood-designed 69-foot fiberglass sloop. Three times during the academic year, Geronimo carries students from St. George's School on six-week-long voyages. The ship sails year-round between Canadian waters and the Caribbean and is now making a two-year-long journey to the Mediterranean. Students are taught nautical science and oceanography/marine biology while on board. Summer trainees range in age from high school to adult.[8][9]

Sexual abuse reports[edit]

In early 2016 the school stated that sexual abuse of students had occurred, dating from the 1970s, and perpetrated by employees and students. St. George's "repeatedly failed to notify police and child welfare authorities as required by law", a news report said. Many accusers at the time contested school assertions that accusations were only recent and "much of their anger has fallen on [the head of school]", the report continued.[10] The extensive abuse—"at least 51 students were abused by employees ... and at least 10 others by fellow students"—was further documented in a 400-page independent report released in September.[11][12][13][2]

The independent report also noted the following positive observation. "Fortunately, St. George's is certainly a very different place now. We find that St. George's current leaders have established a culture of respect for the students who attend there now, including new traditions that set an entirely different tone for students and faculty than prevailed during the 1970s and 1980s. We also find that St. George's has in place programming, policies, practices, and systems intended to eliminate, to the largest extent possible, faculty abuse of students and student-on-student abuse, and to address correctly reports of abuse or assault should they arise. And the school is committed to a process of continuous improvement to ensure that its practices remain those thought best to address difficult issues of faculty and student boundaries, student sexuality, and new opportunities for harm that digital and other new technologies may bring."[12]

In popular culture[edit]

Notable alumni[edit]

Students at St. George's in 1933

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Wallace, Benjamin (July 8, 2016). "How St. George's Atonement for Its Sex-Abuse Scandals Turned Ugly". Vanity Fair. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  3. ^ "National Register of Historic Places 2004 Weekly Lists (PDF): 11/08/04 THROUGH 11/13/04" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  4. ^ http://memory.loc.gov/service/mss/eadxmlmss/eadpdfmss/uploaded_pdf/ead_pdf_batch_28_december_2005/ms001018.pdf Box B30
  5. ^ http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/nyhs/mckim/dscref12.html Folder FF21
  6. ^ "Independent School League". isleague.org. Independent School League. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  7. ^ "Member Schools – NEPSAC". www.nepsac.org. New England Preparatory School Athletic Council. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  8. ^ "St. Georges School: Geronimo". St. George's School. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  9. ^ "Vessel Details – Geronimo". Sailing Ship Adventures. Retrieved January 24, 2015.
  10. ^ "Sex abuse scandal rocks exclusive New England prep school" (Archive). Associated Press at CBS News. January 21, 2016. Retrieved on January 21, 2016.
  11. ^ Perez-Pena, Richard, "‘Private Hell’: Prep School Sex Abuse Inquiry Paints Grim Picture", New York Times, September 1, 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-01.
  12. ^ a b Murphy, Martin F., "Sexual Abuse at St. George's School and the School's Response: 1970 to 2015 (Report of Independent Investigator)", Foley Hoag LLC, September 1, 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-01.
  13. ^ Redden, Molly (September 1, 2016). "One in five girls at St George's school in 1970s sexually abused by trainer: report". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  14. ^ Koch, Bill. "Cumberland native Tyler Kolek a perfect fit for Marquette University". The Providence Journal. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  15. ^ "Marquette Earns Player, Coach of the Year Honors". www.bigeast.com. March 8, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2024.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]