Belmont Hill School is an independent boys school on a campus in Belmont, a suburb of Boston. The school enrolls approximately 440 students in grades 7-12, separated into the Middle School (grades 7-9) and the Upper School (grades 10-12), and refers to these grades as "Forms" with a Roman Numeral I through VI. While the majority of attending students are day students, there are some who enroll in the school's five-day boarding program, which becomes an option for students in their 9th grade year.
History
The school was founded in 1923 by a group of seven incorporators seeking a non-boarding institution for their sons that would allow for small classes and personal accountability. At the time of its incorporation, the location atop Belmont Hill was not yet developed and belonged to the Belmont Hill Trust. With the help of Robert Atkins, an incorporator and member of the Trust, of undeveloped, rough, and swampy land was purchased in March 1923 and Belmont Hill’s first Headmaster, Reginald Heber Howe, was appointed.
However, a member of the faculty at the Middlesex School for 20 years, raised money for the necessary facilities. By the fall, renovations to the Headmaster’s house had taken place, along with the construction of an athletic field, a dormitory, and a single academic building, later named the Howe Building. The school finally opened its doors in the fall of 1923 to 43 boys (grades 3-9) and four faculty.
Munro Leaf, author of the children's book The Story of Ferdinand, served on Belmont Hill's faculty as an English teacher beginning in 1929.
Athletics
Belmont Hill's athletics program offers 16 interscholastic sports, 57 teams, and over 700 athletic contests each year. Almost all Belmont Hill coaches are members of the teaching faculty. Belmont Hill competes in the Independent School League.
Belmont Hill constructed its Jordan Athletic Center in the year 2000 and later installed two new turf fields used for football, lacrosse, and soccer. "The JAC" also contains two basketball courts, a wrestling room, seven squash courts, a free weights and workout facility, and an Olympic-size hockey rink that is converted into four full tennis courts during the non-winter months. Sports offered for middle school and upper school students at Belmont Hill include:
Fall
Football (5 teams) - 4 New England Championships, Eight ISL Titles
Soccer (7 teams) Cross Country (3 teams) - ISL Title 2010, 2016
Winter
Hockey (5 teams) - 2 New England Championships, 30 ISL Championships, 18 Lawrenceville Tournament Championships, 10 Nichols-Belmont Hill Championships Basketball (5 teams) Wrestling (2 teams) - Won ISL Dual Meets 16 times, New England Champions 2007, 2009, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 Squash (3 teams) (not including a middle school and upper school intramural team) - 19 time ISL Champions Alpine Skiing (2 teams) - 2 NEPSAC Titles, 17 ISL Titles Nordic (Cross Country) Skiing (1 Team) - Lakes Region Championship Winners 2019, 2020
Spring
Baseball (5 teams) - 16 ISL League Titles, Past 10 Seasons; 1st or 2nd Place, Only team to win ISL and League Sportsmanship Award in the same year. Lacrosse (5 teams) ISL Champions 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020 Crew (2 teams) New England Champions 2003-2010, 2012-2014, 2016, 2019 Track (3 teams) ISL and New England Champions 2017 Tennis (3 teams) - 17 ISL titles Golf (1 Team) - Won ISL league 15 times since 1989 Sailing (1 Team)
Visual and performing arts
Belmont Hill offers both curricular and extracurricular tuition in visual arts, music and theater. Students engage in class-related and independent projects in drawing, painting, woodworking, digital photography, ceramics, mechanical drawing (architecture) print development, music composition, and theatre productions. Student work is displayed throughout the year in the school's Landau Gallery alongside independent professional artists.
The music program at Belmont Hill is carried out in the school's Prenatt Music Center. Students may join a number of performance groups including Jazz Ensemble, Rock Ensemble, Orchestra, Glee Club, and the B-Flats (an acapella group). The school has close ties with the Berklee College of Music in Boston, allowing the boys to take individual lessons on campus during the week. Serious musicians often enroll in the program’s advanced courses.