Exeter High School is a public high school in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States. It serves students in grades 9 through 12 who reside in the towns of Exeter, Stratham, Kensington, Newfields, Brentwood, and East Kingston, New Hampshire. Exeter High School is ranked 9th within New Hampshire. Students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement® course work and exams. The AP® participation rate at Exeter High School is 36 percent. The student body makeup is 48 percent male and 52 percent female, and the total minority enrollment is 6 percent. Exeter High School is the only high school in the Exeter Region Coop School District. According to state test scores, 55% of students are at least proficient in math and 81% in reading.
History
Origin
The Exeter Area Public School was established in 1848 as a co-educational institution and became a school for boys twenty years later when Robinson Female Seminary was founded. The school was originally located on Court Street until 1912 when it was moved to Linden Street and changed to Exeter High School. The new school opened September 9, 1912, and most of the town stores declared a half-holiday for the occasion. The school was nicknamed "Tuck High School", thanks mainly to a gift of $5,000 by philanthropist Edward Tuck.
The "Pinnacle" yearbook was first produced in 1949 as a joint effort by Exeter High School and Robinson Female Seminary. On April 7, 1954, an affirmative vote of a $760,000 bond was passed to construct a new coed Exeter High School and elementary school; the school opened in September 1956.
New building
After years of a growing population and structural problems experienced in the old building, it was determined that a new building would be built. The new Exeter High School opened on the outskirts of town, at 1 Blue Hawk Drive, on New Hampshire Route 27 in August 2006. The original Tuck School/Exeter High School is currently home to Exeter Adult Education; a program that allows adults within the SAU-16 school district to receive their high-school equivalency degree or take other various classes, and Great Bay e-Learning Charter School (GBECS); a public charter school for grades 6-12 that focuses on teaching in ways alternative to that of a traditional classroom and designed for students who don't perform well in a traditional school setting for one reason or another. A portion of the building was renovated and expanded upon to accommodate the needs of the Seacoast School of Technology. The annex-building that formerly hosted Exeter Junior High was purchased by local non-profit group Squamscott Community Commons with the goal of building a joint community center/YMCA. With the help of various private grants, small-scale approvals of using tax-payer money set aside for SAU-16, and community fundraising efforts starting as early as 2006, they were eventually able to begin demolishing the building in December 2012. The community center/YMCA was opened in 2015 after much anticipation.
Academics
Honors societies
National Honor Society: members are academically proficient and are supporters of the Exeter community, volunteering around Exeter and throughout the Seacoast region. The Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica (SHH), or Spanish National Honor Society La Société Honoraire Française (SHF) or French National Honor Society The Social Studies Honor Society, administered by the Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society program The Latin Honor Society, administered by the Junior Classical League The Science National Honors Society, composed of students achieving highly in science (including physical science, biology, chemistry, physics, and more) who perform community outreach. Initial events planned by this nascent branch have been stunted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Seacoast School of Technology
In addition to courses available on campus, students can enroll in programs at the Seacoast School of Technology (or SST), also in Exeter. This School of Technology offers classes that the structured classroom doesn't, including but not limited to, Automotive technologies, Culinary Studies, Pre-Engineering, and Building and Construction Technologies. SST originally operated out of a single wing of the old Exeter High on Linden Street, but has since relocated slightly to an extension that was added onto the old Exeter High. They have since added more buildings to the property in order to accommodate the continuously growing student base. SST services six schools including Exeter High School, Epping High School, Newmarket High School, Raymond High School, Sanborn Regional High School, and Winnacunnet High School.