St. Andrew's is a private, Episcopal, co-educational boarding school in Middletown, Delaware. Enrollment for the 2015â€"2016 school year was 310 students in grades nine to twelve. Following the tradition of other boarding schools, students refer to their "form" rather than "grade." Freshmen are III Formers, while seniors are VI Formers. All students are required to board, living in dorms on campus separated by sex and form. VI Formers live in underclassmen dorms acting as residential leaders in charge of dorm life.
At the start of the 2015â€"2016 school year, St. Andrew's School had 41% students of color and 17% international students.
The school has a current admissions rate of 28%, with a 58% yield rate and a median SSAT of 83% during the 2015â€"2016 school year.
Educational philosophy
St. Andrew's offers a full course liberal arts curriculum.
The culmination of a student's English studies is the Senior Exhibition in which students read a work of literature provided by their instructor, develop a thesis on that work in the form of a 10â€"15 page paper, and defend the thesis before members of the English Department. The Senior Exhibition process has been compared to a university thesis defense, differing in length requirements. The Senior Exhibition aims to use the skills developed by the students through their careers, focusing on their ability to think critically.
Tuition and financial aid
St. Andrew's has an endowment of $197 million. Student tuition cost was $55,000 for the 2015â€"2016 school year. c.46% of students receive some form of financial aid. St. Andrew's dispensed approximately $6.1 million in financial aid in 2015, with a grant average of $42,688.
History
St. Andrew's was founded in 1929 by A. Felix du Pont (1879â€"1948). He was a member of the du Pont family, which made its fortune in the chemical industry. The school was founded to provide a top education for boys of all socio-economic backgrounds, regardless of their families' ability to pay. St. Andrew's was originally a boys' school, but became coeducational in 1973. The school has a student-run Student Leadership Diversity Conference (SDLC), which addresses issues of racial and ethnic diversity. St. Andrew's has also had a Gender and Sexuality Alliance since the early 2000s that provides social support to LGBT students.
Buildings, facilities and grounds
St. Andrew's is located on 2,200 acres (8.9Â km2) of land, much of which is dedicated nature preserve. The school also leases tracts of land to farmers, with the contractual agreement that they will farm the land in a sustainable, environmentally conscious way. In the center of this land is Noxontown Pond, which is used for crew in the spring. It is also open to fishermen.
The main campus comprises a small cluster of buildings. The most recognizable of these is Founders Hall, which is located at the center of the school. Founders Hall houses dorms, offices, classrooms, the chapel, and the dining hall. Originally his mansion, Founders Hall was given to the school at its foundation by A. Felix du Pont. There have been some additions to Founders Hall, including the Irene du Pont library (1956).
Other classrooms are found in Amos Hall, which was named for William Amos. It includes a biology lab, a physics lab, and a chemistry lab. Recent additions to the campus are the O'Brien Arts Center and the Sipprelle Field house.
A notable feature of the school is an original N.C. Wyeth mural in the dining hall, depicting the founder of the school, early trustees and headmasters. The background shows English cathedrals, in homage to the school's Anglican inspiration and architecture. The founder is shown standing with Rt Revd Philip Cook, Bishop of Delaware, gazing towards the realization of his dream for the school on the opposite side of the painting. The left side of the mural shows students standing around the Alma Mater â€" rumored to have been modelled on Irene du Pont â€" with some in formal dress and others in athletic clothes. One boy is holding an oar from a crew shell bearing the red and white St. Andrew's Cross seen on the emblem of the school as well as the oars used by the rowing team.
The Irene du Pont Library was given by, and named for, the founder's sister, Irene Sophie du Pont. The library was built in October 1956 and completely renovated in 1997. It contains 32,000 volumes and over 120 periodicals. It also offers one of the school's computer labs, a periodical room, a reference room, and several study rooms ranging in size from full class to single person use. The library provides technology resources which are available for loan to students for academic and personal use such as laptops, tablets, and video cameras.
Athletic facilities and fields
The main athletics building is the Sipprelle Fieldhouse. It is a LEED Gold certified building with basketball, volleyball and squash courts, as well as a weight training and general purpose gym, and the offices of the athletic trainers.
St. Andrew's has 11 multi-use athletic fields on campus and a 5k cross-country course along with many miles of trails going throughout the school's property. There are 4 multi-use courts, which can be set up for sports such as basketball and volleyball, an indoor track, a six-lane swimming pool, nine squash courts, a wrestling room, two dance studios, 17 tennis courts, two paddle-tennis courts, and a boathouse. The boathouse houses both men's and women's crew with around 20 shells.
Athletics
All St. Andrew's students are required to participate in a sport or other activity (such as the play or managing a team) during each of the three athletic seasons. Athletes play at the thirds, junior varsity or varsity level. The varsity girls' lacrosse team won the state title from 2002â€"05, and boys' varsity tennis won the state championship in 2009. The varsity boys' lacrosse team won the state title in 2004. In 1997, the St. Andrew's women's rowing team won the School/Junior Eights class in the Henley Women's Regatta in England. In 2011, the St. Andrew's men's rowing team finished second to Abingdon.
St. Andrew's is a member of the Delaware Independent School Conference. Traditional conference rivals include the Wilmington Friends School, Tatnall School, and Tower Hill School. The football team battles the Tatnall Hornets annually for the coveted Cannon Trophy and often the conference title in the Cannon Game. Athletic rivals in other sports include the Hill School, Sanford School, Salesianum, Middletown High School, and Westtown School.
Film appearances
The 1989 film Dead Poets Society starring Robin Williams was filmed almost entirely on the school grounds. The school was known as Welton Academy in the movie.
It also served as the shooting location for young Bartlet's boarding school in The West Wing episode entitled "Two Cathedrals" (#44).
Notable alumni
- William H. Whyte (1935) â€" sociologist, author of The Organization Man
- George Welch (1936) â€" test pilot
- Bulent Atalay (1958) â€" physicist and author
- Dennis C. Blair (1964) â€" former Director of National Intelligence for President Barack Obama and former United States Navy four-star admiral
- William R. Brownfield (1970) â€" Assistant Secretary of State; United States Ambassador to Chile, Venezuela, Colombia
- Erin Burnett (1994) â€" host of Erin Burnett OutFront on CNN
- Loudon Wainwright, Jr. (1942)â€" Life magazine columnist
- Hume Horan (1951) â€" diplomat and ambassador to five countries
- Kirk Varnedoe (1963) â€" American art historian and writer
- Loudon Wainwright III (1965) â€" songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor
- Roy Foster (1967) â€" Irish academic, educator and historical writer
- Steven Naifeh (1970) â€" Pulitzer Prize-winning author and artist
- John Seabrook (1976) â€" author and journalist for The New Yorker
- Peter Salett (1987) â€" singer/songwriter and composer
- Chris Klebl (1990) â€" cross-country skier, 11-time U.S. National Champion, Paralympic gold medalist
- Dominic Seiterle (1994) â€" Canadian rower, Olympic gold medalist
- Cristina Stenbeck Fitzgibbons (1995) â€" Swedish-American businesswoman
- Eric Boateng (2005) â€" professional basketball player, former center for Arizona State Sun Devils, 2005 McDonald's All-American and Gatorade State Athlete of the Year
- Maggie Rogers (singer) (2012) â€" an American musician, singer-songwriter, and producer
- Ben Bentil (2014) â€" Professional basketball player for Boston Celtics
References
External links
- St. Andrew's School website
- Irene duPont Library website
- Irene duPont Library Archives
- Famous Movie Locations: St. Andrew's School From 'Dead Poets Society' (Middletown, DE)