, established = 1879 , type =

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

, locale = , religion = Episcopal , image = , grades =9-12, PG , head_name =

Headmaster A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...

, head = R. Phillip Peck , city =

Holderness Holderness is an area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the north-east coast of England. An area of rich agricultural land, Holderness was marshland until it was drained in the Middle Ages. Topographically, Holderness has more in common wit ...

, state =

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, country = USA , students = 301 (2021) , faculty = , campus = Rural , athletics = , school_colors =

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

, mascot =

Blue Bull The nilgai (''Boselaphus tragocamelus'') (, literally meaning "blue cow") is the largest Asian antelope and is ubiquitous across the northern Indian subcontinent. It is the sole member of the genus ''Boselaphus'' and was described by Peter Sim ...

, free_label = , free = , website = The Holderness School is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, coeducational college- preparatory school in

, near

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The student body of 300 is drawn from 22 U.S. states and 14 foreign countries. While Holderness operates primarily as a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of " room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exte ...

, it also enrolls 25 day students. John McVeigh is currently Holderness School's 10th Head of School (headmaster). The former Head of School before McVeigh, was R. Phillip Peck, M.Ed. In the summer the campus is used as a site for various Gordon Research Conferences.

History

Founded in 1879 under the auspices of the

Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire The Episcopal Church of New Hampshire, a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA), covers the entire state of New Hampshire. It was originally part of the Diocese of Massachusetts, but became independent in 1841. Th ...

, the school retains some links with the denomination, but now conducts ecumenical chapel services and welcomes applicants of all faiths.

Location

The school is on high ground on the east side of the Pemigewasset River in Holderness overlooking the town of Plymouth, population about 6,000, and home of

Plymouth State University Plymouth State University (PSU), formerly Plymouth State College, is a public university in the towns of Plymouth and Holderness, New Hampshire. As of fall 2020, Plymouth State University enrolls 4,491 students (3,739 undergraduate students ...

and Speare Memorial Hospital. Holderness is about north of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Access to

Interstate 93 Interstate 93 (I-93) is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways ...

is within sight of the campus.

Facilities

Holderness School's of land contains academic buildings, an outdoor covered ice rink, eight playing fields, 10 tennis courts, and 10 kilometers of cross-country trails. In the past few years, the school has built a new library and health center, a new dining hall, two state of the art residential facilities, and a brand new, modern Math and Science center. The school has plans for greater improvements to the rink, an updated Athletics Center, and a student life facility centering on the school's historic chapel.

Special programs

The freshman class participates in Project Outreach, a community service project. Artward Bound offers sophomores a 10-day program of intensive study with professional artists in disciplines such as glass-blowing, blacksmithing, African dance, and stand-up comedy. The "Out Back" program is a cornerstone of life at Holderness. In Out Back, juniors trek in the woods for 11 days in a winter expedition all while, keeping a personal journal, learning and living together and experiencing a three days solo. Seniors complete a Senior Thesis which is a year-long experiential learning project culminating in a presentation and project.

Notable alumni

2015 -WinterMeetings- Jed Hoyer (23613745646)

William Drea Adams William Drea "Bro" Adams is an American educator and advocate for the humanities. He was the tenth Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 2014 to 2017. He served as the 14th President of Bucknell University from 1995 to 2000, and ...

, Chairman of the National Endowment of the Humanities *

Charles Bass Charles Foster Bass (born January 8, 1952) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for from 1995 to 2007 and 2011 to 2013. He is the son of Perkins Bass, ...

congressman *

Olin Browne Olin Douglas Browne (born May 22, 1959) is an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and now plays on the PGA Tour Champions. Browne was born in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Holderness School in Plymouth, N.H. in 1977. H ...

, pro golfer * Kyle Carey, Celtic American musician *

Robert Creeley Robert White Creeley (May 21, 1926 – March 30, 2005) was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school. He was close with Char ...

, poet *

Chris Davenport Chris Davenport (born January 4, 1971) is considered one of the world's most accomplished big-mountain skiers and mountaineers. A native of Aspen, Colorado, he has been called "one of North America's top 25 skiers by ''Skiing Magazine'' and is a ...

, ski mountaineer and film star * Angel Del Villar II, the rapper

Homeboy Sandman Angel Del Villar II (born September 24, 1980), better known by his stage name Homeboy Sandman, is an American rapper from Elmhurst, Queens, New York, United States. Career Homeboy Sandman recorded and released his first EP, ''Nourishment'', in M ...

Nat Faxon Nathaniel Faxon (born October 11, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. A frequent presence on comedic films and TV series, he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing '' The Descendants'' (2011) ...

, screenwriter, actor and comedian *

Jeremy Foley Jeremy N. Foley (born December 1, 1952) is an American university sports administrator and former college athlete. Foley was an award-winning athletic director for the Florida Gators Division I sports program of the University of Florida locate ...

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

athletic director * Julia Ford, member of the 2014 U.S. Alpine Ski Team *

Tyler Hamilton Tyler Hamilton (born March 1, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racer. He is the only American rider to win one of the five Monuments of cycling, taking Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 2003. Hamilton became a professional cycli ...

, professional racing cyclist *

Brette Harrington Brette Harrington (born 1992) is an American professional rock climber and alpinist based in Lake Tahoe, California and British Columbia, Canada. She was featured in the 2021 film ''The Alpinist'' alongside her late partner, Marc-André Leclerc. S ...

, alpinist * Jed Hoyer, General Manager of the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

* Steve Jones, a founder of

Teton Gravity Research Teton Gravity Research (TGR) is an Extreme skiing, extreme sports media company based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The company was founded in 1996 by brothers Steve and Todd Jones, as well as friends Dirk Collins, "Sick" Rick Armstrong (Skier), Rick ...

* Nikki Kimball, ultramarathoner *

Glenn D. Lowry Glenn David Lowry (born September 28, 1954) is an American art historian and director of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City since 1995. His initiatives there include strengthening MoMA's contemporary art program, significantly devel ...

, Director, Museum of Modern Art *

Brett Lunger Robert Brett Lunger (born November 14, 1945 in Wilmington, Delaware) is an American racecar driver. Lunger was educated at the Holderness School, and Princeton University. He dropped out of Princeton after three years to enlist for service in V ...

, race car driver * Montgomery Meigs, retired United States Army general *

Terence Mitchell Terence Croft Mitchell (17 June 1929 – 21 April 2019) was a British archaeologist, scholar and curator. He was Keeper of Western Asiatic Antiquities at the British Museum from 1985 to 1989. He specialised in West Semitic languages, Near Eas ...

, British museum curator * Tyler Palmer, Olympic skier *

Martynas Pocius Martynas Pocius (born 28 April 1986) is a Lithuanian retired professional basketball player. He was also a member of the Lithuanian national basketball team. Early life and high school Martynas Pocius was born in Vilnius to Gintaras, a basketba ...

, professional basketball player * Gavin Bayreuther, professional hockey player for the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

Freddy Hall Frederick Michael George Hall (3 March 1985 – 24 April 2022) was a Bermudian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Early life Hall grew up in St. George's, Bermuda, and started his football career as goalkeeper for the St. Geo ...

, professional soccer player *

Gabriel Sherman Gabriel Sherman is an American author. In 2014, he wrote a biography about Fox News Channel president Roger Ailes called '' The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News – and Divided a Country'', whic ...

, journalist and author * Maggie Shnayerson, journalist and blogger * Thomas Antonucci, renowned history teacher at The Taft School

References

External links

Holderness School ''Official website''
{{authority control Boarding schools in New Hampshire Educational institutions established in 1879 Preparatory schools in New Hampshire Private high schools in New Hampshire Schools in Grafton County, New Hampshire 1879 establishments in New Hampshire Holderness, New Hampshire