Devon Preparatory School is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

all-male

college preparatory school A college-preparatory school (often shortened to prep school, preparatory school, college prep school or college prep academy) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily design ...

in Tredyffrin Township,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, in the United States, with a

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

postal address. - The plot of land is not labeled, but it corresponds wit
the school address
"363 N Valley Forge Rd Devon, PA 19333" Founded in 1956 by

Piarists The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools (), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the Catholic Church founded in 1617 by Spanish priest Joseph Calasanz ...

, it is divided into a

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

(grades 6–8) and an

upper school Upper schools in the UK are usually schools within secondary education. Outside England, the term normally refers to a section of a larger school. England The three-tier model Upper schools are a type of secondary school found in a minority ...

(grades 9–12), both located on the same campus. The school operates independently under the auspices of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia The Archdiocese of Philadelphia () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in southeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia originally included all of Pennsylvania and Dela ...

History

The Devon Preparatory School site was originally owned by Philadelphia publisher,"Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society History Quarterly Digital Archive

April 1999 Volume 37 Number 2, Pages 63–70" art collector, and socialite Charles Matthew Lea, who built his mansion in 1913 that was later to become Calasanctius Hall. Lea, son of historian Henry Charles Lea, inherited his fortune from the

Lea & Febiger Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW) is an American imprint of the American Dutch publishing conglomerate Wolters Kluwer. It was established by the acquisition of Williams & Wilkins and its merger with J.B. Lippincott Company in 1998. Under the L ...

publishing firm, the oldest publishing company in the United States (1785–1990). The firm's best-known title was the American edition of ''

Gray's Anatomy ''Gray's Anatomy'' is a reference book of human anatomy written by Henry Gray, illustrated by Henry Vandyke Carter and first published in London in 1858. It has had multiple revised editions, and the current edition, the 42nd (October 2020 ...

'', which they began publishing in 1859. In 1920, the school expanded the original tract on the east side of Valley Forge Road by purchasing an additional . This consolidated property was known as Westthorpe Farm. The main entrance to Westthorpe Farm was at the intersection of Conestoga Road, Valley Forge Road, and Hunters Lane, where large stone pillars still stand. Several stone pillars that initially formed a southern fence line remain partially in place along West Conestoga and Upper Gulph Roads. The current entrance to Devon Preparatory School, on Valley Forge Road, was the service entrance to the mansion. An outbuilding from Westthorpe Farm still stands northeast of the intersection of Upper Gulph and Hunters Lane. The 25-room Westthorpe mansion, designed by Brockie & Hastings, was the home of Charles M. Lea until he died in 1927. His widow, Charlotte Augusta Lea, remained at the mansion until she died in 1945. The property was then sold to Alexander Shand, a developer who built one of the first post-World War II developments of homes known as the Shand Tract on Steeplechase Road and Hunters Lane. Shand sold the mansion to Joseph Lerner, who had hoped to make it a psychiatric hospital. Because of neighborhood opposition to his project, Lerner sold the property to the Priarist Fathers in 1955. In 1994, Father James J. Shea became the school's headmaster. He retired on July 31, 2015. In August 2023, the school announced that Father Francisco Aisa would be stepping down as headmaster to return to his home country of Spain. Father Nelson Henao will become the new headmaster.

Admissions

Demographics

Programs

Previously the school had a boarding program. This ended in 1970.

Campus

The campus is in Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania. It is adjacent to, but not inside, the Devon

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

. Prior to 2010, Devon was in the Devon-Berwyn CDP. It had a combined barn and residence, in a U-shape, using the French Normandy architecture style. The facility was constructed in 1910. At some point the school sold the land. The barn was later restored into a full residence.

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

Devon Prep's athletic teams compete in the

Philadelphia Catholic League The Philadelphia Catholic League is a high school sports league composed (as of the 2012-13 year) of 18 Catholic High Schools in Philadelphia and the surrounding Pennsylvania suburbs. The league itself was founded in the summer of 1920 on the step ...

(12 teams). *Fall: Cross Country, Soccer (Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Freshmen), Golf (Varsity and Junior Varsity), and Crew. *Winter: Basketball (Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Freshmen), Indoor Track, Bowling, Squash, Ice Hockey, and Swimming. *Spring: Baseball (Varsity and Junior Varsity), Lacrosse, Track and Field, Tennis, and Crew.

PIAA Championships

Devon Prep has won multiple championships, which include the following: * Golf: ** 2022 PIAA 2A INDIVIDUAL GOLF ** 2021 PIAA 2A GOLF * Basketball: ** 2022 PIAA 3A BASKETBALL PIAA * Baseball: ** 2014 PIAA 1A BASEBALL ** 2019 PIAA 2A BASEBALL * Tennis: ** 2021 2A PIAA DOUBLES

Clubs and activities

Devon Prep has over 50 different extracurricular activity groups. Some of them include: Mock Trial,

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN (MUN), is an educational simulation of the United Nations, which teaches students about diplomacy, international relations, global issues, and how the United Nations is run. During a model UN confe ...

Science Olympiad Science Olympiad, sometimes abbreviated as SciOly, is an American team competition in which students compete in 23 events pertaining to various fields of science. The subjects include earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. O ...

, Film Club, Devon Dialogue (newspaper), Calasanctian (yearbook), Art Club, and many more. There is an elected Student Council, honor societies, and an Academic Challenge Team. Musical groups for students include Jazz Band, Rock Band, Choral Tide, and Rip Tide. There is an annual Fall Drama and Spring Musical.

Summer enrichment program

In the summer, Devon Prep hosts a Summer Enrichment Program. Students participate in sports and dramatic arts camps and various other courses throughout the two sessions. They attend classes including algebra readiness, digital photography, painting and sculpting, video production, study skills, web building, and history explorations. The sports camps include baseball, soccer, track, golf, and basketball.

Notable alumni

Raymond Geuss Raymond Geuss, FBA (; born 1946) is an American political philosopher and scholar of 19th and 20th century European philosophy. He is currently Emeritus Professor in the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Cambridge. Geuss is primarily known ...

, philosopher, professor at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

* Mark Malseed, co-author, ''

The Google Story ''The Google Story'' is a book by David Vise and Mark Malseed that takes an in-depth look at the founding of Google and why it is unique among information technology companies. The book discusses the founders, the company, and the culture that Goo ...

'' and a named collaborator, with author

Bob Woodward Robert Upshur Woodward (born March 26, 1943) is an American investigative journalist. He started working for ''The Washington Post'' as a reporter in 1971 and now holds the honorific title of associate editor though the Post no longer employs ...

, on the #1 New York Times non-fiction bestsellers '' Plan of Attack'' and ''

Bush at War ''Bush at War'' is a 2002 book by ''The Washington Post'' reporter Bob Woodward recounting President George W. Bush's responses to the September 11 attacks and his administration's handling of the subsequent War in Afghanistan (2001–present), Wa ...

''.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Boys' schools in the United States Piarist Order Private middle schools in Pennsylvania Catholic secondary schools in Pennsylvania Catholic elementary schools in Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1956 Schools in Chester County, Pennsylvania 1956 establishments in Pennsylvania Boarding schools in Pennsylvania