Roycemore School is an independent, nonsectarian, co-educational college preparatory school located in
Evanston,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
serving students in pre-kindergarten through Grade 12. The school's current enrollment is approximately 240 students as of 2021. The school's
former building is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
In 2024, for the state of Illinois, Niche ranked Roycemore School as the 1st most diverse private high school, the 4th-best private high school, and the 3rd-best private K–12 school. The school currently has a six-to-one student-to-teacher ratio.
History
Roycemore School was founded in 1915 by Julia Henry and a group of North Shore parents at
640 Lincoln Street in
Evanston,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. Henry was originally the Lower School principal at the Girton School for Girls in Winnetka, IL, taking several faculty members and students with her to the new Roycemore. The school was named after Henry's grandfather, Andrew Royce, a Congregational minister in Barre, Vermont in the 1800s. The school took on the Royce family crest inspiring the blue and gold school colors, the motto "fortis et prudens simul," or strength and careful judgement go together, and the mascot, the griffin. In 1968, the first boy graduated, alone in a class of six.
Its original location was in north Evanston, Illinois, near
Northwestern University
Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
. The former Roycemore School building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
In June 2013, long-time Headmaster Joseph Becker retired (1976-2013), having ushered in a new era of Roycemore in time for the school to celebrate its centennial throughout the 2015-2016 school year.
Relocation
As its property lease with Northwestern University for the lot at Lincoln St. and Orrington Ave. was due to end in 2014, in early 2000 the school began looking for another Evanston location that would allow room to continue a trend of enrollment growth that had occurred over the previous 10 years, with updated technology and to accommodate a larger, regulation-sized gymnasium.
Roycemore began classes at 1200 Davis Street in Evanston on January 6, 2012. The 3-acre lot, adjacent to Evanston's Alexander Park, was the location of a 55,000-square-foot building that was once the headquarters of the General Board of Pension Funds for the United Methodist Church. Roycemore completely renovated the building and added a nearly 8,000-square-foot gymnasium.
Athletics and extracurriculars
The school has no-cut athletic teams starting in the fifth grade, including
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
,
Soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
,
Fencing
Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...
,
Cross Country and
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
. Roycemore's website states, "Participation is given a higher priority than competing to win at all grade levels, but competing to win does take on increased focus as the participants become older."
Roycemore's mascot is the
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...
and the school colors are blue and gold.
Each year, Roycemore School holds its annual Palio, which is the school's oldest tradition. Palio was modeled after the pageant that proceeds the
Palio di Siena
The Palio di Siena (; known locally simply as ; from Latin ) is a horse race held twice each year, on 2 July and 16 August, in Siena, Italy. Ten horses and riders, bareback (the horses, not the riders) and dressed in the appropriate colours, re ...
in Italy. Students from grades 1–12 display the progress they have made in physical education classes during the year. The emphasis is on rhythmics, dance, gymnastics, and sports skills. Roycemore's Palio has a colorful procession, where each new Kindergarten class is handed down a banner with the coat of arms from the graduating Senior class that the younger students will carry until graduation in twelfth grade.
Another longstanding tradition at Roycemore is their tumbling program. Starting in third grade, students can be found participating in mounts, lifting other students, or flying through the air as part of their performance. The program culminates in three annual all-school performances, including Palio, for fellow students, parents and alumni.
Notable alumni
*
Frances Badger (1904–1997),
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...
(WPA) artist
*
Susan Garrett
Susan Garrett is a former Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, who represented the 29th District from 2003 to 2013, and the 59th district of the Illinois House of Representatives for four years previously. The 29th district includes all or ...
(1950–present), Illinois state senator
*
Andrew Goldberg (1968–present), Emmy award-winning producer and director
*
Gloria Guardia
Gloria Guardia (1940 – 13 May 2019) was a Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia t ...
(1940-2019),
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
vice president of PEN International.
*
Jason Narducy
Jason V. Narducy is an Americans, American musician from Evanston, Illinois, United States.
After receiving his first guitar at the age of nine Narducy started his music career, playing guitar and writing songs for his punk rock band, Verboten. ...
(1971–present), American rock musician
References
External links
Roycemore School's Official Site
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Schools in Evanston, Illinois
Private elementary schools in Cook County, Illinois
Private middle schools in Cook County, Illinois
Private high schools in Cook County, Illinois
Private K–12 schools in the United States
Preparatory schools in Illinois
Educational institutions established in 1915
1915 establishments in Illinois