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Westtown School is a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
,
coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
, college preparatory day and
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. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, located in
West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,671 at the 2020 census. West ...
, United States, 20 miles west of
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. Founded in
1799 Events January–March * January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound, to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars. * January ...
by the
Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
. Westtown is a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
school affiliated with the Friends General Conference branch of the Religious Society of Friends. The school requires all students to attend
Meeting for Worship A meeting for worship is what the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) call their church service. Quakers#Splits, Different branches of Quakers have different types of worship, primarily consisting of three types. A meeting for worship in Engl ...
together with adults in the community who voluntarily attend. Westtown uses the traditional Quaker practice of coming to unity in making some high-level decisions. Westtown has been coeducational since its 1799 founding. Westtown students come from 16 states and 13 countries.


History

Westtown School opened on May 6, 1799.
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...
founded the school after raising money to build a boarding school and purchasing land a full day's carriage ride from
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
—where they could provide a "guarded education in a healthy environment" away from the
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...
influences of the city. For many years, Westtown was nearly self-sufficient, with the campus providing raw materials used in the construction of its buildings and food for the people who lived and worked at the
school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
. Westtown is the oldest continuously operating co-educational boarding school in the United States. Boys and girls had separate classes until about 1870. Boys learned useful skills such as woodshop, surveying, and bookkeeping, and girls had classes like sewing. However, Westtown eventually recognized that students of both genders should know basic academic subjects such as reading, penmanship, grammar,
mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...
,
geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
, and
science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
. The 1880s brought physical changes to Westtown. The main building was replaced with a structure designed by architect Addison Hutton, completed in 1888, and still in use today. During the 20th century, the student body and curriculum became more diverse. For example, the school added visual and performing arts, and non-Quakers, African-American, and international students were eventually admitted. Westtown's Esther Duke Archives is a facility dedicated to collecting and maintaining materials relating to the people and history of the school.


Student Life

Westtown School boasts a wide variety of clubs and organizations, both faculty and student run. Many of these clubs are geared towards creating change, such as SASH (Students Advocating for Student Health), JSU (Jewish Student Union), BSU (Black Student Union), ISO (International Student Organization), Green Coalition, Politics Club, Hearts for Hearts (H4H), and Rainbow Alliance along with numerous other clubs with a more recreational or hobby like focus. Some notable popular clubs include flag football club, chess club, ski club, Dungeons and Dragons club, E-Sports club, and
Model UN 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 ...
. Students also partake in weekend trips to nearby places like
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, King of Prussia Mall, and West Chester.


Sports

The 2018 documentary, ''We Town'', is about the 2016-2017 Upper School Basketball Team, featuring Mo Bamba and Cam Reddish. It chronicles the quest of the team to win the State Championship. The Westtown Wrestling team, led by legendary coaches Jay Farrow '75 and Timothy Loose, has amassed 26 League Titles. The Wrestling team has the most FSL titles for any sport and team in the entire league's history. Jay Farrow coached the wrestling team for 44 years. Jay amassed 498 dual meet victories as a coach while also coaching 162 PAISWT Placewinners, including multiple National Prep All-Americans. He won PAISWT Head Coach of the Year and National Preps Head Coach of the Year in 2024, his final season of coaching. In 2023, the Westtown boys varsity soccer team won the FSL without conceding a single goal. Additionally, girls' varsity won every game they played, and both boys and girls JV won their leagues respectively, making it the most successful year for a Friends League school's soccer program in the history of the competition.


Campus

Westtown is located on a campus in southern Pennsylvania. The campus is 600 acres, including a 14.5-acre lake, arboretum, frog pond, 14 playing fields, stadium tennis courts, organic farm, Lower School mini-farm, medicine wheel garden, wooded cross country course, and 21-element ropes course. Additionally, the campus has several dozen acres of farmland, and hosts "Farmer Jawn's", a local produce store. Students can participate in farming as a co-curricular. "Farmer Jawn's" also supports a number of food cupboards in the Philadelphia area.


Notable alumni

* Samuel Leeds Allen (1841–1918), inventor of the Flexible Flyer, the world's first steerable runner sled * Donald Baechler (1956–2022), Class of 1973, painter and sculptor * Mo Bamba, Class of 2017, professional basketball player for
Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...
* Anna Cox Brinton (1887–1969), classics scholar, Quaker worker overseas, administrator at Pendle Hill *
John Cassin John Cassin (September 6, 1813 – January 10, 1869) was an American ornithology, ornithologist from Pennsylvania. He worked as curator and vice president at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and focused on the systemic classification ...
, ornithologist (1813–1869) * Marysol Castro (1976–), news anchor for
WPIX WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City, serving as the ''de facto'' flagship of The CW Television Network. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, the station is operated by CW majority owner Nexstar Media Group under a local market ...
and Public address announcer for the
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
* Laetitia Moon Conard (1871–1946), college instructor and politician in Iowa * Gilbert Cope (1840–1928), genealogist and historian of Chester County, Pennsylvania * Steve Curwood, Class of 1965, is host of NPR's Living on Earth environmental news series * Anna Fang, Class of 2000, Chinese venture capitalist, CEO of ZhenFund * Jim Fowler (1930–2019), Class of 1947, Conservationist and wildlife correspondent/show host - Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom * Benjamin Hallowell, president of Maryland Agricultural College * Isaac Israel Hayes (1822–1881), Arctic explorer, physician and politician * Arthur W. Hummel, Jr. Class of 1938, American diplomat; U.S. ambassador to China, 1981–1985 * Crete Hutchinson (1884–1970), writer * Richard T. James (1914–1974), with his wife, invented the Slinky * Dereck Lively II, Class of 2022, professional basketball player for
Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...
* Rachel Lloyd (1839–1900), chemist * Rebecca Lukens (1794–1854) Considered first woman industrialist in the United States. * Samuel George Morton, physician, natural scientist and writer * Herb Pennock, Class of 1915, Major League Baseball player and manager,
baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...
* Cam Reddish, Class of 2018, basketball player for the
Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...
* Kevin Roose, Class of 2005, writer and technology columnist for the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' *
Holland Taylor Holland Taylor (born January 14, 1943) is an American actress. She won the 1999 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Judge Roberta Kittleson on ABC's ''The Practice'' (1998–2003) and she ...
(1943–), Class of 1960,
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
-winning actress * Garrick Utley, Class of 1957, a correspondent for
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
's New York bureau * Anthony H. Williams, Class of 1975, Pennsylvania State Senator, 8th District


Photo gallery

Image:FlowerPath.jpg, The Westtown campus is surrounded by several acres of woods. Image:W esttownTrees.jpg, Campus trees. Image:WesttownGeese.jpg, Geese flying over Main Hall. File:WesttownSchool4.jpg, Main building File:WesttownSchool2.jpg, Athletics building File:WesttownSchool3.jpg, Middle school playground


References


External links


Westtown WebsiteA visitor's impression of the school published in 1861Boarding School ReviewYouTube: Westtown School
{{authority control Boarding schools in Pennsylvania Private elementary schools in Pennsylvania Private middle schools in Pennsylvania Private high schools in Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1799 1799 establishments in Pennsylvania Quaker schools in Pennsylvania Schools in Chester County, Pennsylvania Private high schools in the United States Quaker schools