Exeter High School is a public high school in

Exeter, New Hampshire Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 16,049 at the 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood. ...

, 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 primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It serves students in grades 9 through 12 who reside in the towns of

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, Stratham,

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, Newfields, Brentwood, and East Kingston,

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 ...

. Exeter High School is ranked 9th within New Hampshire. Students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement® course work and exams. The AP® participation rate at Exeter High School is 36 percent. The student body makeup is 50 percent male and 50 percent female, and the total minority enrollment is 6 percent. Exeter High School is the only high school in the Exeter Region Coop School District. According to state test scores, 55% of students are at least proficient in math and 81% in reading.

History

Origin

The Exeter Area Public School was established in 1848 as a co-educational institution and became a school for boys twenty years later when Robinson Female Seminary was founded.Exeter Area High School, Alumni Directory: 1993 The school was originally located on Court Street until 1912 when it was moved to Linden Street and changed to Exeter High School. The new school opened September 9, 1912, and most of the town stores declared a half-holiday for the occasion. The school was nicknamed "Tuck High School", thanks mainly to a gift of $5,000 by

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

Edward Tuck Edward Tuck (August 24, 1842 – April 30, 1938) was an American banker, diplomat, and philanthropist. He is known for funding the establishment of the Tuck School of Business at his alma mater, Dartmouth College. The son of Amos Tuck, a found ...

. The "Pinnacle" yearbook was first produced in 1949 as a joint effort by Exeter High School and Robinson Female Seminary. On April 7, 1954, an affirmative vote of a $760,000 bond was passed to construct a new coed Exeter High School and elementary school; the school opened in September 1956.

Today

After years of a growing population and structural problems experienced in the old building, it was determined that a new building would be built. The new Exeter High School opened on the outskirts of town, at 1 Blue Hawk Drive, on

New Hampshire Route 27 New Hampshire Route 27 (abbreviated NH 27) is a long east–west highway in southeastern New Hampshire. The western terminus of NH 27 is in Hooksett at U.S. Route 3 and New Hampshire Route 28 north of Manchester. The eastern terminus is in Hamp ...

in September 2006. The original Tuck School/Exeter High School was renovated into the Seacoast School of Technology, and an annex building (formerly Exeter Area Junior High School) was razed to make way for a new YMCA facility.

Academics

Honors societies

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...

: members are academically proficient and are supporters of the Exeter community, volunteering around Exeter and throughout the Seacoast region. * The Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica (SHH), or

Spanish National Honor Society Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

* La Société Honoraire Française (SHF) or French National Honor Society * The Social Studies Honor Society, administered by the Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society program * The Latin Honor Society, administered by the

Junior Classical League The National Junior Classical League (National JCL or NJCL) is a youth organization of secondary school students sponsored by the American Classical League (ACL). Founded in 1936, the NJCL comprises more than 1,000 Latin, Greek and Classical ...

* The Science National Honors Society, composed of students achieving highly in science (including physical science, biology, chemistry, physics, and more) who perform community outreach. Initial events planned by this nascent branch have been stunted by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Seacoast School of Technology

In addition to courses available on campus, students can enroll in programs at the Seacoast School of Technology, also in Exeter. This School of Technology offers classes that the structured classroom doesn't, including but not limited to, Automotive technologies, Culinary Studies, Pre-Engineering, and Building and Construction Technologies. The Seacoast School of Technology or SST neighbors the old Exeter High on Linden Street in Exeter. SST services six schools including Exeter High School, Epping High School,

Newmarket High School Newmarket High School is a secondary school located in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. It is one of four high schools in Newmarket under the jurisdiction of the York Region District School Board and currently educates approximately 1400 students from ...

, Raymond High School,

Sanborn Regional High School Sanborn Regional High School is located in Kingston, New Hampshire and serves the towns of Kingston, New Hampshire, Kingston, Newton, New Hampshire, Newton, and Fremont, New Hampshire, Fremont. SRHS is a part of the Sanborn Regional School Distric ...

, and

Winnacunnet High School Winnacunnet High School is an American public high school in Hampton, New Hampshire. It serves students in grades 9 through 12 who live in Hampton, Seabrook, North Hampton, South Hampton, and Hampton Falls. Students from South Hampton attend ei ...

Extra-curricular activities

The school has over 60 clubs listed, and many play an important role in student life and the Exeter community. The number of operative clubs fluctuates yearly; the main clubs are listed on the school website. For example,

Model UN Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a count ...

regularly achieves success at several annual local conferences to which the group sends delegates. Various service-based clubs have made sizable donations of time and resources to organizations such as End 68 Hours of Hunger, though not all are local. In recent years, Quiz Bowl has sent teams to the NHPBS quiz

Granite State Challenge ''Granite State Challenge'' is an American television quizbowl game show that airs on New Hampshire Public Television and began in 1983. Description High schools from around the state compete against each other to win "brainy bragging rights" and ...

, which reached the quarterfinals during each instance. For several years, the intermediate and advanced division certamen teams from Latin Club placed among the top three at statewide competitions. Other organizations, such as

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 1 ...

and

Best Buddies Best Buddies International is an American nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. It consists of volunteers that create opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The program's main purpose is to allow volunteers t ...

have achieved success as well.

Future Plans

According to annual profiles published on the school website, about 65% of each graduating senior class directly enrolls in a four-year college or university, between 10% and 15% enroll in a two-year college program, with the remaining students electing to pursue employment, technical training, volunteer work, the armed services, and many other options after graduation. This data is taken from the graduating classes of 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Campus

Faculty and staff

From the years 2012–2017, the high school has had four principals, Victor Sokul (2005-2012), Sean Kiley (2012-2014), James Tremblay (2014-2017), and Michael Monahan (2017- ).

Sustainability

The Exeter High School campus surpasses most schools across New Hampshire in environmental

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

. In 2010 the installation of 465 solar panels (supplied by AltE) generates about 100 kilowatts of power and offsets the school's energy consumption by 5%. The addition of a community garden in the spring of 2011 provided further learning opportunities for the school and agricultural benefits for the local community. Exeter has an active Environmental Club and Recycling Committee that have overseen many of the green innovations around the school and community.

Facilities

*''Theater'': The Arthur L. Hanson III Center for the Performing Arts was dedicated to the superintendent of schools on June 13, 2008. The Drama Department has been able to produce hit shows such as ''Grease'', ''Footloose'', ''Beauty and the Beast'', ''Sweeney Todd'', ''Shrek'', ''The Addams Family'', ''Urinetown'', and many other plays in the theater. *''Cafeteria'': The Latvis Cafeteria was dedicated to Mike and Gail Latvis in November 2007 for their years of service and dedication to the SAU 16 school district. *''Conference hall'': The Roy Morrisette Alumni Room was dedicated to Roy Morrisette for his 29 years of service to the SAU 16 school district. *''Gymnasium'': The Exeter High school building has a large and a small gymnasium which are used throughout the year for hosting events and tournaments. *''Stadium'': William D. Ball Stadium at Eustis Field, a grass-turf, multi-sport facility, is home to the football, soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse teams. *''Weight Room'': Near the gymnasiums, Exeter High School has a weight room equipped with bench presses, cardio machines, dumbbells, and a menagerie of other lifting equipment. Various sports teams sign out the room for practices and some physical education classes utilize its resources.

Athletics

Students at Exeter High School are required to participate in two semesters of athletic programs. The school offers more than 30 interscholastic teams at the varsity and junior varsity level. Other various physical fitness programs are also available. The athletic director is William D. Ball, who is also the head football coach. Exeter High School competes at the Division 1 level.

Interscholastic sports

Fall * Boys cross country * Girls cross country *

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

Field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

* Boys

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

* Girls

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 ...

Winter * Boys

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 (appr ...

* Girls

* Boys

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

* Girls

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

* Boys

* Boys and girls indoor track *

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

* Girls

alpine skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for ...

* Boys

Spring *

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

* Boys

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 ...

* Boys

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

* Girls

* Boys

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

* Girls

Track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

Football

The school's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team has won the state championship 14 times since 1955: Class M (1955), Division III (1957, 1958, 1959, 1963, 1964, 1965), Division II (1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2007), Division I (2011, 2012) Beginning in 1996, the Blue Hawks played in 11 of 14 Division II state championship games before moving to Division I in 2010. During the seasons of 1997–1999 Exeter won 26 consecutive games, the longest winning streak in school history. Exeter has sent over 65 representatives to play in the New Hampshire-Vermont

Shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...

Maple Sugar Bowl. The Blue Hawks have nine members in the New Hampshire Chapter of the

Joe Yukica Joseph M. Yukica (May 27, 1931 – January 22, 2022) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of New Hampshire (1966–1967), Boston College (1968–1977), and Dartmouth College (1 ...

Hall of Fame. Zack Dziama (class of 2003) and Tyler Grant (2013) have won the Gatorade Player of the Year for football in New Hampshire. Head Coach William Ball has won over 100 games with Exeter and has been inducted into the New Hampshire Coaches Hall of Fame. The Exeter High football team has played rival

Winnacunnet Winnacunnet is a word derived from one of the Algonquian languages and may mean "beautiful place in the pines".Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region *Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick *Hamp ...

76 times since 1924. Exeter leads the all-time series, 53–22–2. The two schools have played for three state championships in Division II, with Winnacunnet winning in 1983 and 2000, while Exeter won in 2003, one of Exeter's perfect seasons (others being 1964 and 1999). The teams have played each other every year since 1947. The last Exeter/Winnacunnet game played at the original Eustis Field in 2005 was a 26–0 victory for Exeter. Eustis Field was named after Richard J. Eustis, who served as the Blue Hawks' athletic director from 1958 to 1969, and had been captain of the 1931 New Hampshire Wildcats football team. The Blue Hawks' home games are held at William D. Ball Stadium at Eustis Field, a grass-turf stadium facility. In 2005, the Blue Hawks won the last game on the original Eustis Field, defeating Merrimack in the semifinals before falling to Bishop Guertin in the Division II championship game. Exeter was reclassified as a Division I football program for the 2010 season, replacing Manchester West, which moved down to Division II. On November 19, 2011, playing at the home of defending champion

Pinkerton Academy Pinkerton Academy is a secondary school in Derry, New Hampshire, United States. It serves roughly 3,269 students, making it by far the largest high school in New Hampshire, more than 1,300 students greater than the next largest high school. Pi ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, Exeter won its first Division I title, 23–13.

Swimming and diving

The school's girls' swimming and diving team has won the NH Division I state championship four times since 2016 (2016, 2018, 2019, 2020). The school's boys' swimming and diving team has won the NH Division I state championship four times since 2013 (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017).

Soccer

The Exeter High School boys varsity

team has won the New Hampshire state championship five times since 2001. Head Coach Jim Tufts led his boys to the Final Four or further for seven years running, 2001 through 2007. Then again in the 2016 season, Coach Jim Tufts led the boys to victory against Manchester Memorial High School in a score of 5-0. Jack Loosmann and Alex Carbone worked the ball well up and down the field aiding in the shut out. This was a great win for Exeter High School and especially for Coach Jim Tufts as it was his 40th season coaching the varsity squad. The Exeter High School girls' soccer team won the Class L state championship for the first time in 2006 after defeating Merrimack 1-0 and again in 2007 after defeating

2–1 in overtime. They won state championships in Division I four years in a row (2009 - 2012), but lost to

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

in 2013. They reclaimed the division title in 2014. In 2013 the team was ranked the number one high school team in America in the National Soccer Association of America's weekly poll.

Field hockey

The Exeter High School field hockey team was the runner up in the 2006 Class L championship game after losing in overtime 3-2 to Salem High School. Seeded #4 going into th
NHIAA
tournament Exeter High School Girls beat Pinkerton High School's field hockey team to become 2013 Division I state champions. This was the first championship for the program.

Golf

The Exeter Golf Team has recorded multiple state tournament appearances including back to back in 2006 and 2007. The team practices at the Exeter Country Club in Exeter with Varsity head coach Bob Bailey. Before being named varsity coach, Bailey led the junior varsity team to three straight state titles — 2005–07, and brought a wealth of coaching and educational experience to the team.

Championships

The football team has won a total of 13 state championships, in four different classes/divisions: Class M (1955), Division III (1957, 1959, 1963, 1964, 1965), Division II (1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2007), and Division I (2011, 2012). The girls' swimming and diving team has won four NH Division I state championships: (2016, 2018, 2019, 2020). The boys' swimming and diving team has won four NH Division I state championships: (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017). The boys' basketball team won the Class I state championship in 1977, 2019, 2020. The boys' golf team won the Class I state championship in 1984, 1989, 2020.

Notable events

On January 6, 2008,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

held a rally in the Exeter High School gymnasium. On February 10, 2020, then–presidential candidate

Pete Buttigieg Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg ( ; ; Sometimes pronounced or , but not by Buttigieg himself. born January 19, 1982) is an American politician and former military officer who is currently serving as the United States secretary of transp ...

held a campaign rally in the Exeter High School cafeteria; he was introduced by actor

Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...

Notable alumni

Lloyd Ahlquist Lloyd Leonard Ahlquist (born January 18, 1977), better known by his online alias EpicLLOYD, is an American internet personality best known for the YouTube video series ''Epic Rap Battles of History'', along with Peter Shukoff ("Nice Peter"). Ahlq ...

(born 1977), comedian, class of 1995 *

Victoria Arlen Victoria Arlen (born September 26, 1994) is a current television personality for ESPN, as well as an actress, speaker, model, and former American paralympian swimmer. Early life Victoria Arlen was born in New Hampshire, USA, on September 26, 1 ...

(born 1994), paralympian swimmer * Hunter Long (born 1998), football player * Cody Morissette (born 2000), baseball player * Joseph Petroski (1920–2010), collegiate ice hockey head coach

Student newspaper

''The Talon'', also known as EHS Press, is the school's independent student newspaper founded in 1957. In the summer of 2014, ''The Talon'' switched to an on-line platform after school administrators cut the journalism class.

References

External links

Exeter High School official websiteSAU 16 websiteStudent-run newspaper
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1954 Schools in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Public high schools in New Hampshire 1954 establishments in New Hampshire Exeter, New Hampshire