Berwick Academy is a private, coeducational day school located in South Berwick, Maine. It is the oldest school in the state, founded in 1791. Berwick currently has over 600 students in grades K-12 (ages 5-18) and is considered to be highly competitive with other New England college prep schools of its size, most of which are boarding schools.
The athletic nurturing all students receive has resulted in BA standing out as a member of the Eastern Independent League, as well as the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council.
From the Berwick Academy Website:
Berwick Academy was founded in 1791 to promote "Virtue and useful knowledge among the rising generations." For over 200 years the Academy has pursued its mission through a classical education of the whole person. We prepare students to prosper academically in college and to enjoy an enduring commitment to the life of the mind. We teach the creative process of the arts emphasizing performance and exhibition. We promote athletic and physical development within an ethic of sportsmanship. We nurture strength of character, individual responsibility, and a commitment to the common good. Berwick students, teachers, and families comprise a community of learners that instills the ethic of personal excellence. The Academy is one school with three divisions each designed to broaden and deepen the foundations of virtue and knowledge for the continuing development of each student's potential.
Also from the Berwick Academy Website:
History
The history of Berwick Academy dates back to 1791, when the citizens of Berwick, York, and Wells raised 500 pounds to better educate the "deplorable youth in this part of the country."
Incorporated by the Massachusetts Legislature and with a charter signed by Governor John Hancock for the purpose of "promoting true piety and virtue and useful knowledge among the rising generation," Berwick Academy was established to teach languages, liberal arts, and sciences.
The oldest educational institution in Maine, the Academy was the equivalent of a comprehensive high school, and until the 1950s the town of South Berwick contracted with the school to educate local students. By 1955, Berwick reverted to a completely private status with an exclusive college preparatory program in accordance with the intent of the Academy's founders.
Berwick became a boarding school for boys, with a day department for girls, and continued to expand its facility by acquiring land for playing fields and tennis courts, as well as old homes for dormitories. A new gymnasium and the Commons- housing a dining hall and science laboratories - were completed by the mid-sixties.
Berwick experienced tremendous changes during the seventies - adding the Middle School in 1971 and discontinuing the boarding program in 1976. With the addition of the Lower School in 1977, the transformation to a true country day school was complete.
Berwick continued to expand its facility with the dedication of the Whipple Arts Center in 1985, the Kendall Lower School in 1988, the Clement Middle School in 1994, the Athletic Facility in 1997, the Jeppesen Science Center in 1999, and the opening of the Jackson Library in 2002. The Athletic Facility was originally named in honor of former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski, who was the principle donor behind the complex; the name was changed in 2003 after Kozlowski was implicated in a corporate scandal. Today, the Academy continues to build its campus and grow as an institution.
Sports Program
One could say that the Berwick Academy sports program truly starts in the 7th grade, when students participate in games against other schools, on and off the campus. In the fall students may choose to participate in Tennis (Upper School), Cross Country, Soccer, or Golf. For winter, there is Hockey, Basketball, Alpine Skiing, Swimming, and Cross Training. Finally the Spring Sports are Lacrosse, baseball, softball, and house league tennis (in the middle school).
Skiing, Swimming, and Golf do not have seperate teams for middle school and are, therefore, predominately Upper School Sports. However, Middle School students of the appropriate skill level can join these teams and this is frequently the case with the Ski Team. Students have a 2 season requirement (per year) as Freshmen and Sophomores and a 1 season requirement (per year) as Juniors and Seniors. These can be waived in certain instances like participation in a sport outside of Berwick (gymnastics, field hockey, etc.) or by being a team manager (more seasons required).
Notable Alumni
Some of the Notable Alumni who have attended the academy include:
- famous 19th century writer Sarah Orne Jewett
- captain of the gold medal winning 1980 U.S. Olympic Men's Hockey Team Mike Eruzione
- pioneer of solar energy technology Albert A. Simpler