Bancroft School

Bancroft School is a private, K-12 preparatory school, located in Worcester, Massachusetts. Bancroft School’s current 30-acre campus overlooks Indian Lake in Worcester. There are separate facilities for the Lower School (Kindergarten - 5th grade), Middle School (6th - 8th grades) and Upper School (9th - 12th grades).

History

Bancroft was founded in 1900 by a group of Worcester parents interested in providing a rigorous education for their chidren. At first, the Lower and Middle schools were co-educational but the Upper School enrolled girls only. In 1969, the School began admitting boys to the Upper School and it became completely co-ed. The School was named for George Bancroft, 1800-1891, educator, diplomat, philantrophist and writer. He helped to found the U.S. Naval Academy and wrote the first comprehensive history of the United States. From 1902 until 1922, under the leadership of its first headmaster, Frank Robson, Bancroft students studied in a house transformed into a schoolhouse at 93 Elm Street in Worcester. In 1922, as the student body grew too large for its space on Elm Street, the school built new facilities on Sever Street in Worcester. By 1958, the school again needed to expand its facilities. The Norton Company donated 27 acres of land on Shore Drive in Worcester, where the third, much more spacious, campus stands today. Bancroft School features a strong, balanced curriculum, with strengths in writing, science, arts, and theatre. In recent years, teams have won New England Prep School championships in soccer, tennis, and volleyball.

Theatre Department

The Bancroft Theatre Department puts on four shows each year. The fifth and eighth graders participate in productions involving the whole class. The Upper School drama is produced during the fall, and the musical in the spring, with auditions open to all high schoolers at Bancroft. The heads of the theatre department are Christopher Sheldon and Paul Belanger. They teach acting and tech theater classes, produce and direct Bancroft productions, and head the Powder & Wig drama club. Sets, lighting, and other technical aspects of shows are handled by tech classes, as well as work calls. Work calls take place after school, usually once a week before shows. Students can sign up to go to a work call if they are interested in helping out. The show itself is run by a tech crew of students that have worked on the production. In recent years, the Upper School has preformed such shows as The Laramie Project, Mame, The Visit, and is now beginning work the musical, How To Succeed In Buisness Without Really Trying.

Headmasters & Headmistresses

• 1900 - 1915: Frank Robson
• 1915 - 1926: Miriam Titcomb
• 1926 - 1938: Hope Fisher
• 1938 - 1943: Bradford Kingman
• 1943 - 1959: Henry Tiffany
• 1944 - 1946: Edith Jones (interim)
• 1959 - 1960: Elizabeth Vandemoer (interim)
• 1960 - 1981: Wyatt Garfield
• 1981 - 1992: Marigolden (G-G) Tritschler
• 1992 - 1998: Theodore G. Sharp
• 1998 - 1999: Wyatt Garfield & Edgar Gauthier (interim-heads)
• 1999 - present: Scott R. Reisinger

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of Bancroft School include:

• Esther Forbes, Class of 1908, winner of the 1943 Pulitzer Prize for History for a biography on Paul Revere and the 1944 Newbery Medal for the famous book, Johnny Tremain
• Eleni Gage, writer for the New York Sun and author of North of Ithaka[1]
• Christos Gage Hollywood screenwriter
• Mahlon Hoagland biochemist, discoverer of amino-acid activating enzymes.
• Dan Kenary, Class of 1978, founder and owner of Harpoon Brewery
• Robert Waring Stoddard, Class of 1923, former editor of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette and one of the founders of the John Birch Society[2]
• Matthew Scannell, lead vocalist for Vertical Horizon.
• Sarah Beth Durst, Author of "Into the Wild" (2007).

References

Edgar A. Gauthier, Bancroft School, Centennial History (1999)

External links

• Bancroft School official website