Bancroft School

Bancroft School is a private, K-12 preparatory school, located in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Bancroft School’s current 30-acre (120,000 m²) 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 an education for their children. The School was named for George Bancroft, 1800-1891, educator, diplomat, philanthropist and writer. He helped to found the U.S. Naval Academy and wrote the first comprehensive history of the United States.^{[citation needed]}

At first, the Lower and Middle schools were co-educational and the Upper School enrolled girls only. In 1969, the School began admitting boys to the Upper School and it became completely co-ed.

From 1902 until 1922, 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 (110,000 m²) of land on Shore Drive in Worcester, where the third, much more spacious, campus stands today. In 2008, Bancroft completed a renovation of the Fuller Science Center and opened the McDonough Center to house the Lower and Middle School programs.

Academics

Bancroft School offers a curriculum balanced among writing, science, arts, and theater. To earn a diploma, a student must accumulate a minimum of 20 credits, complete 30 hours of community service, and demonstrate expertise in an area of individual choice through work on a Senior Presentation.

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 upper schoolers at Bancroft. Acting and Technical Theater classes are offered. There is a Powder & Wig drama club.

In recent years, the Upper School has performed such shows as The Laramie Project, Guys and Dolls, Mame, The Visit, and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. The 2009-2010 season includes productions of Neil Simon's The Good Doctor and Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Athletics

In 2008, sports teams won New England Prep School championships in soccer, tennis, and volleyball. Because the school is small, all students who want to participate on an interscholastic athletic team have an opportunity to do so.

Bancroft's Varsity Volleyball team won their 111th consecutive match win in 2009, breaking the state record previously set in 2007.^[1]

Headmasters & Headmistresses

1. 1900 - 1915: Frank Robson
2. 1915 - 1926: Miriam Titcomb
3. 1926 - 1938: Hope Fisher
4. 1938 - 1943: Bradford Kingman
5. 1943 - 1959: Henry Tiffany
6. 1944 - 1946: Edith Jones (interim)
7. 1959 - 1960: Elizabeth Vandemoer (interim)
8. 1960 - 1981: Wyatt Garfield
9. 1981 - 1992: Marigolden (G-G) Tritschler
10. 1992 - 1998: Theodore G. Sharp
11. 1998 - 1999: Wyatt Garfield & Edgar Gauthier (interim-heads)
12. 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 of Paul Revere and the 1944 Newbery Medal for Johnny Tremain
• Christos Gage Hollywood screenwriter and comic book writer^{[citation needed]}
• Mahlon Hoagland biochemist, discoverer of amino-acid activating enzymes.^{[citation needed]}

Footnotes

External links

• Bancroft School official website