Exeter High School (New Hampshire)


Exeter High School is a public high school in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States. It serves students in grades 9 through 12 who reside in the towns of Exeter, Stratham, Kensington, Newfields, Brentwood, and East Kingston, New Hampshire. 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. 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 Edward Tuck.
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 in September 2006. The original Tuck School/Exeter High School was renovated into the Seacoast School of Technology, and an annex building was razed to make way for a new YMCA facility.

Academics

Honors societies

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, Raymond High School, Sanborn Regional High School, and Winnacunnet High School.

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.

Foreign language and student exchange programs

Exeter High School is the only public high school in the state of New Hampshire to offer Japanese as a foreign language option to students. The school also participates in a student exchange program with Chiben Gakuen Nara College High School in Nara, Japan; students from Chiben are hosted at Exeter for three weeks in March every year, and students from Exeter are hosted at Chiben for two weeks in July every other year.

Campus

Faculty and staff

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

Sustainability

The Exeter High School campus surpasses most schools across New Hampshire in environmental sustainability. In 2010 the installation of 465 solar panels 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

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
Winter
Spring
The school's football team has won the state championship 14 times since 1955: Class M, Division III, Division II, Division I
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 Maple Sugar Bowl. The Blue Hawks have nine members in the New Hampshire Chapter of the Joe Yukica Hall of Fame. Zack Dziama and Tyler Grant 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 in neighboring Hampton 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. 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 of Derry, Exeter won its first Division I title, 23–13.

Swimming and diving

The school's girl's swimming and diving team has won the NH Division I state championship four times since 2016.
The school's boy's swimming and diving team has won the NH Division I state championship three times since 2013.

Soccer

The Exeter High School boys varsity soccer 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 Pinkerton Academy 2–1 in overtime. They won state championships in Division I four years in a row, but lost to Bedford 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 the 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, Division III, Division II, and Division I.
The girl's swimming and diving team has won four NH Division I state championships:.
The boy's swimming and diving team has won three NH Division I state championships:.
The boys' basketball team won the Class I state championship in 1977.

Important events

On January 6, 2008, Barack Obama held a rally in the Exeter High School gymnasium.
In both 2016 and 2017, Exeter High School hosted an American Naturalization Ceremony.

Notable alumni

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.