Taft School

For other places with the same name, see Taft High School (disambiguation).

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Private, day and boarding, college-prep school in Watertown, Connecticut, United States

The Taft School

Address

110 Woodbury Road

Watertown

Connecticut

06795

United States

Coordinates| 41°36′16″N 73°7′27″W﻿ / ﻿41.60444°N 73.12417°W﻿ / 41.60444; -73.12417
Information
Type| Private, day and boarding, college-prep
Motto| Non ut sibi ministretur sed ut ministret
(Not to be served but to serve)
Established| 1890 (134 years ago) (1890)
Founder| Horace Dutton Taft
CEEB code| 070880
Head of school| Peter Becker
Faculty| 124
Grades| 9–12
Gender| Co-educational
Enrollment| 600[1]
Average class size| 11
Student to teacher ratio| 5:1
Campus size| 224 acres (0.91 km2)
Color(s)| Maroon and navy blue

Mascot| Rhino,Big Red
Nickname| Rhinos, Big Red
National ranking| 14
Annual tuition| $69,500 - Boarding $49,500 - Day
Website| www.taftschool.org

The Taft School is an elite private coeducational school located in Watertown, Connecticut, United States. Taft is known for its rigorous academics and selective admissions process. The school was initially founded by Horace Dutton Taft, the brother of President William Howard Taft.

## Overview[edit]

The Taft school houses 85% of its students on campus, with 15% living nearby. The total school strength is 580 students. The school boasts of a diverse student body. As written on the website, "Students come from over 61 countries".[2] Students from the Taft school have occupied many congressional and gubernatorial seats in New England.[citation needed]

The Taft School has a $415 million endowment.[citation needed] Its acceptance rate is 16%.[citation needed] The school first started educating pupils in 1890 and remains amongst the oldest prep schools in the New England Area. The current head of school for the Taft school is Peter Becker.[citation needed]

In 2021, it ranked 14th on the Business Insider list of the top boarding schools in America.[3]

The school has a rivalry with the Hotchkiss School. The schools compete on the last Saturday of the winter and compete in every sport. The rivalry is similar to the Choate-Deerfield rivalry, or the Exeter-Andover rivalry.

## Campus and facilities[edit]

The campus includes The Lady Ivy Kwok Wu Science and Mathematics Center, Pinto Language Lab, Moorhead Academic Center, Hulbert Taft Jr. Library, Belcher Reading Room, Mortara Academic Wing, Pailey Dance Studio, Tremaine Art Studio, Gail Wynne Art Studio, Potter Gallery, two theaters, an 18-hole golf course, 16 tennis courts (four indoor), eight squash courts, two field houses, two ice hockey rinks (one Olympic-sized and one NHL-sized), and more than 10 fields around Potter's Pond.[4]

## Athletics[edit]

Taft's athletic teams are known as the Rhinos and their colors are cardinal red and navy blue. The following sports are offered at Taft:[5]

* Baseball (boys)
* Basketball (boys & girls)
* Crew (boys & girls)
* Cross country (boys & girls)
* Equestrian (boys & girls)
* Field Hockey (girls)
* Football (boys)
* Golf (boys & girls)
* Ice hockey (boys & girls)
* Lacrosse (boys & girls)
* Sailing(boys & girls)
* Skiing (boys & girls)
* Soccer (boys & girls)
* Softball (girls)
* Squash (boys & girls)
* Tennis (boys & girls)
* Track (boys & girls)
* Volleyball (girls)
* Wrestling (coed)

Taft is part of the Hotchkiss–Taft rivalry.

## Tuition[edit]

Tuition for the 2023-2024 academic year is $72,000 for boarding students, and $53,500 for day students.[6]

## Notable alumni[edit]

Main article: List of Taft School alumni

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Taft by the Numbers". Taft School. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
2. ^ "Taft School: Private Connecticut Boarding School". www.taftschool.org. November 24, 2023.
3. ^ "The 50 most elite boarding schools in America". Business Insider. July 26, 2021.
4. ^ "About - Taft School". www.taftschool.org.
5. ^ "Taft Sports". www.taftschool.org. THE TAFT SCHOOL. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
6. ^ "Variable Tuition - Wooster School". www.woosterschool.org. Retrieved January 1, 2024.

## External links[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Ten Schools Admissions Organization

* Choate Rosemary Hall
* Deerfield Academy
* The Hill School
* Hotchkiss School
* Lawrenceville School
* Loomis Chaffee School
* Phillips Academy Andover
* Phillips Exeter Academy
* St. Paul's School
* Taft School

* v
* t
* e

Founders League

* Avon Old Farms
* Choate Rosemary Hall
* Ethel Walker School
* Hotchkiss School
* Kent School
* Kingswood-Oxford School
* Loomis Chaffee School
* Miss Porter's School
* Taft School
* Trinity-Pawling School
* Westminster School

* v
* t
* e

New England Preparatory School Athletic Council

Connecticut|

* Avon Old Farms
* Brunswick
* Canterbury
* Cheshire
* Choate
* Christian Heritage
* Ethel Walker
* Foote
* Forman
* Frederick Gunn
* Greens Farms
* Greenwich Academy
* Greenwich Country Day
* Hamden Hall
* Hopkins
* Hotchkiss
* Indian Mountain
* Kent
* King
* Kingswood Oxford
* Loomis Chaffee
* Marianapolis Prep
* Marvelwood
* Master's
* Miss Porter's
* Pomfret
* Rectory
* Renbrook
* Rumsey Hall
* Sacred Heart Greenwich
* St. Luke's
* St. Thomas More
* Salisbury
* South Kent
* Suffield
* Taft
* Watkinson
* Westminster
* Westover
* Williams
* Woodhall
* Wooster

Maine|

* Berwick
* Bridgton
* Gould
* Hebron
* Kents Hill

Massachusetts|

* Applewild
* Bancroft
* Beaver
* Belmont
* Belmont Hill
* Bement
* Berkshire
* BTA
* BUA
* Bradford Christian
* Brimmer and May
* BISB
* Brooks
* Brookwood
* Buckingham Browne & Nichols
* Cambridge Friends
* Cambridge Montessori
* Cambridge School
* Carroll
* CATS Academy
* Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall
* Charles River
* Commonwealth
* Concord
* Covenant Christian
* Cushing
* Dana Hall
* Dedham Country Day
* Deerfield
* Derby
* Dexter Southfield
* Eaglebrook
* Eagle Hill
* Fay
* Fenn
* Fessenden
* Gann
* Glen Urquhart
* Governor's
* Groton
* Hillside
* Hyde
* Inly
* ISB
* Landmark
* Lawrence
* TLC
* Lexington Christian
* MacDuffie
* Meadowbrook
* Middlesex
* Milton
* Miss Hall's
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* Nashoba Brooks
* Newman
* Newton Country Day
* Noble and Greenough
* Northfield Mount Herman
* Park
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* Pike
* Pingree
* Rivers
* Roxbury Latin
* St. Mark's
* St. Sebastian's
* Shady Hill
* Shore
* Stoneleigh-Burnham
* Tabor
* Tenacre
* Thayer
* Tower
* Waldorf
* Waring
* Wilbraham & Monson
* Williston Northampton
* Winchendon
* Winsor
* Woodward
* Worcester Academy

New Hampshire|

* Brewster
* Cardigan Mountain
* Dublin
* High Mowing
* Holderness
* Kimball Union
* New Hampton
* Phillips Exeter
* Proctor
* St. Paul's
* Tilton
* White Mountain

New York|

* Darrow
* Faith Christian
* Harvey
* Holy Child
* Hoosac
* Masters
* Millbrook
* NYMA
* Oakwood Friends
* Rye Country Day
* Storm King
* Trinity-Pawling
* Winchendon

Rhode Island|

* Portsmouth Abbey
* Providence Country Day
* Rocky Hill
* St. Andrew's
* St. George's

Vermont|

* Vermont Academy

Associate members|

* Académie Saint-Louis
* Albany Academy
* ASD
* Bishop's College School
* Capital Prep Harbor
* Culver
* EF Academy
* Hill
* King's-Edgehill
* Lawrenceville
* Lee
* Lincoln
* Moses Brown
* Nichols
* North Yarmouth
* Penguin Hall
* Princeton Day
* Redemption Christian
* Springfield Commonwealth
* St. Andrew's
* Stanstead
* Wheeler
* Woodstock Academy
* Wyoming Seminary

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States

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