Salisbury School

History

The Reverend George Emerson Quaile founded Salisbury School in 1901 after serving as headmaster of St. Austin’s School on Staten Island in New York from 1894 to 1901. Dr. Quaile purchased a tract of farmland, known at the time as Frink Farm, for the present site of the school. Overlooking the Taconic mountain range and deep in the heart of the Berkshires, a main building was constructed under Quaile’s direction.

Academics

The curriculum at Salisbury is very traditional. Boys take four years of English, three years of mathematics, history, and a foreign language of their choosing. Three years of science is strongly suggested, and one year of art. There is a philosophy and religion requirement of all seniors. The average class size is 11 students.

All academic facilities are located in the Centennial Quadrangle. The Phinny Library and Humanities building (dedicated in 2001) houses the English, history, and language departments, and the library contains over 25,000 volumes. The Wachtmeister/ Bates Math and Science Building was dedicated in 1999. Other academic buildings include the Field Music Center (2002) and the Ruger Fine Arts Center (2003). One distinctive program of note is the school's Entrepreneurial Studies program. In this two-year tract, students study the history, theories, and practice of entrepreneurship.

Student life

The entire Salisbury School community gathers each day for a campus-wide event. On Tuesday and Friday mornings, the community meets in the chapel at 8am for a service. Other days, family-style meals or school meetings are held. This practice is important to the culture of the school and enables students and faculty members to converse about relevant topics. Boarding students live in dormitories headed by a dorm parent and a student prefect, where they collectively share facilities. The Main Building houses a dining room where all members of the community eat.

The campus also has a health center with full-time staff.

Boarding students are housed in 10 different dormitories: Main, Payson House, Langdon House, Carr House, Ward House, Priestman Cottage, North Dorm, South Dorm, Quaile House, and Rennell House. There is also a student center, Belin Lodge.

Sports

The school has thirty-three interscholastic sports teams. Varsity teams compete in the NEPSAC league. The hockey team won the New England Championship in 1991, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2015. The lacrosse program is nationally-recognized and has been crowned Western New England Champions five out of the last ten years to 2014. Other programs that have won New England championships include baseball (2005/2008/2010/2012/2013/2014) including an undefeated season in 2008, basketball (2012), and football (1997/2000/2006/2010/2012). Other successful programs are soccer (Class B runner-up 2003), crew (undefeated New England champions 2016), skiing, and squash. Salisbury's main rivals are Avon, Brunswick, Deerfield, Hotchkiss, Kent, Taft, and Westminster.

Hockey

The Salisbury hockey program has a long history, dating back to 1904. In the last few decades, the team has established itself as one of the strongest in New England, having won the NEPSIHA championship five times in the last 10 years to 2015, including three consecutive years from 2013-2015. In 2015, Salisbury defeated Dexter in the championship game by a score of 3-1.

Baseball

During the past 15 years, the Salisbury baseball team has proven to be one of the strongest in New England. In May 2015, the team captured its fourth consecutive WNEPBL championship, and fifth in six years, by defeating Wilbraham & Monson by a score of 4-3.

Football

In November 2010 the football team defeated Lawrence Academy 24-21 to win the 2010 Tom Flaherty Bowl with a 100-yard blocked field goal return. In November 2012, the football team defeated Phillips Exeter Academy 29-26 on a field goal on the last play of the game, winning the Tom Flaherty Bowl and the Class A New England Football title with an undefeated season. The team reached the championship game again in 2015 but lost to Choate Rosemary Hall, 48-28.

Soccer

In November 2003, the varsity soccer team made it to finals of the Class B New England Championship, where they lost to Winchendon School. Salisbury defeated Suffield in the opening round of the playoffs by a score of 2-1. In the semi-final, Salisbury played Wilbraham & Monson. At the end of regulation, the score was even at 0-0. Neither team could muster a goal in overtime, and so the game was decided by a penalty shoot-out. It would take six shooters from each team before Salisbury finally won the game and punched their ticket to the final.

Facilities

Salisbury's facilities include:

Other facilities include The Curtis Boathouse on Lake Washinee, completed in 2008, and dedicated on May 11, 2012 to Richard I. Curtis, instructor and long-time crew coach at Salisbury; eight tennis courts; the Class of 2003 dome used for indoor tennis, lacrosse and other sports; the Natalie Gardner Baseball Field; and five all-purpose athletic fields.

The Wachtmeister Turf Field has lights for night play and stadium seating for 500.

Notable alumni