The Hun School of Princeton is a private, coeducational, secondary day and boarding school located in Princeton in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school serves students from sixth through twelfth grades. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1963 and is accredited until January 2025. It is also a member of the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools. The acceptance rate for the school has been reported as 35%.
Since July 2023, the head of school has been Bart Bronk, the 11th in school history, succeeding Jon Brougham, who had served for 14 years in the position.
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History
The school was founded in 1914 by Dr. John Gale Hun, a professor at Princeton University. Originally called the Princeton Math School, it later changed its name to the Princeton Tutoring School. In 1925, the school acquired both its current name and the property on Edgerstoune Road that makes up its current location.
Student body
As of the 2019–20 school year, the school had an enrollment of 669 students and 95 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 7:1. The school's student body was 59.8% (400) White, 23.9% (160) Asian, 6.1% (41) Black, 5.4% (36) two or more races, 4.5% (30) Hispanic and 0.3% (2) American Indian / Alaska Native. 95 students attend the Hun Middle School, which houses grades 6–8. The rest are in the Upper School. 70% of Hun's Upper School students are day students, and the rest are boarders. Students come from 15 states and 27 countries.
Athletics
The Hun School Raiders participate in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League, a sports league with participating institutions from university preparatory schools in the New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania area. Schools competing in the league include Blair Academy in Blairstown, New Jersey, The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania and Peddie School in Hightstown, New Jersey. The Hun School also competes against other local schools.
Fall sports: coed cross-country running, dance, girls' field hockey, boys' football, boys' and girls' soccer, girls' tennis, girls' volleyball
Winter sports: boys' and girls' basketball, boys’ and girls' rock climbing, boys' and girls' fencing, boys' and girls' ice hockey, boys' and girls' swimming
Spring sports: boys' baseball, boys' and girls' crew, dance, golf, boys' and girls' lacrosse, girls' softball, Track, boys' tennis
Sports offered by the Hun Middle School include:
Fall sports: boys' and girls' cross-country running, boys' and girls' soccer, girls' field hockey
Winter sports: boys' and girls' basketball
Spring sports: boys' and girls' tennis, boys' lacrosse, boys' baseball, girls' softball
The 1931 boys' basketball team won the Class A Prep state title with a 24-18 victory against St. Benedict's Preparatory School in the tournament final.
Facilities
The Hun School facilities consist of multiple buildings across the small Princeton neighborhood. The school recently completed a massive renovation, including the construction of the Wilf Family Global Commons, a $9 million, 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) dormitory and educational facility. The School is currently undergoing a $5.5 million renovation of the Alexander K. Buck '49 Building, which holds middle school classrooms, video production laboratories, and gathering spaces.
Russell Hall (1936)
Poe Dormitory (1959) (deconstructed in 2024)
Carter Hall (1964)
The Alexander K. Buck Student Activity Center (1974) - The setting of the Middle School, serving grades 6-8
The John Andrew Saks Auditorium
The Chesebro Academic Center (1964) - Used as the Upper School
The Ralph S. Mason House (1984)
The Michael D. Dingman Center for Science and Technology (1987)
The Perry K. Sellon Information Center (1987)
The Roberta J. King Outdoor Education Center
The Mary Miller Sharp Ceramic and Sculpture Studio (1994)
The Finn M.W. Caspersen Rowing Center at Mercer Lake (2003)
The Heart of Hun (2004)
Natale Field (2004)
The Ventresca Family Video Production and TV Studio (2005)
School publications
The Mall, Upper School newspaper
The Edgerstounian, Upper School yearbook
The Hun Review, a literary magazine showcasing the writing and artwork of Hun School students
Hun Today, a magazine for alumni, families, and friends of The Hun School
Notable alumni
Kevin Scott Allen (born 1964), stage, film and television actor.
Nicole Arendt (born 1969), professional tennis player
Mitchell Block (1950–2024, class of 1968), documentary film maker whose film Poster Girl was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject)
John Bohlinger, (born 1967), musician
Richard Cytowic (born 1952, class of 1970), neurologist and author of The Man Who Tasted Shapes
Nick DeGennaro (born 2000), wide receiver for the New England Patriots
Lew Elverson (1912–1997), college football player and coach, track and field coach, and college athletics administrator
Dick Foran (1910–1979), actor known as the "Singing Cowboy," starred in Fort Apache, The Petrified Forest, and Black Legion
Mike Ford (born 1992), first baseman for the New York Yankees
Steve Garrison (born 1986), a major league pitcher for the New York Yankees
Jamie Greubel (born 1983), bobsledder who won a Bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Two-woman Bobsleigh event
Richard Guadagno, a passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93 thought to have helped in the overtaking of the plane on September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks
Ethan Hawke (born 1970, class of 1988), star of Dead Poets Society, Reality Bites, Gattaca, Training Day (Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor), and Before Sunset (Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay)