Hamilton High School West | |
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Address | |
2720 South Clinton Avenue , , 08610 United States | |
Coordinates | 40°11′57″N 74°43′24″W / 40.1992°N 74.7233°W |
Information | |
Type | Public |
Motto | "Tradition, Pride, and Excellence" |
School district | Hamilton Township School District |
NCES School ID | 340654003092[1] |
Principal | Brian Smith |
Faculty | 99.4 FTEs[1] |
Grades | 9-12 |
Enrollment | 1,348 (as of 2022–23)[1] |
Student to teacher ratio | 13.6:1[1] |
Color(s) | Orange Black[2] |
Athletics conference | Colonial Valley Conference (general) West Jersey Football League (football) |
Team name | Hornets[2] |
Rival | Hamilton High School East - Steinert |
Newspaper | Criterion[3] |
Website | www |
Hamilton High School West is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grade located in Hamilton Township, in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as one of the three secondary schools of the Hamilton Township School District; the other high schools in the district are Hamilton High School North-Nottingham High School and Hamilton High School East- Steinert High School.[4]
As of the 2022–23 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,348 students and 99.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.6:1. There were 485 students (36.0% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 103 (7.6% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
The school was the 222nd-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology.[5] The school had been ranked 275th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 258th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[6] The magazine ranked the school 262nd in 2008 out of 316 schools.[7] The school was ranked 240th in the magazine's 2008 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[8]
The Hamilton High School Hornets[2] compete in the Colonial Valley Conference, which comprises public and private high schools located in Mercer County and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[9] With 933 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2022–23 school year as Group III for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 761 to 1,058 students in that grade range.[10] The football team competes in the Capitol Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconference[11][12] and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group IV South for football for 2022–2024, which included schools with 893 to 1,296 students.[13]
The school participates together with Hamilton High School East - Steinert in a joint ice hockey team in which Hamilton High School North - Nottingham is the host school / lead agency. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[14]
Hamilton West competes in an annual Thanksgiving Day football game against Steinert High School.[15] The rivalry with Steinert was listed at 16th on NJ.com's 2017 list "Ranking the 31 fiercest rivalries in N.J. HS football". Hamilton West leads the rivalry with a 34–23–1 overall record as of 2017.[16]
The Hamilton High School West Marching Band is a division of the Hamilton West Bands, which comprises the Marching Band, Symphonic Band, Saxophone Quartet, Brass Quintet and Jazz Ensembles. The Marching Band became competitive in the Fall of 2006, and competes in the USBands Marching Band Circuit. The Instrumental Program at Hamilton West was in place on the first day of school (September 8, 1930), and the first Director of Bands was Harlan D. Darling. The band is known as "The Pride of Mercer County." The school's fight song is called "Loyalty", and their Alma Mater is the melody of "Far Above Cayuga's Waters", which is the Alma Mater for Cornell University, and is played by the Marching Band at the end of every home football game.[30]
The school's principal is Brian Smith. His core administration team includes three vice principals and the athletic director.[31][32]
Hamilton High School West is the original Hamilton Township High School. The two other high schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[33]) are:[34]