The Peddie School is a non-denominational, coeducational college preparatory school located on a 280-acre (110 ha) campus in Hightstown, New Jersey, United States that serves boarding and day students in the ninth through twelfth grades, as well as post-graduates. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1928.
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 516 students and 71.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 7.2:1. For the 2023–24 school year, the school had an acceptance rate of 22%. Sixty-two percent of students resided on campus, and the average class size was 12.
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History
The Peddie School was founded in 1864 as the Hightstown Female Seminary, an American Baptist school. Later that year, boys were admitted and it changed its name for the first time, to New Jersey Classical and Scientific Institute. In 1872, it became the Peddie Institute in honor of philanthropist and politician Thomas B. Peddie, who gave the school $25,000 (equivalent to $672,000 in 2025). In 1923, the school was formally renamed the Peddie School.
Peddie remained coeducational until 1908, when, for social and economic reasons, it decided to begin admitting only boys. This decision was reversed in 1970 when girls began to be admitted again. The following year, Peddie's first female African-American student enrolled in the fall term.
In 1983, Walter Annenberg, class of 1927, made a gift of $12 million (equivalent to $38.8 million in 2025) to Peddie, the largest donation to a secondary school at the time. Ten years later in 1993, Ambassador Annenberg topped his gift when he made the groundbreaking donation of $100 million (equivalent to $222.9 million in 2025), allowing it to expand its facilities, financial aid, and teachers' compensation and housing; prior to the Annenberg donation, the school's endowment totaled $17 million.
It is a member of Mid-Atlantic Boarding School Group (MABS).
Heads of School
Heads of school include:
Edgar and Edwin Haas (1865–1868)
Hiram A. Pratt (1869–1875)
Laroy F. Griffin (1875–1876)
E. P. Bond (1876–1877)
E. J. Avery (1881)
John Greene (1882–1889)
Herbert Ellsworth Slaught (1889–1892)
Joseph E. Perry (1892–1898)
Roger W. Swetland (1898–1934)
Wilbour E. Saunders (1935–1949)
Carrol O. Morong (1949–1964)
Albert L. Kerr (1964–1977)
F. Edward Potter Jr. (1977–1988)
Anne L. Seltzer (1988–1989)
Thomas A. Degray (1989–2001)
John F. Green (2001–2013)
Peter A. Quinn (2013–2025)
James A. Hamilton (2025-present)
Academics
Peddie utilizes a trimester program, in which the academic year is divided into Fall, Winter, and Spring terms that each consist of roughly 10 weeks. Classes run from Monday to Friday with Saturday classes every other week.
Many courses offered at Peddie are full-year courses, running from Fall to Spring term, with electives running for one to two terms. The majority of students take five or six courses each term. Select students may take seven courses at a time. Students take a required curriculum of English, history, mathematics, and science courses, as well as arts and foreign language courses required to graduate. They supplement these with electives of their choosing in fields of interest. Additionally, Peddie students are required to participate in after-school activities throughout the year, including sports, theater productions, volunteer opportunities, and clubs.
Signature Experience Program
Peddie offers a signature experience to all students that allows them to conduct research in subjects including STEM, language, creative writing, computer science, Asian studies, the arts, and any interdisciplinary interests. Students begin to design their program during their junior year, with them conducting research and traveling during the summer between their junior and senior years. Each year, students who participate in programs present their research to students and faculty during their senior year.
Testing Scores
The class of 2025’s average SAT score was 1450. Peddie offers 35 subjects for Advanced Placement (AP). In the 2024-2025 school year, 292 students participated in AP classes and exams. The average score on AP exams for a Peddie student is 4.53; 98% of Peddie students scored above a 3 on their AP exams.
Athletics
Peddie competes in the "Prep A" division of the New Jersey Independent School Athletic Association (NJISAA), with The Lawrenceville School, Hun School of Princeton, Blair Academy, Saint Benedict's Preparatory School and other New Jersey preparatory schools depending on the sport. Peddie has graduates competing at the collegiate level in swimming, wrestling, basketball, track, crew, baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, golf, and tennis. The school mascot is the falcon.
The girls' track team won the New Jersey indoor track Non-Public/Prep state championship in 1928 and 1929.
Football rivalry
Peddie's rival is Blair Academy, and the two schools compete every year during the second week of November for the Potter-Kelley Cup. The day of the football competition, which alternates yearly between campuses, is known as Blair Day at Peddie (and Peddie Day at Blair). The game between the two schools is the oldest football rivalry in New Jersey and ranks among the oldest in the country.
Crew
Peddie's crew team was first recognized on the national stage in 1993, when the men's midweight 4+ won a Youth National Championship title in Occaquan, VA. This feat was nearly repeated three years later, with Peddie coming in second in the same event by less than half a second. In 2006, the Peddie Girls' Varsity Four won the United States Youth National Championship, a regatta hosting the strongest club and scholastic teams in the nation. They won again in 2007, defending their U.S. Youth National Regatta title. In 2008, Peddie's Girls' Varsity Four placed third in their division at the Head of the Charles Regatta and returned to the Youth National in Ohio, placing second. The men's varsity four also traveled to Ohio, placing twelve in the Varsity Lightweight Four event. In 2009 the girls and boys returned to the National Championships. The girls regained their first place position, and the men placed sixth in the Petite Final of the Heavyweight Varsity Four. The women then continued on to the Henley Women's Regatta in England, setting a course record on their way to the final and eventually placing second.
Swimming
Peddie's swimming program has and continues to be nationally ranked. The boys swimming team won the New Jersey Non-Public state championship in 1951. Peddie School swimmers (students or alumni) have represented their nations in every Olympics since 1992. The team has won the Swimming World Mythical National Championships eight times, including the inaugural boys' and girls' independent-school titles in 1977 and 1982. The teams of the early 1990s won back-to-back boys' and girls' Mythical titles in 1990 and 1991. The 1994-95 team was the only team ever to lead the nation in all six relays. In 2007 both the girls' and boys' teams claimed first place at the Eastern Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Championships held at La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During the 2007 championships, Peddie broke three national independent-school records in the girls' relay events. In 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 the Peddie's boys swim team won the Eastern Interscholastic Swimming and Diving Championships, continuing their success.
Basketball
In 2010, the girls' basketball team won the ESPN National High School Invitational, defeating Oak Hill Academy by a score of 60-44 in the tournament final and finishing the season with a 25-2 record.
Notable alumni
Walter Annenberg (1908-2002; class of 1927), former U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom and founder of TV Guide and Seventeen magazines
Roberto Arias (1918–1989), former Panamanian Ambassador to the United Kingdom
B. J. Bedford (born 1972), Olympic gold-medalist swimmer at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia
Paul Benacerraf (1931–2025), former philosophy of mathematics professor at Princeton University
Heath Benedict (1983–2008), Dutch American football player
Breland (born 1995, class of 2013), country singer and songwriter
Matt Brown (born 1989), former professional football player
George Case (1915–1989), former professional baseball player, Cleveland Indians and Washington Senators
Finn M. W. Caspersen (1941-2009, class of 1959), financier, philanthropist, and CEO of Beneficial Corporation and Knickerbocker Management
Leslie Caveny (class of 1980), film / television writer and producer known for her work on Everybody Loves Raymond
Chingo Bling (born 1979), Mexican-American rapper and record executive
Duane 'Dewey' Clarridge (1932–2016), CIA operative and author of the memoir A Spy for All Seasons
Pia Clemente (class of 1989), received Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film for her film, Our Time is Up
Notable faculty
Jennifer Dore (born 1971), rower who is a two-time Olympian and World Champion
Barbara Kirch (born 1960), Olympic rower who competed in both the 1984 and 1988 Olympic coxless pair contests
Paul Watkins (born 1964), author
Lew Watts (1922–2003), professional baseball player, coach and author