Talk:Groton School

ISL size -- Fixed
Roxbury Latin is actually the smallest school that competes in the Independent School League. Of course, Groton, being co-ed, has slightly fewer boys, but this is not what the article states. I believe the article should be changed to clarify this point.

[Partly because the number of students is smaller than any other ISL school, Groton often finds itself at the lower end of the standings in the larger ISL sports (i.e., football, hockey).]

Middlesex School is the same size as Groton School so I don't think one can conclude or infer that Groton is at a disadvantage due to size. St. George's and Lawrence Academy are similar in size as well.

I was wondering if the Abuse Allegation section should be made into a section of the history page? this would be in line with other school articles (eg. Scotch College Smbarnzy 07:29, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

Athletic Rivalry
Someone, (for his/her own obscure reasons,) continually removes the article's reference to Lawrence as one of Groton's athletic rivals... Until he/she can substantiate why--and I can tell you from experience, having graduated from Groton six years ago that he/she can't--I will re-post it and it will remain.

Lawrence
Having graduated in 2002, I never once considered Lawrence Academy a rival. Although the school is in the same town, our only traditional rival is St. Marks.

I am at Groton now and concur, Lawrence is an unofficial rival, a crosstown but not traditional rival. Not really worth mentioning. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.174.17.31 (talk) 16:29, 25 December 2008 (UTC)

Alphabetization of alumni
...why in the world are they sorted alphabetically by first name? Jessicapierce 16:04, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

Abuse allegations
While the abuse allegations are of course valid in the article, they should come with a source (newspaper article etc.) --Mbimmler (talk) 16:38, 7 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Source added. Accurizer (talk) 12:30, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

How can Edie Sedgwick have been an alum?
Edie Sedgwick died in 1971, 4 years before Groton started admitting girls in 1975 (as this article states). Anyway, if she was born in 1943 then she would have been 32 in 1975. This makes no sense ... she should be removed from the list of alums. Edie Sedgwick Wikipedia page 173.48.158.25 (talk) 16:41, 7 October 2009 (UTC)ch_hope
 * It's Ellery Sedgwick, the editor, not Edie. --13:07, 12 October 2023 (UTC)

Pierre de Coubertin in Groton School
Description of a visit in his 1890 book Universités transatlantiques pages 122-126. Available on wikisource. Hektor (talk) 11:50, 27 March 2017 (UTC)

Housekeeping -- Fixed
Hi there, I directly edited the page previously but I'm trying to avoid that going forward. Would someone remove the paragraph on squash national championships? It relies on another Wikipedia page for support, which I believe implicates WP:CIRCULAR.
 * I can gladly do the squash edit, but I don't understand what you mean yet. The reference is back to a Groton page, not a Wikipedia page. It is indeed circular, but so is much of the article. Everything that refers back only to Groton sources is basically unreliable. My suggestion: please include the Wiki-formatted proposed edit right here on the talk page and then I can copy it over. --Melchior2006 (talk) 18:20, 25 October 2023 (UTC)


 * I'm sorry I wasn't clear. Could you please delete the entire paragraph . Thanks. Footnote 132 supports only the second sentence in the paragraph; the "four national titles" link supported the first sentence.
 * done. --Melchior2006 (talk) 06:42, 26 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Thank you. 209.122.123.7 (talk) 19:10, 26 October 2023 (UTC)
 * With respect to the football paragraph: please change the reference at the end of the sentence  to
 * done. --Melchior2006 (talk) 07:24, 30 October 2023 (UTC)
 * I will keep working my way through, but could you format your suggestions in a more user-friendly manner? I have to go digging deep to find the replacements. I suggest placing two <>), but the references still got automatically reformatted in preview mode. The bottom of the page has quicklinks to the suggested edits - perhaps you could copy the references from the talk page and paste them into the article? 209.122.123.7 (talk) 14:38, 30 October 2023 (UTC)
 * I also see that you've made a global comment about relying too much on school-related sources. If you have specific concerns in mind, I'd appreciate it if you could note them on this talk page before reverting, so that I can have a chance to look for outside sources. Just to get this out of the way, I do not think that Groton's website and magazine are necessarily unreliable sources for seemingly non-contentious data points like "the eighth through twelfth grades [are] dubbed Forms II-VI in the British fashion," that Groton has a need-blind admissions policy, that the Form of 2023 had this or that average test score, that co-education was combined with a numerical expansion of the student body, that Phillips Brooks was a founding trustee of the school, that students no longer sleep in cubicles, that X alumni died in World War I/II, that Peabody was rejected for the St. Mark's job, and so forth. At least, that's how I read the WikiProject Schools article advice page (although "[r]eferences from third-party sources are preferable and particularly important for school awards and contentious statements", "[a] school's own website ... can be an acceptable source for information sections involving no value judgments, such as school structure").
 * Here are some relatively quick sourcing changes for your consideration:
 * -  Replace reference to Peabody of Groton with
 * done. --Melchior2006 (talk) 17:58, 30 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Thanks again! 209.122.123.7 (talk) 23:18, 30 October 2023 (UTC)
 * -  Replace reference to Peabody of Groton with a copy of footnote 30, the New York Times obituary that supports the first sentence of that paragraph
 * done. --Melchior2006 (talk) 07:14, 31 October 2023 (UTC)
 * -  In addition to existing reference to Peabody of Groton, cite
 * done. --Melchior2006 (talk) 07:14, 31 October 2023 (UTC)
 * -  In addition to existing reference to Peabody of Groton, cite . You could also change the text to  to harmonize with Karabel's framing.
 * done. --Melchior2006 (talk) 07:14, 31 October 2023 (UTC)
 * - "The land for the school was donated by two brothers, James and Prescott Lawrence, whose family home was located on Farmers Row in Groton, Massachusetts, not far up the road from Groton School's present location." Although I found the source, it's Peabody of Groton. I didn't write this and you're welcome to delete it.
 * - "Peabody received pledges of $39,000 for the construction of a schoolhouse, if an additional $40,000 could be raised as an endowment." Same as above, you're welcome to delete.
 * done. --Melchior2006 (talk) 07:14, 31 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you. 209.122.123.7 (talk) 19:55, 25 October 2023 (UTC)
 * And just to be clear, I really do appreciate your patient comments on the page. I hope that comes through. 209.122.123.7 (talk) 22:17, 25 October 2023 (UTC)
 * thanks for the good work! --Melchior2006 (talk) 07:14, 31 October 2023 (UTC)
 * Much obliged. Could I trouble you with one last grammar edit caused by the last edit? Please change  to 
 * Thanks again! 209.122.123.7 (talk) 23:36, 31 October 2023 (UTC)
 * done. I will leave the linking of the names to you, however. You can do that directly, no need for vetting via talk page. --Melchior2006 (talk) 19:13, 1 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Thank you. I'm closing the COI edit request. I appreciate your help! 209.122.123.7 (talk) 21:31, 1 November 2023 (UTC)

The line about Groton-St. Mark's being the fifth-oldest high school football rivalry also relies on the Wikipedia oldest high school rivalries page. You might consider adding a citation to , although this citation appears to be derivative of the previously-mentioned Wikipedia page. Alternatively, you might consider adding a citation to , which says that Groton-St. Mark's is the second-oldest prep school football rivalry.

Thanks in advance for your consideration!

(tagging GuardianH and Melchior2006)

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.122.123.7 (talk) 12:10, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

New related schools section -- Fixed
The following conversation took place on a different talk page but is being moved here for reference.

I deleted this addition because it reads like a promotional laundry list. I find this content irrelevant for an encyclopedia and it looks a lot like boosterism. -- Melchior2006 (talk) 21:00, 11 March 2024 (UTC)


 * Thanks for letting me know. What could I do to narrow it down? I think the related schools are relevant even if you think the level of detail goes too far. 209.122.123.7 (talk) 21:12, 11 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I don't think affiliated schools are an improvement because the level of "affiliation" is very vague, often it's just an exchange program or a summer initiative, and that is really not significant in the life of the school. If there is substantial influence, then name it here and maybe some editors will agree with you. --Melchior2006 (talk) 22:34, 11 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Responses:
 * - Thanks for your politeness, I appreciate it.
 * - The current versions of the Brooks and Brent/Baguio websites state that Groton was the model for these schools, in addition to (in Baguio's case) providing the startup faculty. See quotes from the websites below. Is that sufficient to tie these schools to Groton/wiki-worthy?
 * The start-up faculty is certainly relevant; the "modeled on" argument is weak because it is so vague. Muscular Christianity? Rural setting? What, precisely, was the model, and can you cite it? Those would be my concerns...
 * - I don't feel strongly about Indian Mountain or the summer camp for at-risk kids, feel free to leave these out (although nobody appears to have taken issue with my inclusion of the Hotchkiss summer camp in the Hotchkiss School article).
 * All Wikipedia articles develop differently, there are few content norms, so Hotchkiss will be a little different and is not a template in any way. --Melchior2006 (talk) 13:52, 12 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I understand where you are coming from, although I disagree. I see that this same "nothing is ever precedent on Wikipedia" issue is cropping up with the New Jersey high school articles, and I am interested in seeing how that one shakes out. 209.122.123.7 (talk) 20:05, 12 March 2024 (UTC)
 * - I do think that Epiphany being directly hosted on campus is worthy of inclusion in some respect; I think calling it a "summer initiative" undersells it, as these are regular Epiphany classes, not just a summer camp. You might consider leaving in something like "During the summer while students are absent, the school also hosts Epiphany School, an academically intensive middle school for at-risk youth in the Boston area that meets 11 months a year."
 * Sounds good, but I a bit confused about 11 months a year vs. summer months. Perhaps explain that a bit better and then re-insert.
 * https://www.brooksschool.org/about/about-brooks
 * Brooks School was founded by the Rev. Endicott Peabody, headmaster of Groton School. Associated with him were Richard Russell, who gave the land and original buildings and who served for many years as secretary-treasurer of the board of trustees; the Reverend Sherrard Billings, senior master at Groton; James Jackson, a Groton graduate and trustee; Roger B. Merriman, also a Groton trustee and parent; and the Right Reverend Charles L. Slattery, a former Groton teacher and trustee.
 * Mr. Peabody believed that there was a need (why?) for another small boarding school built on the Groton model. The school was to be named after Phillips Brooks, the rector of Boston's Trinity Church, and the teaching was to be that of the Episcopal faith.
 * Frank D. Ashburn, a graduate of Groton and Yale, was appointed the school's first headmaster. Brooks School opened September 29, 1927, with 14 boys in the first and second forms and two masters, a headmaster and a headmistress.
 * https://brentbaguio.edu.ph/history/
 * Brent as a Christian boarding school was based on the example set by Rev. Endicott Peabody at Groton, Massachusetts and on the pioneering educational principles of Dr. Thomas Arnold of Rugby and Tring of Uppingham, England. Most Brentonians have never heard of either of these Victorian gentlemen or of their schools, and so it is necessary to give some explanation. For Bishop Brent and his role models, the development of character was of greater importance than the acquisition of grades, although scholarship as such was given a very high priority. This character development was conceived in an Episcopalian tradition that was essentially both Catholic in its attitudes and critical in its approach. This itself was based on a confident assumption that certain values were not only absolute in their rightness, but could and should be easily understood by the great majority of students and staff.
 * Bishop Brent’s dream for a Baguio School (later renamed Brent School) was to set up an educational institution modeled on the [] boarding schools found in the United States such as the Groton School. Brent School was established in 1909 (just when Baguio City also received its charter) primarily to provide for the educational needs of the families of American missionaries and military personnel in the country and in Baguio and its environs where there was a small foreign community of mining prospectors. In 1925, a girls’ boarding home was added and Brent School then became the first coeducational day and boarding school in East Asia. 209.122.123.7 (talk) 22:50, 11 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Two other notes:
 * - You should probably restore the edit changing "Act of Incorporation" to "Articles of Incorporation." which is an uncontroversial copyedit.
 * I agree, will do so. --Melchior2006 (talk) 22:34, 11 March 2024 (UTC)
 * - I'm also not sure why you think that talking about how Ivy League legacy students inflated the admissions statistics is somehow boosterism - if anything, it's the opposite. 209.122.123.7 (talk) 21:21, 11 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I thought I re-introduced that part, but if I didn't please do so, easier if you do it than if you post it here first etc. --Melchior2006 (talk) 22:34, 11 March 2024 (UTC)
 * done 209.122.123.7 (talk) 22:38, 11 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Also, I'd appreciate if you could put the Peabody & Stearns box back (link: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Groton_School&diff=prev&oldid=1212093897).209.122.123.7 (talk) 22:04, 11 March 2024 (UTC)
 * I'll take a look. --Melchior2006 (talk) 22:34, 11 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Below is a proposed insert. Let me know your thoughts.
 * === Related educational institutions ===
 * This looks great! Thanks for your patience and the good work you put into revising these additions. Really interesting material. Go ahead and insert the changes and refer to "as per talk" in your edit summary. --Melchior2006 (talk) 23:14, 12 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Groton has contributed to several other educational institutions.
 * In 1909, Bishop Charles Henry Brent founded Baguio School (now Brent International School Baguio) in Baguio, Philippines to educate the children of American colonial administrators, military personnel, missionaries, and businesspeople. Peabody arranged for Remsen B. Ogilby (a former English teacher who left Groton to attend graduate school ) to become its first headmaster. He also lent the school Guy Ayrault, who became its first assistant headmaster. Peabody's son Malcolm '07 ran the school from 1911 to 1913. Under the influence of the Episcopal Church, the school sought to be a "determinedly American institution" in Southeast Asia.
 * In 1926, Endicott Peabody founded Brooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts. Groton was heavily oversubscribed, and the introduction of competitive examinations in 1907 had not meaningfully trimmed the waitlist. Peabody did not want to increase the size of the school, but also did not want to turn away too many parents. Accordingly, he raised over $200,000 from Groton donors to build a new school, which, like Groton, would be small enough to be familial, close-knit, and Episcopalian. He also picked his former student Frank D. Ashburn to lead it, and chaired its board of trustees. At Brooks, Ashburn sought to replicate Groton's emphasis on "stern Christian principles ... to train boys for life," but veered away from the "character-building cold showers that had been a dreaded prebreakfast ritual at Groton.
 * Groton currently supports Epiphany School, an academically intensive, tuition-free, lottery-admission Episcopal middle school for at-risk youth in the Boston area. The school was founded by John Finley '88, and Groton headmaster Bill Polk previously served on Epiphany's board. Epiphany's academic year is 11 months long, and the entire school relocates to Groton's campus in the summer. 209.122.123.7 (talk) 22:23, 12 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Groton currently supports Epiphany School, an academically intensive, tuition-free, lottery-admission Episcopal middle school for at-risk youth in the Boston area. The school was founded by John Finley '88, and Groton headmaster Bill Polk previously served on Epiphany's board. Epiphany's academic year is 11 months long, and the entire school relocates to Groton's campus in the summer. 209.122.123.7 (talk) 22:23, 12 March 2024 (UTC)

Lede
@GuardianH, I saw you edited the lede on grounds of WP:UNDUE, saying that there wasn't any support in the body for the acceptance rate ranking. Given that almost nothing in the lede (not just the acceptance rate ranking) was reflected in the body, I edited the body to include tuition, financial aid, and endowment information, similar to Phillips Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy, Hotchkiss School, etc etc etc. (I also think a more practical way of addressing the concern you raised is to move the relevant information into the body instead of deleting it from the lede, but it is what it is.)

I've also put the acceptance rate ranking information in the body and updated it for 2024, although as you can see, I am not 100% sure about the methodology.

I also streamlined the campus section and moved around some photos, none of which should be controversial.

Let me know if you have any further proposals about the lede. Stylistically, the last paragraph is pretty bare, so without some additional point of note, it probably makes sense to add more alumni. Thanks for considering my comments.

Courtesy ping for @Melchior2006.

209.122.123.7 (talk) 23:10, 27 March 2024 (UTC)

1939 football photo
@User:Zhenshiwenben, thanks for your contributions to the Groton page. It's much appreciated. I'm concerned about a potential copyright violation for the 1939 football photo. Could you kindly clarify where you got it? I normally assume that any photographs taken after 1928 are copyrighted.

209.122.123.7 (talk) 05:17, 19 April 2024 (UTC)


 * Bought the photo at auction. Written details on back of frame match NYT article now added as citation. No photographer attribution information is available on the photo or online. No similar image exists in Google or on Bing.
 * With no photographer attribution information available, I understood that the copyright expires—
 * 1. at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was made (1939), or
 * 2. if during that period the work is made available to the public, at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which it is first so made available
 * If I am mistaken, then I will post the image to Wikipedia in 2035. Zhenshiwenben (talk) 22:42, 21 April 2024 (UTC)
 * I doubt your photo is safe to use, although I hope I'm wrong. Wikimedia Commons says that "Mere physical ownership of an original artwork such as a painting does not confer ownership of the copyright: that remains with the artist."
 * @Tacyarg, could we please get a second opinion? 209.122.123.7 (talk) 06:03, 23 April 2024 (UTC)