In 1863, Jesuit priestJohn McElroy foundedBoston College as a seven-year educational institution combining high school and college.[4] The school administration believed that a seven-year course of study would ensure "moral influence" and a "uniform and homogeneous course of teaching and of training."[5] The high school and college shared a campus in Boston'sSouth End until 1910 (when the college moved toChestnut Hill), and legally separated in 1927.[4][6] Following the split, BC High initially remained in the South End, but moved to its current Dorchester campus in 1950.[7]
During their years as a merged institution, BC High was much larger than the college. In 1913, it enrolled 1,300 students to the college's 300.[8] In 1922, BC High enrolled 1,500 boys, making it the nation's largest Catholic high school and by far the nation's largest Catholic boys' school (the next largest, in Philadelphia, educated 859).[9] Students who graduated from BC High in good standing were automatically admitted to Boston College without examination.[10] Today, only a minority of BC High students (102 out of 1445 graduates between 2017 and 2021) attend Boston College.[11]
Although BC High and Boston College are now separate institutions, the two schools' athletic programs share the Eagle mascot, and graduates of BC High and BC are known as "Double Eagles."[8] (Graduates of BC High, BC, and BC's graduate schools (traditionally thelaw school) are called "Triple Eagles."[8][12])
Due to its shared history with Boston College, BC High has always been open to students of all faiths. The original Boston College was founded "to educate Boston's predominantly Irish, Catholic immigrant community."[13] Nonetheless, the state government required the founders to open the school to students of all religious backgrounds, as reflected in Boston College's founding charter.[14]
In the 21st century, the size of BC High's student body has fluctuated for various reasons. For most of the 2000s, the school educated approximately 1,300 students in the high school division.[15] In 2006, BC High added a middle school (grades 7–8), dubbed the "Arrupe Division,"[16] which temporarily increased the size of the school to 1,600 students. Since 2015, the student body has been shrinking.[17] That year, the school surveyed its parents and alumni, who generally supported decreasing the size of the school over the alternatives of admitting female students or raising tuition to free up endowment funds forfinancial aid.[18] In the 2022–23 school year, BC High enrolled 1,405 students, 334 of whom were in the middle school.[19]
The school reportedly considered admitting girls in 2015 and 2017, but declined to do so after opposition from several stakeholders, including (allegedly)Cardinal O'Malley, theArchbishop of Boston, who was reportedly concerned about the effect a co-ed BC High might have on the Archdiocese's all-girls schools.[16][18] A former chairman of the BC High board of trustees echoed this concern.[16] However, in 2017 BC High appointed its first female president, Grace Cotter Regan, who stated that she would respect the board and alumni's wishes to continue single-sex education.[7][20]
In 2023, BC High announced that it was launching a $125 million fundraising campaign to expand the scholarship fund and upgrade the campus.[21] This campaign includes a $49 million gift (the largest in school history) to build a wellness complex, which will include a strength and conditioning center, a swimming pool, and exercise machines.[22]
In 2002, Stephen F. Dawber was suspended from his teaching duties after accusations ofsexual assault. This came just days after two other priests were accused of abuse about a decade prior.[23]
In 2005, Jesuit priestJames Talbot, who was also a teacher and coach at the school, pleaded guilty torape, assault with intent to rape, and three counts of assault and battery, related to two students he sexually abused during his time there. The school had previously removed him after allegations of sexual assault surfaced from his time atCheverus High School inPortland, Maine.[23] Talbot's actions were subsequently dramatized in the 2015 filmSpotlight.[24] In 2016, BC High trustee Jack Dunn successfully threatened to sueSpotlight's filmmakers for defamation. The film's distributor issued a statement clarifying that Dunn had not personally covered up sexual abuse at BC High.[25]
The Hyde Center for Global Education was founded was established in 2012 with the gift of Lawrence Hyde, who was a member of the Class of 1942.[7] The program offers a variety of international programs to 18 different countries.[26]
In 2020, alumnus Jack Shields donated $5 million to establish the Shields Innovation Center. The program aims to "prioritize entrepreneurial thinking while preparing students for the rapidly evolving innovation economy".[27]
In the 2023–24 school year, BC High charged students $26,650, plus other mandatory and optional fees.[28]
41% of the student body is onfinancial aid. Based on the school's reported $11 million financial aid budget, the average aid grant is roughly $19,000 (~70% of tuition).[28] In 2017, approximately 50% of the student body received financial aid, but the average aid grant was less than 50% of tuition.[16]
BC High does not file publicly accessibleInternal Revenue Service disclosures.[29] In the 2023 fiscal year, BC High reported that its financial endowment stood at $88.9 million.[30]
St. Ignatius Hall (formerly McElroy Hall) is the Dorchester campus' original building.[31] Shortly after, Cushing Hall opened in 1953, followed by the new Jesuit residence, Loyola Hall, in 1957. The Walsh Hall Science Center opened in 1965. Walsh Hall was renovated in 2007 for the opening of the Arrupe Division, which serves grades 7-8. McQuillan Hall and Cadigan Hall are the two newest buildings on the campus. McQuillan Hall houses the new science center and cafeteria.[7]
Cadigan Hall opened in 2013 after alumnus Pat Cadigan donated $12 million for a new "arts and recreation building". The hall features an atrium to facilitize alumni and outreach events.[32] Cadigan Hall serves the art and music departments as well as the athletic program.[7]
In the spring of 2016,Monan Park opened as the new home for the home for baseball at Boston College High School and theUniversity of Massachusetts Boston. The complex features a baseball stadium with seating for 500 spectators and identical dimensions toFenway Park, as well as a secondary field for baseball, lacrosse, and soccer. The joint project with the neighboring University of Massachusetts Boston was made possible with a $2 million donation from theYawkey Foundation.[33]
The mascot for all Boston College High School athletic teams is theEagle, generally referred to in the plural, i.e., "The Eagles". The school colors aremaroon andgold. The fight song isFor Boston.
The 2009Indoor Track Relay Team won the Massachusetts State Relays.[37][38] Thebaseball team won the State Finals in 2001, 2008 and 2009.[39] Thesoccer team won the Massachusetts State Championship in 2004.[40] The hockey team has won theSuper 8 hockey tournament six times, the second-most in the tournament's history, behind only conference rivalCatholic Memorial School. In 2019, the team won the championship game at theTD Garden over Pope Francis Preparatory School 2–1 in 4OT to win their second-straight title, the longest game in tournament history.[41] The BC High Lacrosse Team has won the Division 1 South Sectional Championship 4 times in the last 5 years: 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2021 (No Season in 2020 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic). The team won the Massachusetts Division 1 State Championship overActon-Boxborough Regional High School in 2018 by a score of 16-3.
Principal athletic facilities include Edward T. Barry Ice Rink (capacity: 1,000), McNeice Pavilion,Monan Park (500), and Viola Stadium.
^Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1863).Acts and resolves passed by the General Court. Boston, MA: Secretary of the Commonwealth. pp. 441–43 ("No student in said college shall be refused admission to, or denied any of the privileges, honors or degrees of said college on account of the religious opinions he may entertain.").
^"BC High, CM start new Thanksgiving tradition".ESPN.com. November 22, 2012. RetrievedApril 10, 2021.Catholic Conference rivals Catholic Memorial and BC High have competed in an annual Thanksgiving day football game since 1962.
^English, Bella."General rallying the troops of Pan-Mass riders",The Boston Globe, July 30, 2012. Accessed January 5, 2017. "Young George attended boarding school in Rome, and when his father was on a Harvard fellowship for a year, he and his brother enrolled at Boston College High School.... He did his senior year at BC High in 1966."
^Terry Driscoll, Basketball Reference. Accessed January 5, 2017.
^Nowlin, Bill.Ed Gallagher,Society for American Baseball Research. Accessed January 5, 2017. "Ed Gallagher was a 1928 graduate of Boston College High School and a 1932 graduate of BC itself, where he starred in baseball, football, and hockey."
