Moorestown High School (MHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Moorestown in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Moorestown Township Public Schools. Moorestown High School was established in 1898 and has completed a $12.9 million renovation and addition project.2021-2022 School Profile, Moorestown High School. Accessed March 18, 2024. "Established in 1898, Moorestown High School is a four-year comprehensive high school with a long-standing history of academic excellence."Welcome, Moorestown High School. Accessed May 3, 2022. "Established in 1904, Moorestown High School is a four-year comprehensive high school with a long standing history of academic excellence."Kaser, Louis J. A Story of the Public Schools of Burlington County, New Jersey: Including Allied Organizations and Agencies, a Historical Narrative, and Pictorial Review, p. 103. Press of the New Era, 1943. Accessed May 3, 2022. "In 1898, the High School, as it was termed, though the four-year course was not established until 1904, was erected."
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,251 students and 113.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.0:1. There were 102 students (8.2% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 8 (0.6% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Moorestown High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.
Moorestown High School was involved in the 2003 lawsuit Hornstine v. Township of Moorestown, which involved school policies to prevent a student from becoming valedictorian because of her Individualized Education Program.
Awards, recognition and rankings For the 1999–2000 school year, Moorestown High School was awarded the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,National Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982 Through 2019 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed September 1, 2024. the highest award an American school can receive."CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department", Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve.""Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test", The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
The school was the 14th-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.Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014. The school had been ranked 27th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 39th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 4, 2012. Moorestown High School is by far the highest ranked school in Burlington County. The magazine ranked the school 47th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed June 5, 2011. Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 93rd out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 16 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (89.0%) and language arts literacy (94.8%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed March 2, 2012.
In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 474th in the nation among participating public high schools and 40th among schools in New Jersey.Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools" , The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 9, 2013.
In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 112th out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 21st among all high schools in New Jersey and eighth among the state's non-magnet schools.Staff. "America's Best High Schools 2016", Newsweek. Accessed November 11, 2016.
At Moorestown High School, students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement courses and exams. About 59% of students on average take this opportunity and take AP courses. Around 48% of students are female and 52% are male. The student to teacher ratio is about 12:1. As of 2024 MHS is 947th in the National Rankings and 48th in New Jersey. When it comes to student proficiency, they score 37% for math, 73% on reading, and 62% in science. The graduation rate is 98%. However, when it comes to college readiness, it only scores a 52.6%. It is classified as a large suburban setting school (Greco).
Athletics The Moorestown High School Quakers compete in the Olympic Conference,Moorestown High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. which operates under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) and is comprised of public and private high schools in Burlington, Mercer and Ocean counties in central New Jersey.Member Schools, Olympic Conference. Accessed February 1, 2024. With 954 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 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.NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The football team competes in the National Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconferenceMoorestown Quakers, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023.Home Page, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023. "The WJFL is a 94-school super conference that stretches from Princeton to Wildwood encompassing schools from the Colonial Valley Conference, the Burlington County Scholastic League, the Olympic Conference, the Tri-County Conference, the Colonial Conference, and the Cape Atlantic League. The WJFL is made up of sixteen divisions with divisional alignments based on school size, geography and a strength-of-program component." and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group IV South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 890 to 1,298 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
Moorestown High School's record of athletic achievement includes 19 state championships in boys swimming and 15 state championships in field hockey. From 2000 through 2009, the girls' lacrosse team won 10 consecutive state championships.Strauss, Robert. "Impressed by Threepeats? How About a 23-Peat?", January 7, 2007. Accessed September 1, 2013. "Moorestown has won the New Jersey girls' lacrosse championship the last seven years and has routinely ranked among the top five teams in the nation in polls. The boys' swimming team has won 19 state championships and the field hockey team 15 state titles going back to the 1930s."
The NJSIAA ranks New Jersey's high school athletic programs every academic year based on their performances in various sports across athletic seasons. Among all of the state's Group III programs, MHS was ranked 2nd in 2006 (one point behind Ramapo High School),Third Annual ShopRite Cup: 2005-2006 Final Standings, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed June 2, 2008. 2nd in 2007Fourth Annual ShopRite Cup: 2006‐2007 Final Standings, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 12, 2017. and was the Group III winner in 2008, with performances that included first-place finishes that season in football, both boys and girls lacrosse, and boys tennis.Fifth Annual ShopRite Cup 2007-2008 Final Standings, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020.
Sports Legends of Moorestown was presented by the Historical Society of Moorestown at the Smith-Cadbury Mansion until the end of June 2010. More than 60 athletes, most of whom are MHS alumni, representing 14 sports were featured.Maccar, David. "It started with a baseball card", Burlington County Times, February 1, 2010, copy of article at Burlington County Historian. Accessed July 6, 2011. "The Historical Society of Moorestown transformed the Smith-Cadbury Mansion on High Street into a local sports hall of fame showcasing some of Moorestown's most successful athletes from the 1920s to the present day. The Sports Legends of Moorestown exhibit, which features numerous rare photographs, artifacts and audio and video recordings of the township's greatest athletes, launched with a four-hour open house Sunday, drawing some of the local sports heroes honored on the mansion's walls.... All in all, the exhibit features more than 60 athletes and coaches from 14 different sports from the days of French and 1924 Olympic Games gold medal winner Al LeConey to modern day standouts like Albert Young and Alyssa Ogle."
Bea Thomas, a coaching institution at MHS in field hockey, girls lacrosse and girls swimming, has been featured in The New York Times and Sports Illustrated."At 92, Still Teaching Good 'D'" "Now 92 years old, Mrs. Thomas still retains some of the spark and willfulness that have served her in her 70-year athletic career. Long before female sports stars were common, she became an All-American goalie on the United States field hockey team. She played well into her 60s and has been coaching as well, choosing to defer retirement for another fall season on the sidelines as a paid coach for the Moorestown High varsity goalies. She will kick off the season at a camp and then take her familiar post on the field in the heat of August, throwing tennis balls at goalies to help train them.""Bea Thomas, 86, is in her 63rd year as a coach" "Mrs. T is Bea Thomas, Moorestown's beloved field hockey goaltender coach, who has been mentoring high school athletes in southern New Jersey for 63 years. In nearly five decades as the freshman coach or a varsity assistant, the 86-year-old Thomas has helped build a powerhouse field hockey program. The Quakers have won 11 state championships in the last 22 years and have lost just one Burlington Scholastic Athletic League title since 1981."
The Moorestown High School Unified Basketball Team won a Gold Medal at the Special Olympics 2018 USA Games in Seattle. The Moorestown High School Unified Basketball Team beat Ohio 27–18 to win the Special Olympics 2018 USA Games. They beat five teams in a matter of four days to win it all. They had also won their first state championship title earlier that season.
Baseball