Hamilton High School West
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, New Jersey, United States, operating as one of the three secondary schools of the Hamilton Township School District; the other high schools in the district are Nottingham High School (Hamilton High School North) and Steinert High School (Hamilton High School East). As of the 2020–21 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,274 students and 100.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.7:1 . There were 483 students (37.9% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 88 (6.9% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch. Awards, recognition and rankings. 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. 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. The magazine ranked the school 262nd in 2008 out of  316 schools. The school was ranked 240th in the magazine's 2008 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. Athletics. The Hamilton High School Hornets compete in the Colonial Valley Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools located in Mercer County and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). With 933 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. The football team competes in the Capitol Division of the 95-team West Jersey Football League superconference and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group IV South for football for 2018–2020. The school participates together with Steinert High School in a joint ice hockey team in which Nottingham High School 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. Hamilton West competes in an annual Thanksgiving Day football game against Steinert High School, the only annual game played in Mercer County. 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. The basketball team won the Group III state championship in 1935 (defeating Ridgefield Park High School in the tournament final), 1953 (vs. Linden High School) and 2006 (vs. Malcolm X Shabazz High School). The 1935 team won the Group III state title with a 35-27 win in the playoff finals against Ridgefield Park. The 1953 team won the Group III title with a 56-52 win in  the championship game against Linden. With a 66-34 win against Shabazz in the finals of the tournament played at Rutgers University, the 2006 team won the Group III state title and came into the Tournament of Champions as the sixth seed, falling by a score of 80-67 in the quarterfinals to third-seeded Haddonfield Memorial High School led by Brian Zoubek. The boys soccer team won the Group IV state championship in 1962 (defeating Bloomfield High School in the tournament final) and in 1976 (vs. Hackensack High School). The 1983 girls basketball team finished the season with a  26-1 record after winning the Group IV state title with a 61-51 victory against Plainfield High School in the championship game played at the Meadowlands Arena. The boys wrestling team won the Central Jersey Group III state sectional championship in 1992. The softball team defeated Cranford High School by a score of 4-1 in the final of the tournament to win the 1999 Group II state championship and finish the season with a 23-3 record. The 2000 boys baseball team finished the season with a record of 26-5 after winning the Group III state title , defeating runner-up Cranford High School by a score of 5-0 in the tournament final. The 2006 boys' basketball team won the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III state sectional title with a 58-49 win over Monroe Township High School. The team won the Group II state championship in 2006, defeating Malcolm X Shabazz High School in the tournament final. Marching band. 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. Administration. The school's principal is Brian Smith . His core administration team includes two vice principals and the athletic director. Sister schools. The two other high schools in the district (with 2020–21 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are: