As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,086 students and 85.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.8:1. There were 452 students (41.6% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 141 (13.0% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1]
Awards, recognition and rankings
Nottingham High School was the recipient of U.S. News & World Report's Bronze recognition for America's Best High Schools in both 2017 and 2018. Nottingham received an overall Niche grade of a B+ and was ranked as the seventh most diverse public high school in New Jersey. This school was the 231st-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.[5] The school had been ranked 276th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 264th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.[6] The magazine ranked the school 260th in 2008 out of 316 schools.[7] The school was ranked 246th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state.[8]
Athletics
The Nottingham High School Northstars[2] compete in the Colonial Valley Conference, which operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.[9] With 898 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.[10] The football team competes in the Capitol Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconference[11][12] and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group III South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 695 to 882 students.[13]
The school participates as the host school / lead agency for a joint ice hockey team with Hamilton High School West and Steinert High School. The co-op program operates under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.[14]
Nottingham's wrestling team is referred as the Northstars. The Nottingham boys' swimming team had been to the NJSIAA state tournament for seven consecutive years from 2000 to 2006. The boys' baseball team won the 2008 Mercer County Tournament beating Notre Dame. The 2009 girls' spring track team was the first in Nottingham history to participate in the Penn Relays. The 2011 Nottingham boys track team was the first ever team in Nottingham history to go undefeated, winning the Mercer County Tournament and the Central Jersey Group III sectional championships.
The girls' softball team won the Group III state championship in 1987 (defeating runner-up West Morris Mendham High School in the tournament final) and 1990 (vs. Morris Hills High School).[15] The 1987 team won the Group III title by a score of 2–1 against West Morris Mendham in the championship game.[16] The 1990 team finished the season with a 24–3 record after a 6–4 victory against Morris Hills in the playoff finals.[17][18]
Nottingham's 2012 football team won the Central Jersey Group III state championship game after defeating Neptune High School by a final score of 35–24 in a game played at The College of New Jersey. The team finished with a record of 11–1, earning the program's first state title and becoming the first Mercer County team since 1989 to win a football championship.[19][20]
In 2018, the boys' basketball team defeated Chatham High School by a score of 60–53 in the tournament final at Rutgers University to win the school's first ever Group III state championship for basketball.[21][22]
The boys indoor / winter track team won the Group III state championship in 2020.[23]
The school has two core shows every year, the annual Murder Mystery Dessert Theater and the Spring Musical.
Previous murder mysteries include "Offed at the Bake Off" (premiere workshop) - 2013, "Til Death Do Them Part" (premiere) - 2012, "An All You Can Murder Buffet" (premiere) - 2011, "Murderous Night at the Museum" (premiere) - 2010, and "A Family Reunion to Die For" (premiere) - 2009
^About Our District, Hamilton Township School District. Accessed December 19, 2024. "HTSD is comprised of a diverse group of 12,000 students. There are 23 schools; 3 high schools, 3 middle schools, 17 elementary schools, and 1 special education alternative program for middle/high school students."
^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."
^Seegers, Sandy. "No regrets for Moris Hills girls", Daily Record, June 3, 1990. Accessed January 27, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The Morris Hills softball team had no regrets following its 6-4 loss to Hamilton North in the Group III final yesterday.... They looked like the favorite against 24-3 Hamilton North, taking a 4-3 lead in the top of the fourth inning."
^1990 NJ State Champions Softball Team, Northstar Hall of Fame. Accessed September 30, 2015. "A 6-4 victory over Morris Hills earned the team the New Jersey State Group III title."
^Behre, Bob. "'Star Power: Nottingham High football wins program's first state title", The Times, December 8, 2012. Accessed October 18, 2013. "Nottingham unleashed those weapons and, appropriately, came up with a number of big stops in the second half when it wrested control of the NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group III championship game yesterday at The College of New Jersey in Ewing. Senior quarterback Luke Westerberg was efficient and deadly, going 9-for-12 passing with 218 yards and two long touchdowns and he ran for another score as second-seeded Nottingham defeated fourth-seeded Neptune, 35-24, in front of a roaring and packed Lions Stadium."
^Johnson, Greg. "Nottingham boys basketball captures first state title in school history", The Trentonian, March 11, 2018. Accessed February 3, 2020. "The finality of the first state championship in school history Sunday night at Rutgers University evoked all the surreal feelings that come with lifting a community’s spirits in a way never before. Senior Cliff Joseph heaved the ball into the air underhanded, twirled and rushed to celebrate in a mob at midcourt with his teammates as the final seconds ticked in Nottingham’s 60-53 win over Chatham in the Group III final."
^Fisher, Rich. "Former Nottingham grad trying to make it to the NFL ... the hard way", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, January 11, 2021. Accessed May 8, 2023. "If anyone knows how to do things the hard way, it’s Zack Mesday.... It was announced on Monday that the 2013 Nottingham High graduate has signed to play linebacker and fullback with the Trenton-based Jersey Flight, a new entry in the National Arena League."
