Exeter’s physical spaces offer the perfect blend of character and function, facilitating exploration, discovery and discussion — because that is how learning happens here. And while are facilities are some of the finest you’ll encounter, we’re always striving to better the experience for our students. That’s why we’ll open a new dining hall this fall and revamp the Davis Center and the Academy Building in the near future.
Careful consideration of the environment influences nearly all aspects of school life, and that extends to our facilities. A U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School, Exeter has increasingly utilized green building practices, and now all major projects follow a nationally recognized protocol for sustainable construction.
Academics
Academy Building
The iconic Academy Building is perhaps our most recognizable symbol, with its bell tower and weathervane rising above campus. Classrooms for mathematics, history, religion and ethics, classical languages, anthropology, psychology and philosophy are here, too, making this historic building the center of daily life at Exeter. The heart of the Academy Building is Assembly Hall, where the community gathers several times a week for notable speakers, special programs and campus-wide celebrations.
Phelps Science Center
You’ll explore science and conduct research in a state-of-the-art facility of 22 classroom-labs with Harkness tables, plus four common labs for interdisciplinary and independent student work. You’ll also find a humpback whale skeleton (assembled by students and teachers!), a 900-gallon tropical marine aquarium, a biology wet table, and a teaching garden with plant species native to New England.
Design Lab
Get hands-on in this well-equipped maker space where you can design, experiment and build in mediums ranging from robotics to woodworking. Located within Phelps Science Center, the lab has 3D printers, a laser cutter and other tools useful for innovative curricular, club and independent projects. A lab coordinator provides guidance to students working individually or in teams.
Phillips Hall
The first building designed specifically for Harkness classrooms at Exeter, today it combines the best of the old and the new: A recent renovation preserved many original architectural features, but you’ll study English and modern languages in fully wireless, media-equipped classrooms.
The Class of 1945 Library
Within the largest secondary-school library in the world, you’ll have access to more than 390,000 print and electronic volumes, an extensive reference collection and special collections containing such treasures that date back as far as the 13th-century. Designed by renowned architect Louis I. Kahn, the library contains 210 individual study carrels, several reading lounges and a ground-floor common area with cozy seating where you can study with friends or sip a hot beverage while you dive headlong into a good book
Grainger Observatory
Study the scale of the universe at Exeter’s on-campus observatory. With three domed observatories and a heated classroom building with library and research instruments, stargazing students have cutting edge tools at their disposal. In 2020, we installed a 0.70m PlaneWave CDK-700 Corrected Dall-Kirkham telescope which can be controlled on site or remotely via internet access.
The Arts
The Goel Center for Theater and Dance
The David E. and Stacey L. Goel Center for Theater and Dance brings expansive, state-of-the-art facilities to the performing arts at Exeter. Designed by award-winning architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, the building is host to two theaters (350-seat mainstage and 149-seat actors lab), two dance studios (one for performance with 119 seats, another for classes and rehearsals) and Harkness classrooms, allowing a seamless transition from discussion to performance. The 63,000 square-foot facility serves all students — from generalists to expert performers — with an array of performing, teaching, rehearsal, technical and public spaces.
Forrestal-Bowld Music Center
Half of all students participate in our flourishing music program, taking private lessons, practicing and performing in a professional setting. Our music facilities include grand piano studios; large rehearsal rooms; soundproof practice rooms; a keyboard lab; state-of-the-art musicianship studio; study areas; performance and classroom spaces; a music, media and recording library; and a spectacular auditorium, The Bowld.
The Mayer Art Center and Lamont Gallery
The Frederick R. Mayer Art Center and Lamont Gallery combine teaching and exhibition space displaying works by students and faculty and local, national and international artists. The center houses professional, studio-style fine arts classrooms for a variety of mediums from painting and printmaking to photography and 3-D design.
Athletics
Thompson Field House
Designed to benefit the entire community with recreational space, the William Boyce Thompson Field House provides year-round, highly advanced training facilities for the track and field teams and a dedicated wrestling center.
The ground floor contains a 200-meter track, four tennis courts, multipurpose infield, batting cages, and NCAA-regulation areas for shot put, high jump, long jump and pole vault. The mezzanine houses a wrestling center. Spectators appreciate expansive views of the building’s ground floor and outdoor athletic fields. Ample underground parking is available.
Love Gymnasium
With two ice hockey rinks and three basketball courts, the expansive Love Gymnasium accommodates multiple practices and competitions at one time, with significant spectator space to watch all the action. It also houses an athletic training center, a sports science lab, eight visiting-team rooms and livestream capabilities for hockey, volleyball and basketball.
Phelps Stadium
Year-round athletes and spectators — of football, soccer, field hockey and lacrosse — head for Phelps Stadium. Big Red teams draw a crowd, which is no problem for this 5,000-seat Field Turf facility with night-game lighting, a press box, two team rooms, an officials’ room, an athletic training facility and livestream capabilities.
Fisher Squash Center
Featuring gallery space for 400 spectators, the 33,000-square foot squash center is equipped to host national competitions — or duels with Andover. Work on your power serve or challenge your teammates to a rally at one of 10 international-regulation courts, each with glass back-walls.
Nekton Pool
Work on your dives, strokes and race time at The Roger Nekton Championship Pool, an eight-lane, 25-yard competition pool with Colorado timing system and blocks; two one-meter diving boards; separate digital video recording systems for swimmers and divers; spectator seating for 850; deck space for 400 swimmers; livestream capabilities; and an anti-wave surge tank.
Saltonstall Boathouse
The William G. Saltonstall Boathouse sits on the banks of the Squamscott River a mere five-minute walk from the Academy Building. Home to more than 30 shells (including eights, quads, pairs and singles), the boathouse is the center of life for Exeter’s championship crew program.
Community
Academy Center
You’ll head to the Elizabeth Phillips Academy Center, or EPAC, to check your mailbox, grab a snack at Grill, and hang with friends in the Phelps Commons or the day student lounge. Maybe you’ll record a radio show (Exeter has its own radio station!), stop in the Student Activities Office to sign up for a weekend trip, work on the student yearbook or file an article for The Exonian (the nation’s longest-running student newspaper). Exeter Student Service Organization (ESSO) office is here, as well as practice rooms and cozy chairs that make you want to stay.
Downer Family Fitness Center
Students flock to Exeter’s 9,000-square-foot fitness center for sports performance training and free-time workouts. The popular, open concept facility has a turf space for agility training; 38 pieces of cardio-vascular equipment; and 12 power racks with Olympic platforms.
Lamont Health and Wellness Center
The health center provides health care and counseling services for students right on campus. The center is open daily for walk-ins and scheduled appointments. Registered nurses are on duty day and night. Physicians and counselors are on-call for emergencies 24/7. The center houses 14 beds for students requiring overnight care.
Phillips Church
Phillips Church is the spiritual hub of the Academy, welcoming and serving our community’s diverse religious traditions and beliefs. Musical performances and the weekly meditation series are hosted in the church; so are Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, nondenominational and other services. Phillips Church is home base for practicing your faith, learning about other religious traditions and deepening a connection to the community.
Dining
Elm Street Dining Hall
Elm Street Dining Hall, designed by renowned architect Louis Kahn like the neighboring the Class of 1945 Library, is bustling with delicious food and authentic recipes from all around the world. Featuring a daily rotating hot line and world cuisine menus, along with plenty of grab-and-go options, you’ll never go hungry at Elm.
Coming soon: New Dining Hall
Sitting down together for a meal provides nourishment, comfort and a sense of connection. A new dining hall coming this fall will enhance this experience for every member of the campus community. In addition to meeting mealtime demand with dine-in and grab-and-go options, the space will accommodate formal dinners and large events such as reunions, family weekend or graduation. A terrace with three-season outdoor seating will be equipped for outdoor cooking and event acoustics, creating an al fresco performance venue.
