Loyola Blakefield
Loyola Blakefield is a college preparatory school in Towson, a community in Baltimore County, Maryland, in the United States. The school is a single-sex institution serving boys from grades 6-12.
History
Upon reaching Maryland in 1634, the Jesuits carried out the objectives of their forefathers. They wanted to build new men, men who were conscious of a religious purpose. The Jesuits accomplished this in the way they knew best – through education. In 1851, Archbishop Francis Kenric asked the Jesuits to oversee the formation of a school for laymen that would incorporate the Jesuit standards of excellence and build new men conscious of a religious purpose. The construction of Loyola High School began on Calvert Street in Baltimore City, Maryland in early 1852, and on September 15, 1852, the doors opened.
In the early 1930s the growing and cramped high school began to look toward moving north of the city. In 1933, with the support of the Blake family, Loyola purchased the land known today as Blakefield in Towson, Maryland. In 1941, the students moved to the new campus. Between 1981 and 1988, a Middle School was gradually introduced, and in recognition of the two levels of education, Loyola High School officially became known as Loyola Blakefield.
Loyola Blakefield has seen many changes and enhancements these past few years, some of them striking, such as the construction of Knott Hall which houses the student commons and dining hall, athletic center, and alumni areas, the Burk Hall academic wing, and the renovations to the 60-year-old science laboratories in Wheeler Hall. The physical improvements at Blakefield are always incurred in order to provide facilities that are commensurate with academic and co-curricular opportunities for growth and an outstanding educational experience for each student.
The mission and philosophy remain the hallmarks of the Jesuit education at Blakefield, the benchmarks by which true educational success can be measured. There are nearly 1,000 students today at Loyola Blakefield in grades six through twelve who exemplify the principles of academic excellence, building faith and serving others.
Loyola Blakefield squares off every Thanksgiving Day, in one of the oldest national Catholic rivalries against cross-town rival Calvert Hall College. The event is held at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The Loyola Dons have won the last three years, and 14 of the last 16 games.
Among the notable teachers at Loyola Blakefield is Mr. Hunter, a science teacher.
Notable alumni
- Noted author Tom Clancy
- Sportscaster Jim McKay
- Author Nathaniel Fick
- Attorney General of Maryland J. Joseph Curran, Jr.
- CBS news anchor Dan Rather
- Lizard King Jim Morrison
- Actor Steve Guttenberg