Winnacunnet High School

Winnacunnet High School is an American public high school in Hampton, New Hampshire. It serves students in grades 9 through 12 who live in Hampton, Seabrook, North Hampton, South Hampton, and Hampton Falls. Students from South Hampton attend either Amesbury High School or Winnacunnet High School. Winnacunnet is a Native American^{[clarification needed]} word that means "beautiful place of the pines".^[2] William McGowan has been the principal since 2010.

Winnacunnet High School
Auditorium
Location
1 Alumni Drive Hampton, NH 03842 United States
Coordinates	42°55′55″N 70°49′57″W
Information
Type	Comprehensive Public High School
Motto	School of Champions
Established	October 30, 1957
School district	School Administrative Unit 21
Superintendent	Meredith Nadeau
Principal	William McGowan
Staff	99.00 (FTE)[1]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,063 (2022-2023)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	10.74[1]
Campus type	Suburban
Color(s)	Red, White, and Royal Blue
Mascot	The Warrior
Newspaper	Winnachronicle
Feeder schools	Seabrook Elementary School Seabrook Middle School Hampton Academy Lincoln Akerman School Barnard School North Hampton School
Television station	WHTV
Website	www.winnacunnet.org

History

On October 30, 1957, the groundbreaking began for the construction of the school. Winnacunnet High School opened for the first time in the fall of 1958 with an attendance of 474 students. Before 1958, area students attended the Hampton Academy and High School, a junior-senior high school that still exists today as the junior high school for Hampton.^[3] The official Winnacunnet High dedication ceremony took place on October 26, 1958. The school has undergone construction and renovations in recent years, including a renovated cafeteria and stand alone gymnasium.^[4]

The school was in the national news in 1990 when Pamela Smart conspired with 15-year-old sophomore student William "Billy" Flynn and, according to him, convinced him to murder her husband Greg Smart on May 1, 1990.^[5] Smart did not work at Winnacunnet High School but at the SAU 21 building across the street, located on Winnacunnet school grounds. Smart was convicted of first-degree murder in March 1991, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. She is currently serving her sentence in a maximum security prison in New York State.

Notable alumni

• Charles Rocket, comedian^[6]
• Renny Cushing New Hampshire state representative^[7]
• Maura Healey, governor of Massachusetts since 2023^[8]
• Steve Merrill, governor of New Hampshire 1992-1994^[9]
• Nicholas D. Bridle, New Hampshire State Representative^[10]

See also

• New Hampshire portal

• List of high schools in New Hampshire