Newton High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Newton, in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Newton Public School District. Students from Andover Borough, and Andover and Green townships, attend the high school as part of sending/receiving relationships.Newton High School 2013 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 7, 2016. "Newton High School serves students from Andover Township, Andover Borough, and Green Township as well as historic Newton."Obernauer, Eric. "Andover BOE to consider its send-receive options with Newton High School", New Jersey Herald, January 19, 2015. Accessed May 30, 2016. "The send-receive arrangement, under which the K-8 Andover and Green school districts pay tuition to send their students in grades 9-12 to Newton High School, has been under scrutiny ever since a dispute arose nearly a year ago between the sending districts and Newton over the sharing of costs for Newton's multipurpose turf field."
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 680 students and 61.1 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 11.1:1. There were 182 students (26.8% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 17 (2.5% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Newton High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.
History Newton's residents approved a 1916 referendum to build a high school. A winning bid was accepted that year, but delays related to obtaining workers and inflated costs during World War I delayed completion of the construction. This original building is now Halsted Middle School, with a new building being constructed on Ryerson Avenue in the 1950s. Newton High School had served the region, with 13 districts paying tuition to send students as part of sending/receiving relationships.
The opening of High Point Regional High School in September 1966 ended the attendance of students from Branchville Borough, Frankford Township and Lafayette Township.Wright, Kevin M. Newton Public Schools, Newton, NJ. Accessed December 4, 2017. "At that time, thirteen school districts sent students to Newton High School while two districts sent elementary school children here. Frankford, Lafayette and Branchville students departed Newton High School in 1964 when the High Point Regional district was formed. Kittatinny Regional District subtracted students from Hampton, Stillwater, Fredon, Sandyston and Walpack Townships in September 1975."Carlson, Joe. "High Point High School celebrates 50 years" , New Jersey Herald, October 2, 2006. Accessed December 4, 2017. "The school opened in 1966 with students from Sussex and Wantage, Lafayette, Frankford and Branchville. Prior to High Point's opening, Sussex and Wantage students attended Sussex High School. Frankford, Lafayette and Branchville students attended Newton High School."
The Newton Public School District was notified in August 1974 that students from Fredon Township, Hampton Township, Sandyston Township, Stillwater Township and Walpack Township would leave Newton High School with the opening of Kittatinny Regional High School in 1975, which resulted in a drop of 400 students in the Newton district."Loss of Pupils Boosts Newton School Taxes", The News, February 19, 1975. Accessed March 25, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The loss of tuition pupils to the new Kittatinny Regional High School has hiked the tax levy to support the local school budget for 1975-76 by $183,051 over last year.... The budget is figured on an enrollment of 1,894 students, a drop of 399 pupils as compared to the previous year. With the opening of the new Kittatinny Regional High School in September, tuition students from Hampton, Stillwater, Fredon and Sandyston-Walpack will no longer be attending Newton High School."Sullivan, Ann Marie. "Sussex Sidelights", Paterson News, August 29, 1974. Accessed April 4, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The Kittatinny Regional Board of Education will soon officially notify Newton High School officials that all students from the regional district will be withdrawn next year, except for seniors. The new regional district, comprised of Fredon, Hampton, Stillwater and Walpack, will open its new facility in September, 1975. Newton, which now accepts those students on a tuition basis, must be notified by resolution of the regional board of the withdrawal of students, because of budget appropriations."
Awards, recognition and rankings The school was the 168th-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.Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014. The school had been ranked 130th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 167th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 3, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 160th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed March 16, 2011. The school was ranked 168th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state."Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
Academic achievements
SAT Scores In the 2013-14 school year, Newton High School ranked second in Sussex County out of nine other public high schools in SAT scores.Newton High School 2013 Performance Report, New Jersey Department of Education.
Graduation rates According to the New Jersey Herald, the graduation rate for Newton High School is 84.8%. This rate exceeds the national high school graduation rate of approximately 70%.
Extracurricular activities Newton High School offers a variety of extracurricular activities, clubs, and groups. They include Aurora yearbook, Calliope magazine, Student Council, Peer Leadership, Red Cross Club, Best Buds, Future Farmers of America, Interact, Art Club, Multicultural Club, and Spanish/German/French clubs. Honor Societies include the National Honor Society, French National Honor Society, German National Honor Society and Spanish National Honor Society. Academic Leagues include various Science Leagues (which include the physics, biology, earth science, and chemistry teams), Math League and the Academic Bowl.
Jazz Band The Newton High School Jazz Band is considered an extracurricular, but the high school also offers Concert Band (for lower level performers) and Wind Ensemble (for more advanced instrumentalists) courses which can be added to one's school schedule.
Robotics team Newton High School's FIRST Robotics Competition team, team 3142, won the Rookie All-Star Award in the New York City Regional Competition in 2010.About Us , Team 3142 Aperture. Accessed May 14, 2016.
Athletics The Newton High School BravesNewton High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools from Morris, Sussex and Warren counties, and was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).Home Page, Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference. Accessed August 27, 2020. "The Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference prides itself on being one of New Jersey's premier high school conferences and is comprised of 39 high schools located in Northwest New Jersey."League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. Prior to the 2010 realignment, the school participated in the Sussex County Interscholastic League until the SCIL was dissolved in 2009.Home Page, Sussex County Interscholastic League, backed up by the Internet Archive, as of February 4, 2012. Accessed November 20, 2014. With 514 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 486 to 758 students in that grade range.NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The football team competes in the American White division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league.Cooper, Darren. "Here's what we know about the new Super Football Conference 2020 schedule", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference (SFC) is a 112-team group, the largest high school football-only conference in America, and is comprised of teams from five different counties."Cooper, Darren. "NJ football: Super Football Conference revised schedules for 2020 regular season", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference has 112 teams that will play across 20 divisions." The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 484 to 683 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
The school participates as the host school / lead agency for a joint cooperative ice hockey team with Lenape Valley Regional High School, while Lenape is the host school for co-op boys / girls swimming teams. These co-op programs operate under agreements scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
Field hockey The field hockey team won the North I Group I state sectional championship in 1976, 1979, 2014 and 2016-2018, and won the North I Group II title in 1981-1986.History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.
Wrestling The boys' team won the North I Group I state sectional championships in 2009 and 2010, winning against Kittatinny Regional High School both years.Boys Wrestling Championship History: 1934–2025, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated February 2026. Accessed March 1, 2026. 2009 marked the program's first sectional title, achieved with a 40-26 win against Kittatinny.Staff. "Newton 40, Kittatinny 26 (High school Wrestling scores & results)", The Star-Ledger, February 13, 2009. Accessed August 11, 2011."Newton, No. 11 in The Star-Ledger Top 20, rolled to its first sectional title in Hampton. Kittatinny, which won the Group 1 title last year, its eighth group championship, held an 11-6 lead before its Sussex County rival, Newton, won the next four bouts to take a 24-11 lead." The team won its second consecutive title with a 36-28 win against Kittatinny, and made it to the Group I state championship before losing to Paulsboro High School.Lashley, Josh. "Newton wrestlers prepare for 2010/11 season: Hoping to best last year's second place finish", The Sparta Independent, December 15, 2010. Accessed August 11, 2011. "The Braves won the North I Group I sectional crown with a 36-28 win over Kittatinny last February. In the State Group I semifinals, Newton toppled Robbinsville, 39-21. Paulsboro, a stalwart in Group I for many, many years, defeated Newton in the Group I State team championship match last year."