Altamont School

The Altamont School
Established	1975
School type	Private
District	N/A
Grades	5-12
Headmaster	Sarah Whiteside
Enrollment	425 (2005)
Colors	Gold and white
Mascot	Knights
Location	4801 Altamont Road Birmingham
Website	altamontschool.org

The Altamont School, located at 4801 Altamont Road in the Redmont neighborhood of Birmingham is a private, college-prep day school with coeducational enrollment of 425 in grades 5 through 12.

The school was established in 1975 as a merger between the Brooke Hill School (a college preparatory school for girls founded in 1941), and its counterpart, the Birmingham University School (founded in 1922). Much of Altamont's success is due to its former headmaster Martin Hames who emphasized academic excellence and urged students to look beyond the boundaries of Alabama to further their education.

Alumni include several notable and celebrated writers such as Pulitzer Prize winner Diane McWhorter, whose book Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama, the Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution chronicled the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham. Others include Daniel Wallace, who wrote the novel that was the basis for the movie of the same name: Big Fish, and New York Times reporter Warren St John who authored the book Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer about University of Alabama football fandom. Perhaps the most famous is National Book Award winner Walker Percy, who attended Birmingham University School in primary school before moving to Greenville, Mississippi to be raised by his uncle, poet William Alexander Percy. Further, other notable alumni include Ambassadors William J. Cabaniss and Margaret Tutwiler.

Head of school Tom Wheelock, who came to the school in 2003, announced in April 2007 that he would resign at the end of the school year. Assistant head Sarah Whiteside served as interim head, and, following a national search, was chosen to succeed him as head of school.

References

• "Altamont School." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 11 Nov 2006, 07:36 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 11 Nov 2006 [1].
• Wolfson, Hannah (April 23, 2007) "Headmaster leaving Altamont after this school year." Birmingham News.
• Wolfson, Hannah (November 14, 2007) "Sarah Wart Whiteside named head of school at Altamont." Birmingham News.

External links

• Altamont School website