As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 394 students and 36.9 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.7:1.[4]
The school was founded in 1907 as Carlton Academy, with grades 4-12. Most of the students lived on campus. Due to the school's relatively small size, students in a given grade are not individually ranked. Oratory is home to young men from more than 70 communities in the New York metro area. Tuition for the 2022–23 academic year is $25,400 and a $300 registration fee is required; this does not include costs for transportation, books and meals.[1] Each year 100% of Oratory seniors are accepted to four-year colleges.[7]
Oratory originally resided on a 15-acre (61,000 m2) lot, but was reduced to its current ten after selling off a portion of land in the 1960s. In 1967, the school was sold to the Archdiocese of Newark after running into financial difficulties. Among century-old specimen trees and rolling hills, the campus consists of two main academic buildings, athletic fields, and a prayer garden. Around the start of the 21st century, the campus was conversationally referred to as "The Park" by Summit residents because it had various athletic fields, intricate lamp posts, its own irrigation system, and a small pond that was used for skating during the winter season.[10]
In 2006, the land was assessed at $6,270,000, and the buildings at $2,752,700, a total of $9,022,700.[11]
Athletics
The Oratory Prep Rams[3] compete in the Union County Interscholastic Athletic Conference, following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).[12] Prior to the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in the Mountain Valley Conference, which included public and private high schools in Essex County, Somerset County and Union County.[13] With 500 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Non-Public A for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 381 to 1,454 students in that grade range (equivalent to Group II for public schools).[14]
Carlton Academy's first football team. Photograph circa 1913.
The boys track team won the indoor track Non-Public Group B state championship in 1980.[15] The boys' track team won the Non-Public indoor relay state championship in 1980.[16] The spring / outdoor track team won the New Jersey Prep B Championship two years running (2009 and 2010).[17][18] The track team won the inaugural winter track Prep B championship in February 2011.[19] The boys track team placed 5th in the 1600 Sprint Medley Championship at Nike Outdoor Nationals 2023 in Eugene, Oregon, competing under the name "Ram Nation Track Club"; the relay team would go on to be named All-Americans.[20]
The boys cross country running team won the Non-Public Group C state championship in 1974 (as co-champion) and 1975.[21]
Oratory Golf's home course is Canoe Brook Country Club. The golf team was NJSIAA Non Public B State Champions in 2004-05, and won the NJSIAA Prep B state championship in 2005-06. For the 2006 season, the Oratory golf team was ranked 20th in the state by The Star-Ledger.[22] Steve Zychowski won the state and Mount Valley tournaments and helped lead the golf team to a win in the NJSIAA Parochial B tournament in 2009.[17]
For 14 consecutive years through 2009, the swim team won the Mountain Valley Conference and won the NJ Prep B Championship in 2004.[17] The cross country team was the NJISAA Prep B State Champions in 2004, and has continually placed first in the conference for the past ten years. The team is led by Coach E.J. Cronin, who is also the junior varsity baseball coach. The varsity baseball team were conference champions in 2006, a feat not accomplished since 1956, and had a perfect in-conference record of 12-0.[7]
Mock Trial
The mock trial team, sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation, began at Oratory in 2003. In 2006, 2007, 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2018, the team won the state regional final championship, and in 2007 the team won the state semifinals, finishing third in the state, and in 2016 finished 2nd in the state. The team has won the Union County Championship 13 years, including the past eight years. In 2007 the team qualified for the American Mock Trial Invitational held in New Jersey. There the team won two of three trials and finished fifth in the nation. The team was coached by Bill Martin, Director of Student Activities, since the team's inception.[23] In 2012, the team won the state championship, marking the first time that a school from Union county had won the state championship.[24]
^"Oratory Prep Named a 2015 National Blue Ribbon School", Summit Patch, September 30, 2015. Accessed October 10, 2015. "U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan made the official announcement Tuesday morning that 50 private schools and 285 public schools from across the country have been chosen for this prestigious honor based on academic excellence. Of the 50 private schools, we are one of only two secondary schools to receive this distinction."
^Koomar, Joe. "Rambling On: Oratory becomes track power with third prep championship", Independent Press, March 6, 2011. Accessed June 21, 2011. "On February 15, Oratory's winter track squad defied all odds and captured the inaugural Prep B state championship. Oratory dominated the meet from start to finish. In the 3200 M Run, Cormac Raeda, Joey Mascolo and Mark Weinhoffer finished one-two-three respectively."
^Saturday Morning Shootout: Danny DeVito, AMC (TV network). Accessed April 2, 2007. "DeVito attended Our Lady of Mt. Carmel grammar school and Oratory Prep School in Summit, New Jersey, but appeared in only one school play, as St. Francis of Assisi."
^Nationally Recognized Photographer at Oratory Preparatory School[permanent dead link]. Oratory Preparatory School. Accessed March 13, 2008. "When Justin Guariglia, a 1992 graduate of Oratory Preparatory School in Summit came 'home' on January 24 to present an assembly program to the student body of grades 7 – 12, he did not know what to expect...."
^"William J. Lyons Jr.", The Hour (newspaper), April 22, 2014. Accessed November 2, 2017. "A graduate of Oratory Preparatory School in Summit, NJ, he attended Notre Dame University until enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1943."
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