Our Campus

The Center for the Living Arts (CLA), which includes the Barton-Test Theater and surrounding studios, classrooms, and rehearsal spaces, originally opened in 1970. For many decades this space served our students and community well. However, as the goals and aspirations of our dynamic arts program outgrew the antiquated spaces, so did our student population.
Recognizing the need to align our creative spaces with the innovative energy of today’s students, Westtown School launched a comprehensive, three-phase plan to rejuvenate and expand the beloved CLA in three phases.

Phase one was completed in 2019, bringing a new digital music and studio production lab, revitalized rehearsal spaces for choral and instrumental music, a new green room and private dressing rooms for theater productions, state-of-the-art soundproof music practice rooms, bright and airy visual arts classrooms, and collaborative studio spaces for critique and artistic growth.

Phase two was completed in 2023 and focused on the theater. Music and dance ensembles, along with theater cast and crew, now benefit from improved acoustics through new wall coverings, HVAC installation for proper instrument tuning and humidity control, modernized and accessible bathrooms, live-streaming capabilities, and safe catwalks for technical work.

Currently in progress, phase three will unify the entire Center, transforming it into a hub for community engagement and creative expression. This final phase will introduce a breathtaking exhibition gallery to showcase student work and foster collaboration among young artists and faculty, a flexible performance and gathering space, critical accessibility enhancements including a new circular driveway and elevator, and an aesthetic facelift to the building’s façade, tying the theater to the visual arts center.

The CLA is a hub of energy at the heart of our campus, where students from all three divisions come together to learn, celebrate, and explore. With the renovation of these well-loved spaces and the creation of new areas for gathering and sharing, we have the opportunity to shine new light on our arts program and make it more accessible to all. We expect this work to be completed at the end of 2024.

In 2021 we enrolled 50 acres of our northern campus into Pennsylvania’s Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). As part of our commitment to preservation, we chose this program because it promotes best practices in support of water quality, soil erosion prevention, and creating sustainable wildlife habitats. We have already commenced our restorative efforts by replanting these acres with native grasses. 

Christa Barfield and her organization, Farmer Jawn Agriculture, is Westtown’s new farm partner. Barfield is working on 123 acres of our campus to create an organic, co-op-style incubator for Black farmers and has strong partnerships with Jubilee Justice and Rodale Institute. She is farming half the land and will use it to stock the farm market on the premises. The farm market includes a CSA, prepared foods, and other locally grown and sourced products. The remaining acreage will become a “farming incubator,” comprising five ten-acre cooperative farms operated by a cohort of Black farmers. This incubator model will offer educational development opportunities and a “pathway to entrepreneurship” via sales at the farm market. As a regenerative farmer, Christa’s management of the land will echo Westtown’s goals for environmentally sound land management. 

Located just off our South Entrance, Westtown’s Oak Lane Athletic Complex is thoughtfully designed to include two side-by-side turf fields—one of which features low-impact, professional stadium lighting—alongside two additional natural grass fields. The complex will also feature a new softball field, a baseball field, modern spectator seating, a state-of-the-art clubhouse, updated scoreboards, and ADA-compliant parking. This expansion reflects our commitment to providing top-tier facilities that support both athletic excellence and accessibility for all. We anticipate that this work will be completed by late 2024.

Meals at Westtown are about much more than sustenance—they are about building community, sharing experiences, and growing connections. Every week, our Food Services team prepares more than 7,500 meals and 4,200 snacks for the entire school community. Over the years, Westtown’s program, schedule, and population have evolved and grown in ways that hinder the shared dining experience to which we are committed. The size and configuration of the Dining Room no longer align with the needs of our Middle and Upper Schools, our Dining Services staff is challenged to shoehorn their excellent work into a space that was designed for a very different era, and students and adults daily encounter a degree of traffic that significantly diminishes the community dining experience. 

The new free-standing Dining Room and Kitchen, which will be located just across from Central on the north side of the Main Building, will enable the entire Upper School (both students and adults) to enjoy meals at the same time; building community and removing constraints from their daily schedules. Our Dining Services team will have access to facilities needed to accommodate the variety of dietary needs of our students, while aspiring to the highest standards of sustainable practices. Additionally, the location of the new Dining Room and Kitchen will provide much-needed accessible space for gatherings, celebrations, and meetings all year round. We anticipate that we will break ground on this project in 2026.

Just off the East Entrance on our campus you will find a white building on your left with a sign reading, Staats House out front. This space, formerly known as the Lane House is the new home for our Advancement team. Dedicated in November 2023, this is now a welcoming community space on campus where we can connect alums, parents, guardians, grandparents, students, faculty and staff. Click here for more details.

Our new Lower School playscape, expected to be completed late this fall, represents a thoughtful blend of imagination, environmental stewardship, and community collaboration. The vision for this space emerged through a series of workshops and discussions that included educators, students, parents, and landscape architects, ensuring a design that resonates with our community’s needs and best practices for learning and play. This dynamic playscape will feature a giant slide, a Viking swing, a treehouse, a rain garden, and bouldering scrambles, all created to inspire joy and connection with the natural world. Throughout the process, we prioritized sustainable materials and designs that foster creativity, physical activity, and a deep appreciation for the environment. From the first sketches to the final touches, every decision was made with the well-being and growth of our students in mind.

We are proud to announce the installation of a 2.1 MW solar array on campus, set to be completed by June 2025. This solar initiative reflects our deep commitment to sustainability and responsible stewardship, as we harness renewable energy to power our community and reduce our environmental impact. Spanning seven acres, this significant project is estimated to provide up to 91% of the electricity used on our campus. It will offset the electricity usage of 414 homes in a year and offset the use of 239,231 gallons of gasoline. There will be plantings along Shady Grove Way to provide a visual barrier for the residents who live along Westtown’s Eastern border.