The Newman School  The Newman School is a private school in the Back Bay district of Boston, Massachusetts. The Newman School was founded as Newman Preparatory School in 1945, the centennial of John Henry Cardinal Newman's conversion to Roman Catholicism, by Dr. J. Harry Lynch and a group of Catholic laymen, for the purpose of providing college preparation to veterans returning from service to their country in World War II. Over the years, Newman Prep evolved into a co-educational, diploma-granting program, and eventually began to accept younger students into the ninth grade. During the 1960s, the school operated The Newman School for Boys as a separate four-year (grades nine through twelve) and then six-year (grades seven through twelve) college preparatory school. Walter J. Egan was head of the School for Boys during most of its existence. Now known as The Newman School and headed by J. Harry Lynch Jr., son of the founder, Newman provides a liberal arts education to a diverse group of approximately 200 American and international students. The student body is composed of students from the Greater Boston area; 50 percent of come from the city of Boston itself. International students come from Brazil, Hong Kong, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Greece, Switzerland, Thailand, Austria, Iran, Czech Republic, China, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan, among other countries. In addition to a traditional curriculum, The Newman School offers an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program that students may take advantage of in their junior and senior years. Newman competes in Division B of the Massachusetts Bay Independent League. During the 2009 season, Newman defeated Commonwealth School to win the League Championship. The sailing team sails out of the CBI boathouse on the Charles River. The Newman Tennis Team has been statistically one of the most successful teams at Newman. Going nearly undefeated in the 2009 season, the team is coached by Thomas Ramsey and Drew Reilly and practices at the Winchester Indoor Tennis Center.