My ds was accepted at this school amongst a couple others as a recruited athlete. It’s the furthest from home and the school we’re the least familiar with. We liked the school when we toured, but would like to hear from others. We are unable to attend any of the official revisit days, but will revisit on an alternate day. Thanks.
It really depends where else your son was accepted. I think Brooks can be a good choice for some kids but it is definitely somewhat outshone by the other schools in MA. It struggles to retain top notch faculty and tends to hang on to teachers mostly dependent on whether or not they themselves went to Brooks. Some of the sports teams are amazing programs but I do believe that comes at a cost of academic excellence.
Thanks for the info. DS has acceptances at Gunn (boarding) & Avon (day) also. WL at Middlesex which was his top choice.
CTmom - I went to AOF and both my daughters go to Brooks and feel I can speak to both schools. I have to respectfully disagree with one1ofeach and the assessment of Brooks, it has not been our experience. We have not seen a drain of teachers leaving Brooks and while there are some faculty that did attend Brooks, it’s not an overwhelming amount. I think Brooks head of school is one of the best in the business (he handled COVID FAR BETTER than any other school IMO) and he has consistently been driving Brooks in the right direction. He is an excellent leader. In the four years my oldest has been at Brooks we have seen steady and impactful campus development. I think of the academic load at Brooks as being in the Goldilocks zone - challenging, but not so challenging as to impact mental health, but not to soft either. If a student wants challenging classes they can access them, but at the same time they will not be burdened by 8 hours a day of homework like they might be at a Groton, Andover, Exeter, etc. There are excellent coaches in all sports at Brooks and the teams compete reasonably well in the ISL, but they also aren’t bringing in “dumb jocks” to win a NEPSAC title. I cannot speak to the current situation at Avon in great detail because it’s been a long time since I was a student, but I think the thing to really consider is the all boys experience - it worked for me, but it is not for everyone. One thing to note is Avon does bring in PGs - how important are sports to your student? How good is your DS at his respective sport? Is he slated as a varsity athlete at all schools? Can he compete against 19 year olds and excel? Avon puts very competitive teams on the field/ice for all sports and that is something to consider - if playing a varsity sport is important to him find out where he stands. I do get the sense that current head of school is very good and taking Avon in a positive direction and growing the endowment. It really is a special place for boys. Good luck with the decision and congrats on the acceptances to 3 great schools and fingers crossed the waitlist status on the first choice changes in your favor.
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Hi, do you have first hand experience at Brooks or you’ve heard it somewhere? Our son goes to Brooks and I can say first hand that it’s been the best thing that happened to us. He is thriving both academically and socially/emotionally. He’s challenged just the right amount, taking AP classes, but not overloaded to the point of fracture. He has a supportive group of friends. He used to be a quiet/shy kid and we’ve seen him grow leaps and bounds!
I agree with PeteyPuck, the headmaster handled the pandemic very well. Furthermore, the three years we’ve been there, we’ve seen a lot of improvements in the buildings and facilities to provide a top notch experience. Our son rows varsity. The coach is excellent and the new boat house will be open in the spring which we’re very excited about.
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I have first hand experience of Brooks.
As I said I think it can be a great school for the right kid. It is however, simply not the right school for a very academic kid - you spoke of balance and I believe that is achieved by having a broader mix of academic ability or maybe we should say academic desire in the student body. And yes, there are several teachers who are pretty terrible and the kids know who they are (this probably exists everywhere).
I think Brooks does a great job of creating community spirit - at many sporting events you will find tons of parents and snack tents set up for kids, even at away games. Admissions makes use of parent ambassadors - some other schools should take note of this fantastic idea.
And on that note, closing an ancient thread that was revived