<pre><code> He is currently in 7th grade in a small private school in Southern NH. We are looking for a private high school, he will not be boarding. We are looking at Brooks, St John's Prep, Pingree, I know Brooks is the best known here, we have considered some of the other local day schools. We feel the Phillpi (Andover and Exeter) to be a reach and worry about the work load and pressure at those larger schools. Our public high school is a poor option and moving isn't an option.
He has a A-/B+ average between 6th grade and current 7th grade. He plays piano and is very good at saxophone and plays in various ensembles in both instruments. He is exceptional at math, taking extra math enrichment at a local math enrichment school. He plays baseball and is above average and could play on a high school team, I doubt he'd be a star on the team but he wouldn't be out of place. He has run cross country, and this year was on a FLL team that won their regionals and is on their way to states. He has been in CTY since 5th grade and does very well on standardized tests so I would anticipate his SSAT's to be in the high 80's to low 90's. He'll be taking the SAT's in January to keep his CTY eligibility.
@smullaney. I know kids at all three schools and all of the kids/families are very happy with their choice. After you visit all three your son may have a really good opinion of where he is most comfortable. Based on your description of your child - I’d say Pingree or Brooks over Prep. If you haven’t met the Pingree headmaster yet, he is phenomenal. He is relatively new and I think will be a tremendous asset to that school.
I would think his chances at all three would be very strong. Prep is, in my opinion, the least academically selective of the three but I’ve seen them turn down good students for poor students that were very good athletes in the major sports. The Prep has a lot of athletic and club offerings as you’d expect from a school with more than 1000 kids. The Prep will be significantly less expensive. Prep and Pingree (not sure about Brooks) offer merit scholarships. The Prep’s are smaller ($4-5K/year) but given to more kids. The Pingree award I’m familiar with is larger and given out to very few students (maybe just one).
I’m horrible with geography - but would Concord Academy be within commuting distance? Also, some of the Boston schools (Belmont Hill and Nobles) offer 5 day boarding, which might be a decent compromise. Both of those are fantastic schools - but maybe more/different than what you or your son are interested in.