My child very recently expressed an interest in going to boarding school for 10th grade so we are playing catch up and trying to become more knowledgeable quickly. We are considering Episcopal High School. My daughter is very strong academically (top test scores and grades although not super organized), a good athlete but not a great one, social but not a good self-starter. How good a school is EHS and is it very sports oriented? How hard would it be to come in as a 10th grader? Any feedback would be most appreciated.
@i70sband has two kids at EHS and is a big champion of this great school. I’m sure he’ll chime in. In the meantime, check out this thread he started in 2013 and continues with today:
We have found EHS to be a very pleasant community. As for whether it is sports oriented, I would label it sports-interested but not sports-obsessed. My son tells me that incoming Sophomores – girls and boys – are welcomed warmly and they seem to acclimate very quickly. Best of luck in your decision making.
EHS is the only major boarding school that offers year-round varsity (and junior varsity) rock climbing team. Also, I have recently learned that it has two Ceramics teachers who studied at Alfred, which is the undisputed #1 in Ceramic in the U.S.
Thank you for the very helpful replies - much appreciated! A few follow up questions - how rigorous are the academics? What’s the boy/girl ratio? And how tough is it to make the boys lacrosse team? Many thanks!
It’s tough to quantify the rigorousness of academics because every kid will have their own perspective, but our son has found the workload doable. They don’t have Saturday classes, so the weekends are a nice time to catch up on relaxation and/or homework. The EHS admissions team/process seems to do a good job in ensuring the kids that are accepted are capable of the work required, and the teachers are very engaged and would be happy to work with a student who wants additional challenges. As for boy/girl ration, it seems to be around 50/50 for most entering classes. EHS has Varsity & JV LAX teams – with a wide range of capability and experience – and we haven’t heard of cuts being made.
@jjje Sorry to chime in so late. The academics are top-rate, period. This is a result of a community of dedicated faculty and administration. Since approximately 90% live on campus along with 100% of the students, there is a special relationship that goes beyond the classroom, and further bonds on the athletic fields and dorms. Back to academics - DS is a senior this year and 1/3 of his class was accepted ED. I counted at least 10 kids that were accepted to HYPSM plus another 5-7 that were accepted to Ivies/top 10 schools. From acceptance to the most selective schools in the country, the EHS Class of '17 is having a banner year. Not only were the academics sufficient to allow these applicants to gain entry into the most competitive schools, but it appears College Counseling did an outstanding job in matching students with first choice schools. In the past 85-90% of the students went to their first/second choice. This year, it may be higher. Good luck with your DC.