<p>What schools have good English literature programs? Strong writing programs and study abroad would be great too.</p>
<p>bump 10char</p>
<p>the Middlesex School is known for its VERY strong English program.</p>
<p>St. Andrew’s in Delaware has a strong English Department. There are outlets for writing beyond the course work, which emphasizes writing across all disciplines. As a smaller 100% residential community where everybody is needed to participate in multiple activities, the school does not encourage study abroad or otherwise absenting kids from the campus for whole terms. Definitely worth a look if English and tight community are on your radar, though.</p>
<p>Is it crazy of me to suggest that all of the schools commonly discussed here have strong English (and History) programs? </p>
<p>While my knowledge of schools is limited in terms of scope, I’ve always seen the real differentiators (academically speaking) between schools as more in the realm of science/math.</p>
<p>One possible differentiator in the non-math/science area are the schools that offer integrated humanities programs…where the history/english programs are sort of combined for the first few years. Pretty sure St. Paul’s (NH) takes this approach.</p>
<p>SevenDad, you’re not crazy–I was about to make the same comment!</p>
<p>All the established boarding schools we visited have strong writing programs. Students are expected to read a great deal and write frequently. Small, discussion-based classes help students hone their ideas. Teachers give good feedback on (frequent) writing assignments.</p>
<p>Some schools divide the English curriculum into electives, and others (St. Paul’s) combine English and history into a Humanities course. I think it’s more a matter of personal taste than “this is better than that.” </p>
<p>The Concord Review publishes high school history research papers. If you survey the list of essays published in The Concord Review, you can see how many of the best high school writers attend boarding schools: [Varsity</a> Academics | Home of the Concord Review, the National Writing Board, and the National History Club](<a href=“http://www.tcr.org/tcr/issues.htm]Varsity”>The Concord Review, Inc. - tcr/cfva.htm). For example, I’m sure the students hailing from “Lakeville, CT” attend Hotchkiss.</p>
<p>Yes, these are good points that had to be included. In an effort to further the “differentiation”, I would do better than my previous SAS post and mention another school I am familiar with, Peddie. Their guiding academic dean hails from St. Paul’s (as does the outgoing Head), and helped to establish a similarly minded “humanities” curriculum for the ninth grade (at least; check the curriculum online for tenth). The English department is strong, like at other top schools. Unlike SAS, the study abroad options are there. Some are externally run programs. The unique option is Peddie’s own Asian Studies program, which creates opportunities to do significant immersion work with partner schools in China and India.</p>
<p>haha. SevenDad & Periwinkle, you beat me to making the same remark. English lit is a fundamental subject-- I would expect all the top schools to have strong programs in all the fundamental subjects. </p>
<p>Now, if you are interested in some obscure subject, then that would be limited circle of schools.</p>
<p>How good’s the program at Andover?</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. I knew it would be a broad, since it’s a core subject. I just wanted to know if there was any school known particularly for the area. It’s something I really love, and I’m planning on majoring in it. I’m not very good at math and science, so I really don’t want an intensive math and science-based school.</p>
<p>I don’t really want to go to a GLADCHEMMS school. Not that I wouldn’t automatically discount a school just because it is a GLADCHEMMS school, but I’d prefer a smaller, lesser-known school. I’ll definitely look into St. Andrew’s, Peddie, and Middlesex. I’ve already ruled out St. Paul’s for various reasons. Thanks for the opinions!</p>
<p>All of the schools discussed on this forum have good English programs. Middlesex has a very rigorous program in the first three years, culminating in mandatory AP English for all juniors, who must take both AP Language and AP Literature [on which we averaged last year, as a school, a 4.2 and a 3.8, if memory serves me]. Seniors, as they’ve already taken both AP English examinations, go on to choose from a wide variety of English electives [I hope to take essay writing in the first semester and fiction in the second–I’m a rising senior!].</p>