<p>I heard some boarding schools have grades 9-12 plus a "post-graduate" year option. What is this?</p>
<p>it’s a 13th year of high school commonly used for students to gain an extra year of maturity, and further develop in an area that interests them. Most of the time I have heard of it, it has been used in reference to an athlete who is looking to improve in a wide range areas for entrance to college. However, it is not only athletes who PG, sometimes its kids who need an extra year between high school and college, and are looking to increase their academic standing, or to simply further challenge themselves.
A couple of people I know of are attending PG years at Taft, Choate, Northfield Mount Hermon, Berkshire, Loomis Chaffee, Avon Old Farms, Salisbury, and Exeter. A few are guys, a few are girls, all PGing for different reasons. Some are athletes, some again, are not.</p>