Academics

We offer a rigorous and relevant curriculum that is meaningful and engaging. Students receive individual focus, and teachers meet students where they are — the foundation for academic success.

Every programmatic decision is based on current research and experience about how girls learn, develop and thrive. Our maximum class size is 15 students.

In addition to core subject areas, all students are required to take one year of Latin and at least two years of an additional foreign language. Our rich and varied curriculum — which includes over 70 courses in the integrated humanities, science, math, language, and arts — is designed to move students beyond a mastery of fundamental skills toward the rewards of inquiry, initiative, and reflection.

Class periods are 80 minutes long, allowing for deeper learning and engagement. Students gain knowledge and acquire core competencies by grappling with complex questions that lead to sustained inquiry, critique and revision, and, ultimately, self-assessment and reflection. 

APH graduates are prepared for college and careers-and for life beyond academic walls.

Upon graduation, students have a clear understanding of who they are as learners, thinkers and as individuals.  Our students are critical thinkers, creative problem-solvers, effective communicators and meaningful collaborators.

See our Program of Study for a detailed overview of current course offerings and graduation requirements.

Experiential Learning

Our learning approach is dynamic and authentic, with real-world experiences that are student-driven.

Penguin Hall won the Schools Economics Challenge in 2017, with a video that explores the problem of the tragedy of the commons through fishing permits in the waters near Gloucester.

A project from the history elective “Out of the Shadows” resulted in students creating a headstone and honoring a slave named Lucy Foster, who lived in Andover and obtained her freedom at age 16.

Advisory

Advisory provides each girl with a dedicated source of academic and personal guidance daily.

Our students meet with their advisor and a small group of peers for approximately 15 minutes each day. During advisory, students are encouraged to share any challenges they may be facing in their classes or in their personal lives, and to seek guidance and support from a trusted adult mentor.

Advisors also act as a liaison between students, parents and faculty, providing an opportunity for parents to communicate openly. As advisors are often teachers, this daily point of contact with students also provides faculty with additional insight into what is happening in other classrooms and opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration with colleagues.