CA’s curriculum is challenging—and as vast as your interests.
This is a place where students love to learn, where creativity and trust are abundant natural resources, and where the history and literature of New England enrich us every day.
Concord Academy’s exceptional faculty inspires students to ask the right questions, not simply find the right answers. Our students benefit from the richness of human interaction through our small class sizes and close relationships. In class, teachers and students work in partnership as they explore an intense academic curriculum characterized by unrivaled elective choices for a school this size and unified by common skills development across ages and departments. CA students are encouraged to share, discuss, and dissent as they learn to think with analytical power, imagination, and creativity.
CA’s academic program is not one size fits all. Students can—and are encouraged to—discover their passions. Compose for a string quartet, study your own DNA, analyze the geometry of sacred art: These are all possible at CA. Many students also end their exploration with a self-designed, faculty-guided senior project. Here, learning is driven by the desire to do one’s best work, not by competition. Our mission is to inspire our students to become lifelong learners who grow into young adults with informed opinions, clear goals, and the confidence they need to leave their mark on the world.
At Concord Academy, we publish no class ranking system and award no academic prizes or honors. This practice sets us apart from many private high schools in Massachusetts, and we have long taken pride in the collaborative, creative, intellectually driven, and mutually supportive environment that is possible when students are free from the pressure to compete with one another.
Perhaps most valuable for CA students is the individualized attention that teachers give their work. At the midpoint and end of every semester, faculty members send comments to students and copies to their advisors and families, ensuring regular communication with our students’ networks of support.
We want students to begin their time at CA by pursuing intellectual curiosity broadly and stretching their creative muscles—to feel emboldened to take risks and discover new interests.
Courses of first-semester 9th graders are graded on a basis of pass or no credit. Additionally, only courses taken at CA after the 9th-grade year are included in the student’s grade point average (GPA). After that, grades are given at the end of each semester on a scale of A+ to D–; a failing grade (E) receives no credit. Courses that exceed the graduation requirements may be taken on a pass/no credit basis to encourage students to explore subjects they might otherwise not expect to study.
Major courses in the curriculum receive 3 credits per semester and meet three times per week. Minor courses receive ½, 1, or 2 credits per semester and require proportionately less time in meetings and preparation. The minimum semester commitment is 14 credits with four majors. A moderate semester load is 16 or 17 credits, including four or five majors. Taking six majors requires permission from the director of studies. In some instances, students may audit courses if space allows.
We believe that moving your body is a critical component of a CA education. So too is participating in curricular activities that enhance the academic experience and strengthen the community, which is why students are required to participate in curricular offerings each academic year.
Students can select from our many athletic offerings, dance classes, the fall and/or winter mainstage theatrical production, or the community service program to meet the curricular graduation requirement. Students in 9th and 10th grade participate in curricular offerings during all three seasons, while juniors and seniors may opt out for one season each year. In grades 9, 10, and 11, one additional health and wellness course per year is also required.
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Concord Academy has no class ranking system or academic awards or honors. We value the collaborative, creative, intellectually curious, and mutually supportive classroom environments we create that free students from the pressure to compete. What do we prioritize instead? Relationships and thoughtful attention to your work.
Students come to Concord Academy with different backgrounds and educational experiences. We know you’ll have a lot to adjust to, and we’re committed to scaffolding the transition with you. That’s why we have one-on-one advising, don’t grade students in a traditional way for their first semester, and have health and wellness resources readily available to you.