Phillips Academy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Phillips Academy Academia Phillipiana
Address
180 Main Street Andover , Massachusetts 01810 United States
Coordinates	42°38′50″N 71°07′54″W / 42.6473°N 71.1316°W / 42.6473; -71.1316
Information
School type	Private Independent College-preparatory Day Boarding
Motto	Latin: Non Sibi ("Not for Self") Latin: Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness
Established	1778; 247 years ago (1778)
Founder	Samuel Phillips Jr.
CEEB code	220030
NCES School ID	00603199
President	Amy Falls
Head of School	Raynard S. Kington
Teaching staff	232
Grades	9–12, PG
Gender	Co-educational
Enrollment	1,149 (2022-23)
• Boarding students	848
• Day students	282
Student to teacher ratio	7:1
Campus size	706 acres (3 km2)
Campus type	Suburban
Color(s)	Navy      White
Athletics conference	NEPSAC SSL
Mascot	Gunga, the gorilla
Team name	Big Blue
Rival	Phillips Exeter Academy
Accreditation	NEASC
Newspaper	The Phillipian
Yearbook	Pot Pourri
Endowment	$1.32 billion (June 2023)
Tuition	$69,600 (boarding) $53,950 (day)
Affiliations	ESA TSAO
Former pupils	Old Phillipians

Phillips Academy, also known as Andover, is a private high school for students in grades 9 through 12. It is located in Andover, Massachusetts, near Boston. Andover is a "college-preparatory" school, meaning it helps students get ready for college.

The school has about 1,150 students. Some students live at the school (boarding students), and others live nearby and come for the day (day students).

Andover was started in 1778, making it one of the oldest high schools in the United States. Many famous people have gone to Andover, including two U.S. presidents, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush. It has also educated Nobel Prize winners and people who have received the Medal of Honor.

Andover is a very hard school to get into. For the 2022–2023 school year, only about 9% of students who applied were accepted. Andover helps students pay for school if their families need it. They offer financial aid that covers 100% of a student's financial need. About 45% of Andover students get financial help.

History of Phillips Academy

How Andover Began

A view of Samuel Phillips Hall

Phillips Academy is the oldest school of its kind in the United States. It was founded in 1778 by Samuel Phillips Jr.. He was a local businessman who wanted to create a school to educate young people.

The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) made it hard for schools to operate. Phillips Academy helped fill this need. The school's founders were strong supporters of the American Revolution. For example, Samuel Phillips helped make gunpowder for the American army.

Important figures from the Revolution also had ties to the school. George Washington visited the academy in 1789 when he was president. Eight of his relatives later attended Andover. John Hancock signed the school's official founding papers. Paul Revere designed the school's seal.

Revere's design for the seal includes a beehive, crops, the sun, and two mottos. One motto is Non Sibi, which means "not for oneself." The other is Finis Origine Pendet, meaning "the end depends upon the beginning." Other school mottos include "Youth from Every Quarter" and "Knowledge and Goodness."

In 1828, a sister school called Abbot Academy was founded nearby. Abbot Academy was one of the first high schools for girls in New England. The two schools merged in 1973, making Phillips Academy co-educational (for both boys and girls).

The Andover–Exeter Rivalry

Phillips Academy has a long-standing rivalry with Phillips Exeter Academy. Exeter was founded three years later by Samuel Phillips' uncle, John Phillips.

Andover and Exeter sports teams have competed against each other since 1861. Their football teams have played almost every year since 1878. This makes the Andover-Exeter football game one of the oldest high school rivalries in the country.

For many years, Andover was closely connected to a religious seminary. This seminary was founded by people who had strong religious beliefs. Exeter was less focused on religion. Because of these differences, Andover students often went to Yale, while Exeter students often went to Harvard. Today, both Andover and Exeter are non-religious schools. The rivalry is now mostly about sports.

Growing as a College-Prep School

Student body, Phillips Andover, 1910

After a period of decline, Andover grew into one of the largest and wealthiest prep schools in the U.S. Leaders like Cecil Bancroft, Alfred Stearns, and Claude Fuess helped the school expand. They made the school's classes better to meet college expectations.

Andover became very good at sending its students to top colleges like Yale, Harvard, and Princeton. In 1931, 64% of students went to these schools, and in 1937, 74% did. The number of students also grew from 177 in 1877 to over 700 by 1937.

To improve the school, new dorms and modern classrooms were built. Much of this was paid for by Thomas Cochran, a banker who donated about $10 million (which would be about $181 million today). He wanted Andover to be "the most beautiful school in America."

Andover was one of the first New England boarding schools to accept Black students, starting in the 1850s. It also educated some of the first Chinese students in America through a special program.

Andover Today

Andover Battalion cadets training at the school in 1918.

After World War II, Andover continued to improve its classes and support its teachers. The school helped create the Advanced Placement (AP) program, which allows high school students to take college-level courses.

Andover also worked to make its campus more open to everyone. In the 1950s and 1960s, more Black students were admitted. In the early 1970s, students no longer had to attend religious services. In 1973, Phillips Academy became co-educational when it merged with Abbot Academy.

Raynard S. Kington became the Head of School in 2019. He used to be the president of Grinnell College. The school is overseen by a group of trustees, most of whom are former students.

Admissions and Students

How to Get In

Phillips Academy is one of the most selective boarding schools in the United States. This means it is very hard to get accepted. In 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic, only 9% of applicants were accepted.

Andover has a "need-blind admission" policy since 2007. This means that when they decide if a student can get in, they do not look at how much money the student's family has. Andover and Exeter are the only two co-ed prep schools in the U.S. that do this and also cover 100% of a student's financial need.

About one in eight Andover students has a parent who went to Andover. At least one in five students has a brother or sister who also went to Andover.

Who Goes to Andover?

Andover has a student body that is more diverse than the state of Massachusetts. The school reports that 59% of its students identify as people of color.

In the 2021–2022 school year, 36.5% of students were white, 33.0% were Asian, 10.2% were Black, and 10.5% were Hispanic. About 9.3% of students were multiracial.

Andover also has many international students, making up about 15% of the student body. Some students are U.S. citizens living abroad. About a quarter of the students live off campus in nearby towns.

Most Andover students come from families where at least one parent went to college. Many students also come from families with higher incomes. Politically, most students identify as liberal. Many students identify as agnostic or atheist, while others identify as Christian or Catholic. Some students also identify as Jewish.

Academics at Andover

What Students Learn

Gelb Science Center was opened in 2004.

Phillips Academy uses a "trimester program." This means the school year is divided into three terms, each lasting about ten weeks.

Andover has 232 teachers and a student-to-teacher ratio of 7:1. The average class size is 13 students. This allows the school to offer over 300 different courses. Students can also do independent research with a teacher's guidance.

Even though Andover helped create the Advanced Placement (AP) program, the school has focused less on AP classes recently. They want to keep their classes flexible and unique.

Andover does not rank its students. They use a 6.0 grading scale instead of the usual 4.0 scale. A 6 is an excellent grade, a 5 is an honors grade, and a 2 is a passing grade. In March 2023, the average GPA for students was 5.41.

Andover also has a five-week summer program for about 600 students entering grades 8-12. This program has been running since 1942.

Test Scores

Andover does not share its students' standardized test scores publicly. This is because many colleges now allow students to apply without submitting test scores. For the Class of 2019, the average combined SAT score was 1460. The average combined ACT score was 31.1.

Grade Levels

In the 2022–23 school year, Andover had 1,149 students. They are called:

• "Juniors" (freshmen, grade 9): 214 students
• "Lowers" (sophomores, grade 10): 276 students
• "Uppers" (juniors, grade 11): 311 students
• "Seniors" and "PGs" (seniors and postgraduates, grade 12 and beyond): 348 students

Andover's Campus and Buildings

Academy Hill Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Phillips Academy Memorial Bell Tower
Location	Andover, Massachusetts
Built	1780
Architect	Multiple
Architectural style	Mid 19th Century Revival, Other, Federal
MPS	Town of Andover MRA
NRHP reference No.	82000475
Added to NRHP	October 7, 1982

Andover's old campus core.

The main part of Phillips Academy's campus is a historic district. It includes buildings from Phillips Academy, Abbot Academy, and the Andover Theological Seminary.

In the 1920s and 1930s, many new buildings were added. These included the main office building, library, dining hall, art gallery, chapel, math building, and dorms. Many buildings are named after famous Americans, some of whom attended Andover.

Parts of Andover's campus were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. He also designed Central Park in New York City. Olmsted and his team advised Andover on campus design for 50 years.

Important Academic Buildings

• George Washington Hall holds the school's main offices. It also has the Drama and Art Departments, the school post office, and a lounge for day students. It was built in 1926.
• Bulfinch Hall is home to the English Department. It was built in 1819.
• Pearson Hall houses the Classics Department. It was built in 1817 and used to be a chapel.
• Morse Hall is where the Math Department is located. It also has the student radio station and some student publications. It is named after Samuel Morse, who invented the telegraph and Morse code.
• Gelb Science Center holds the Science Department and an observatory. It opened in 2004.
• Oliver Wendell Holmes Library (OWHL) has over 80,000 books and classrooms. It was built in 1929 and has been updated over the years. It has a quiet study room and a "makerspace" for creative projects.

Student Facilities

Visitors by the American elm in front of the library.

• Cochran Chapel is used for religious services and houses departments like philosophy and community service.
• Paresky Commons is the dining hall. It was built in 1930 and was renovated in 2007.
• Cochran Wildlife Sanctuary is a 65-acre area with a "Log Cabin." Student groups use the cabin for meetings and sleepovers.
• Rebecca M. Sykes Wellness Center provides health services for students.
• Andover has two large athletic centers: the Snyder Center and the Pan Athletic Center.

Western dormitory quadrangle ("West Quad").

The school's dormitories (student housing) vary in size, from small houses with four students to larger ones with 40. They are grouped into five "clusters," each with about 220 students and 40 teachers. Many social events happen within these clusters.

Some dorms have historical names. America House is where the song America was written. Stowe House is where writer Harriet Beecher Stowe (who wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin) lived.

The academy also runs the Andover Inn, a hotel with 30 guest rooms.

Museums at Andover

Addison Gallery of American Art

Winslow Homer's Eight Bells

The Addison Gallery of American Art is an art museum on campus. It was donated by Thomas Cochran. The museum is open to the public. It was renovated and expanded from 2008 to 2010.

The gallery has a large collection of American art. This includes famous paintings like Winslow Homer's Eight Bells. It also has works by artists such as Edward Hopper and Georgia O'Keeffe. The museum also features American photography and old furniture. The gallery often has new exhibits.

Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology

The Robert S. Peabody Institute of Archaeology was founded in 1901. It is one of the most important collections of Native American archaeological items in the country.

This museum is mainly for researchers, schools, and visitors who make an appointment. Its collection includes items from different parts of North America and the Arctic. These items range from over 10,000 years ago to the present day. The museum has worked to return Native American remains and cultural items to their tribes, as required by law.

Student Activities

Phillips Academy offers many extracurricular activities. These include music groups, a school newspaper, an internet radio station, and a debate club.

Andover's weekly student newspaper, The Phillipian, says it has been publishing since 1857. This would make it the oldest high school newspaper in the U.S. The newspaper is run entirely by students and is not censored.

The Philomathean Society is the second-oldest high school debating club in the nation.

Andover students also run the Phillips Academy Poll. This is the first public opinion poll done by high school students. In 2022, the poll was featured by news outlets after it released results for the midterm elections.

Sports at Andover

Athletic History

An Andover crew races on the Merrimack River.

Sports have always been a big part of Phillips Academy. As early as 1805, students played a form of "football." Andover played in one of the first high school football games in 1875. In 1903, the school created an athletics department with the goal of "Athletics for All."

Andover football team posing for the school newspaper in 1883.

Today, Andover is a strong athletic school among New England private schools. Andover teams have won over 110 New England championships in the last 30 years. Some teams, like the boys' crew, have even competed internationally.

Andover is part of the Six Schools League and the Eight Schools Athletic Council. Its teams compete in playoffs organized by the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council.

Sports Offered

Andover offers 29 different sports teams that compete against other schools. It also has 44 programs for learning or playing sports just for fun. These include fencing, tai chi, figure skating, and yoga.

Fall Sports

Winter Sports

Spring Sports

School Finances

Money and Costs

As of June 30, 2023, Phillips Academy had an endowment of $1.32 billion. An endowment is a large sum of money invested to support the school's operations.

From 2017 to 2023, the school had a very successful fundraising campaign. They raised $408.9 million. Over $103 million of this money went to financial aid for students. Another $121 million was used to improve school buildings, like dorms, the library, and sports facilities.

Tuition and Financial Aid

For the 2023–24 school year, it cost $69,600 for boarding students (who live at the school). For day students (who live at home), it cost $53,950.

Andover has a "need-blind admission" policy. This means that a student's family income does not affect their chances of being accepted. The school also promises to meet 100% of a student's financial need. This means if a family cannot afford the full tuition, the school will provide financial aid to cover the difference. About 45% of Andover students receive financial aid.

The cost of tuition at Phillips Academy has increased over the years. In the 2018–19 school year, it was already one of the most expensive boarding schools in the world.

Famous People Who Went to Andover

Andover has educated many notable people. These include two U.S. presidents, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush. It has also had a Supreme Court justice, six Medal of Honor recipients, and five Nobel laureates. This makes it one of only four high schools in the world with five or more Nobel Prize winners.

Andover alumni have also won Tony, Grammy, Emmy, and Academy Awards. Many billionaires have also attended Andover, including venture capitalist Tim Draper and media heir Lachlan Murdoch.

Images for kids

• 

  President George H. W. Bush

• 

  President George W. Bush

• 

  Josiah Quincy III

• 

  Edgar Rice Burroughs

• 

  Jessica Livingston

• 

  Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

• FLOlmsted.jpg

  Frederick Law Olmsted

• 

  Humphrey Bogart

• 

  Jack Lemmon

• 

  Bill Belichick

• 

  Lachlan Murdoch

See also

In Spanish: Phillips Academy para niños

• Abbot Academy
• List of Phillips Academy Heads of School
• List of Phillips Academy alumni