Phillips Exeter Academy

Coordinates: 42°58′48″N 70°57′04″W / 42.98°N 70.95111°W / 42.98; -70.95111

Phillips Exeter Academy
Non Sibi Finis Origine Pendet Χάριτι Θεοῦ
Location
Exeter, New Hampshire, USA
Information
Type	Independent School, boarding
Religious affiliation(s)	none
Established	1781
Principal	Thomas Hassan
Faculty	203
Enrollment	1,050 total 846 boarding 204 day
Average class size	12 students
Student to teacher ratio	5:1
Campus	Town, 619 acres (2.51 km2) 127 buildings
Athletics	20 Interscholastic sports 60 Interscholastic teams
Mascot	Lion Rampant
Average SAT scores	694 verbal 705 math 690 writing  (2008)
Endowment	$850 million[1]
Annual tuition	$41,800[2]
Website	www.exeter.edu

Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.^[3]

Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking questions and creating discussions.^[4] The school also differs from conventional public U.S. high schools which do not charge tuition, maintain open admissions, do not provide on campus housing and are owned and managed by independent school districts and municipal and state governments. Furthermore Philips Exeter Academy is an independent school and operates with a greater autonomy than most other American private schools which are parochial.

Phillips Exeter Academy students and alumni who call themselves "Exonians," as well as faculty and staff often refer to the school as "Exeter" or PEA.

History

Origins

John Phillips, the founder of Phillips Exeter Academy

Phillips Exeter Academy was established in 1781 by merchant John Phillips and his wife Elizabeth. The school was to educate students under a Calvinist religious framework. Phillips was previously married to Sarah Gilman, wealthy widow of Phillips's cousin, merchant Nathaniel Gilman,^[5] whose large fortune, bequeathed to Phillips, enabled him to endow the Academy.^[6] The Gilman family also donated to the Academy much of the land on which it stands, including the initial 1793 grant by New Hampshire Governor John Taylor Gilman of the Yard, the oldest part of campus; the academy's first class in 1783 boasted seven Gilmans.^[7][8] In 1814, Nicholas Gilman, signer of the U.S. Constitution, left $1,000 to Exeter to teach "sacred music."^[9]

John Phillips was also the uncle of Samuel Phillips, Jr., who had founded Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, in 1778. As a result of this family relationship, the two schools also share an academic rivalry to match their athletic one.^[4][10]

Exeter's Deed of Gift, written by John Phillips at the founding of the school, emphasizes that Exeter's mission is to instill in its students both goodness and knowledge:

First Academy Building c. 1910, where the school opened in 1783

Above all, it is expected that the attention of instructors to the disposition of the minds and morals of the youth under their charge will exceed every other care; well considering that though goodness without knowledge is weak and feeble, yet knowledge without goodness is dangerous, and that both united form the noblest character, and lay the surest foundation of usefulness to mankind.^[4][10]

At the opening assembly of every school year, the Principal of the Academy speaks on the subject of the Deed of Gift and its continuing relevance. In this same spirit, the greatest responsibilities to which the faculty and administration hold the students accountable are those of honesty and academic diligence.

In 1859, authors Austin J. Coolidge and John B. Mansfield wrote of Exeter's graduates:

"Such a galaxy of names as appear upon the catalogue of this institution will not, perhaps, be found in connection with any other academy on this continent."^[11]

Edward S. Harkness, benefactor

The Harkness gift

On April 9, 1930, philanthropist and oil magnate Edward Harkness wrote to Exeter Principal Lewis Perry regarding how a substantial donation that Harkness would make to the Academy might be used to fund a new way of teaching and learning:

What I have in mind is a classroom where students could sit around a table with a teacher who would talk with them and instruct them by a sort of tutorial or conference method, where each student would feel encouraged to speak up. This would be a real revolution in methods.

The result was Harkness teaching, in which a teacher and a group of students work together, exchanging ideas and information, similar to the Socratic method. In November 1930 Harkness gave Exeter $5.8 million to support this initiative. Since then, the Academy's principal mode of instruction has been by discussion, "seminar style," around an oval table known as the Harkness table.

Coeducation

The Academy became coeducational in 1970 when 39 girls began attending.^[12] Today the student body is roughly half boys and half girls.

In 1996, to reflect the Academy's coeducational status, a new gender-inclusive Latin inscription Hic Quaerite Pueri Puellaeque Virtutem et Scientiam ("Here, boys and girls, seek goodness and knowledge") was added over the main entrance to the Academy Building. This new inscription augments the original one – Huc Venite, Pueri, ut Viri Sitis ("Come hither boys so that ye may become men").

Academics

Classes at Exeter are held Monday through Saturday, although Wednesday and Saturday are half days. Exeter uses an 11-point grading system, in which an A is worth 11 points and an E is worth 0 points. Exeter has a student-to-teacher ratio of 5:1. A majority of the faculty have advanced degrees in their fields.^[13]

Students are required to take courses in the arts, classical or modern languages, computer science, English, health & human development, history, mathematics, religion, and science. Most students obtain an English diploma, but students who specialize in Latin and Ancient Greek can obtain a classical diploma.

There is a long tradition of prizes, usually allotted at the Prize Day assembly. Exceptions are Graduation Day awards, the Lamont Young Poet Award, and national awards.

Harkness teaching method

Most classes at Exeter are taught around Harkness tables. No classrooms have rows of chairs, and lectures are virtually nonexistent.

Over time, the Harkness method has made learning at Exeter both active and student-centered. For example, Exeter does not teach math with traditional textbooks. Instead, math teachers assign problems from workbooks that have been written collectively by the Academy's math department. From these custom workbooks, students are assigned word problems as homework. In class, students then present their solutions at the blackboard. This means that in math class at Exeter, students are not given theorems, model problems, or principles beforehand. Instead, theorems and principles emerge more organically, as students work through the word problems.

The completion of the Phelps Science Center in 2001 meant that all science classes, which previously had been taught in more conventional classrooms, could also be conducted around the same Harkness tables.

Classes at Exeter are small, with only 8–12 students in each class. Small class sizes, and the Harkness tables, encourage all students to participate. These Harkness classes feature heavily in Exeter's identity and its day-to-day life. "There are no corners to hide behind."^{[citation needed]}

Elements of the Harkness method, including the Harkness table, can now be found at academic institutions across the globe.

Notable faculty

• Instructor in History Michael Golay, historian and author
• Instructor in English Todd Hearon, poet
• Instructor in Mathematics Zuming Feng, U.S. International Mathematical Olympiad Program team coach from 1997 to 2006^[14]
• Instructor in Mathematics Gwynneth Coogan, former Olympic athlete
• Instructor in Classical Languages Richard Morante (deceased 2008)

Off-campus study

Exeter's tenth Principal, Richard Ward Day, believed in the value of students studying outside Exeter, and broadening their experience and education in this way. During Day's tenure, the Washington Intern Program and the Foreign Studies Program began.

The academy currently sponsors trimester-long foreign study programs in Stratford, England; Grenoble, France; St. Petersburg, Russia; Cape Eleuthera, Bahamas; Göttingen, Germany; Ballytobin, Ireland; Taichung, Taiwan; and San Fernando, Spain; as well as school-year abroad programs in Beijing, China; Rennes, France; Viterbo, Italy; and Zaragoza, Spain. The academy also offers foreign language summer programs in France, Japan, Spain, and Taiwan.

Exeter offers the Washington Intern Program, where students intern in the office of a senator or congressional representative. Exeter also participates in the Milton Academy Mountain School program, which allows students to study in a small rural setting in Vershire, Vermont.

Matriculation

Originally, Exeter was effectively a preparatory school for Harvard, much as its archrival Phillips Academy was seen as a Yale feeder school. But today neither is true: Exonians matriculate to many top universities across America and abroad. Averaged over many years, more Exeter students go to Harvard than to any other single college or university, but the number matriculating to Harvard in a single year is not always the highest.^[15]

Members of the classes of 2007–2009 most frequently enrolled at Harvard, Georgetown, Princeton, Yale, Cornell, and Dartmouth.^[16]

Student body

The Academy claims a tradition of democracy and diversity.

During the Civil War, three white students from Kentucky confronted the then-principal Gideon Lane Soule over the presence of an African-American student at Exeter. When they demanded that the black student be expelled on account of his color, Soule replied, "The boy is to stay; you may do as you please."

1909 advertisement for the school

One of Exeter's unofficial mottoes – "Youth from Every Quarter" – is taken from the Deed of Gift, and is widely quoted and emphasized in the introductory course for freshmen in the fall. This phrase has also guided the Academy's admissions policies. Exeter's longtime Director of Scholarships H. Hamilton "Hammy" Bissell (1929) worked for decades to enable qualified students from all over the U.S. to attend Exeter.^[17]

Currently, the Exeter student body includes students from 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and 26 countries. Students of non-European descent comprise 38% of the student body (Asian 24%, Black 8%, Hispanic/Latino 6%, Native American 0.4%). Legacy students account for 13% of the students. Of new students entering in 2006 (a total of 345), 54% attended public school and 46% attended private, parochial, military, home, or foreign schools.^[4]

Most Exeter students – 81 percent – live on campus in dormitories or houses. The remaining 19 percent of the student body are day students from the surrounding communities.

The Academy uses a unique designation for its grade levels. Entering first-year students are called Juniors (nicknamed "Preps"), second-years students are Lower Middlers ("Lowers"), third-year students are Upper Middlers ("Uppers"), and fourth-year students are Seniors. Exeter also admits postgraduate students ("PGs").^[4]

Finances

Tuition and financial aid

Tuition to Exeter for the 2009–2010 school year is $41,800 for boarding students and $32,470 for day students. In addition, each student will spend an estimated $850 for books. Mandatory fees are $720 for boarding students and $300 for day students. There are also optional fees of $1,213 and $684, respectively, for discretionary services.^[18]

Exeter offers needs-based financial aid. Since 2008, students whose family income is $75,000 or less have received a free education, including tuition, room and board, travel, a laptop, and other miscellaneous expenses;^[19] many families earning up to $200,000 receive partial assistance. Since 2007, financial aid has been entirely in the form of grants that do not need to be repaid.^[19] From 2004–2008, Exeter admissions was effectively needs-blind, but in 2008, the school announced that the decline in its endowment forced it to suspend that policy.^[20]

A previous President of the Academy's Trustees, Charles T. 'Chuck' Harris III, a former Goldman Sachs managing partner, attended Exeter on full scholarship. "Everything I am is a result of that experience," Harris has said of financial aid, "and I'd like to think there's some opportunity like that for every kid in the world."^[21]

Endowment

Exeter's endowment as of 5 October 2007 was $1 billion,^[22] but due to the recent economic downturn, has since fallen 21.8%. This is the third-highest endowment of any American secondary school, behind the $9.0 billion endowment of Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii,^[23] and the $7.8 billion of the Milton Hershey School in Pennsylvania. Due largely to the successful investments of the school and gifts from wealthy alumni, this school has an endowment of over $1 million per student.^[24]

According to The New York Times, Exeter devotes an average of $63,500 annually to each of its students, an amount well above the 2007-8 annual tuition of $36,500.^[24] This money is spent on, operating expenses, small classes (with a typical student-teacher ratio of no more than 12 to one), computers for students, financial aid, and Exeter's facilities, which include two swimming pools, two hockey rinks, and the largest secondary-school library in the world. Exeter also has a high-quality cafeteria, which serves such fare as made-to-order omelets for breakfast.^[24]

Campus facilities

The Academy Building

The Class of 1945 Library

Academic facilities

• The iconic Academy Building is actually the fourth such building. It was built in 1914 after a devastating fire ruined the third. The Academy Building was designed by Ralph Adams Cram of Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson, and houses the History, Math, Religion and Classical Languages departments, along with a small but significant archaeology/ anthropology museum. Two wings were added to the original structure during a building boom in the 1920s and 1930s that was orchestrated by Principal Lewis Perry. The Academy Building also houses the Assembly Hall (formerly known as the Chapel). In former times, non-denominational, Christian religious services were conducted in the Chapel every morning Monday through Saturday before the beginning of classes, and attendance was mandatory for all students in keeping with the wishes of the founders of the academy. The bell (visible in the photo of the Academy Building tower) was rung in a succession of rings to call the student body to worship: Ones, Twos, Threes, Fours and Fives. After Fives were rung, monitors would begin walking down the rows checking attendance on the benches. The bell continues to be rung to mark the end of classes.
• Equally iconic is the Class of 1945 Library, a famous modern library designed by Louis Kahn. The library has a shelf capacity of 250,000 volumes, and as of 2009 housed 162,000 volumes. This library is the largest secondary-school library in the world.^[25] When it opened, Ada Louise Huxtable, architecture critic for the New York Times, hailed the Exeter library as a "serene, distinguished structure of considerable beauty." She said that the library's central space "breaks on the viewer with breathtaking drama." The headline of her review called the Exeter library a "stunning paean to books."
• Phillips Hall is home to the English and Modern Languages Departments. On the first floor of Phillips Hall is the Elting Room (where the faculty meets). The fifth floor is entirely devoted to the Daniel Webster Debate Room, and serves as the Phillips Exeter Debate Team meeting place. Phillips Hall was built in 1932 during the tenure of principal Lewis Perry. The Harkness gift funded the building, and its classrooms were designed for the Harkness tables.
• Phelps Science Center was designed by Centerbrook Architects. The center provides laboratory and classroom space. In 2004 it received the American Institute of Architects New Hampshire's Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture.
• Fisher Theater is home to the Drama Department, Shakespeare Society, and the Dramatic Association (DRAMAT). It includes a 100-seat blackbox theater and a 225-seat main stage.
• Forrestal Bowld Music Center houses the Music Department, the Music Library, three rehearsal halls, several faculty offices, and dozens of rehearsal rooms.
• Mayer Art Center is home to the Art Department and the Lamont Art Gallery. It was constructed in 1903 as Alumni Hall.

Athletic facilities

• The George H. Love Gymnasium was built in 1969. It houses squash facilities with 10 international sized courts, one swimming pool, two basketball courts, a weight-training room, a sports-science lab, gym offices, two hockey rinks, locker rooms, and visiting team locker rooms.
• The Thompson Gymnasium was built in 1918 and was a gift of Colonel William Boyce Thompson (1890). It has a basketball court, a dance studio, one swimming pool, visiting team locker rooms, a cycling training room, and a media room.
• The Thompson Cage was built 1931 and was also a gift of Colonel William Boyce Thompson (1890). It is an indoor cage with two tracks; one has a wooden surface and the other a dirt surface. The open dirt surfaced floor is a multipurpose area. A wrestling room and gymnastics space are attached.
• Ralph Lovshin Track is an outdoor all-weather 400 m track named for the long-serving track coach Ralph Lovshin.
• The Plimpton Playing Fields are used for various outdoor sports. They are named in honor of alumnus and trustee George Arthur Plimpton, Class of 1873.
• Phelps Stadium is used for football, lacrosse and field hockey. It was converted into turf surface in 2006.
• William G. Saltonstall Boathouse is the center of crew on campus, on the Squamscott River. It is named for the academy's ninth principal.
• Amos Alonzo Stagg Baseball Diamond was named after alumnus Amos Alonzo Stagg.
• Hilliard Lacrosse Field
• Roger Nekton Championship Pool is named for the long-serving former swimming and water polo coach.
• 23 outdoor tennis courts
• Several miles of cross country and running trails
• Wrestling practice room^[26]

Other facilities

Phillips Church in 1911

View from the tower of Phillips Church in 1911, showing Alumni Hall (1903, now Mayer Art Center), and third Academy Building (1872–1914)

• Phelps Academy Center was opened in the spring of 2006. It is home to the grill, the post office, the Forum (a 300 person auditorium), and spaces for student clubs, including the PEAN (Phillips Exeter Annual, the student yearbook), The Exonian (Exeter's student newspaper, which is the oldest continuously running secondary school newspaper in the country),^[27] PEALife Magazine (PEAL), the Student Council, Student Activities, and WPEA (the student-run radio station).
• Phillips Church was originally built as the Second Parish Church in 1897 and was purchased by the Academy in 1922.^[28] The building was designed by Ralph Adams Cram. Although originally a church, the building now contains spaces for students of many faiths. It includes a Hindu shrine, a Muslim prayer room and ablutions fountain, a kosher kitchen, and a meditation room. Services that are particular to Phillips Church include Evening Prayer on Tuesday nights, Thursday Meditation, and Indaba—a religious open forum.
• Nathaniel Gilman House was built in 1740. The Gilman House is a large colonial white clapboard home with a gambrel roof hipped at one end, a leaded fanlight over the front door and a wide panelled entry hall.^[29] This home, as well as the Benjamin Clark Gilman House which is also owned by the Academy, were built for members of Exeter's Gilman family, who donated the Nathaniel Gilman House to the academy in 1905. The home now houses the academy's Alumni and Alumnae Affairs and Development Office.
• The Davis Center was designed by Ralph Adams Cram as the Davis Library. Today it houses the financial aid offices.

Dormitories

Abbot Hall

North Side

Boys

• Abbot Hall, 1855 – Named for the academy's second principal, Benjamin Abbot, it is distinguished by high ceilings, the product of two stories being taken away in 1972 and 1988 respectively and the interior being renovated.
• Soule Hall, 1894 – Named for the academy's third principal, Gideon Lane Soule. It is the only dormitory with spiral staircases, put in with the intention to decrease noise and increase order.^{[citation needed]}
• Peabody Hall, 1896 – Oliver Peabody, William Peabody
• Williams House, 1810
• Ewald Hall, 1969 – John Ewald
• Main Street Hall, 1969 – The donor of this dorm was anonymous, so it is named for the street it is located on.
• Dutch House
• Dow House

Girls

• Hoyt Hall, 1903 – Joseph Hoyt
• Merrill Hall, 1932 – Benjamin Merrill, gift of Edward Harkness
• Lamont Hall, 1932 – Thomas W. Lamont
• Wheelwright Hall, 1934 – Named for the town of Exeter's founder, John Wheelwright, it was part of a large building project started after the gift of Edward Harkness. It has a large common room.
• Langdell Hall – Christopher Langdell, gift of Edward Harkness
• Gould House
• Browning House

South Side

Boys

• Webster Hall, 1912 – Daniel Webster
• Cilley Hall, 1925 – Bradbury Cilley
• Wentworth Hall, 1925 – George Wentworth
• Knight House

Girls

• Dunbar Hall, 1908 – Charles Dunbar
• Amen Hall, 1925 – Harlan Amen
• Bancroft Hall, 1935 – George Bancroft, gift of Edward Harkness
• McConnell Hall, 1963 – Neil McConnell
• Moulton House
• Kirtland House

Athletics

Exeter has a history of highly competitive athletic teams. PEA first organized its PEA Baseball Club on October 19, 1859, and on September 6, 1875, Exeter had the first meeting of the Phillips Exeter Academy Athletic Association. Captains of all Exeter's athletic teams were awarded the right to display Exeter's "E" on their sweaters, along with a certificate from the Phillips Exeter Academy Athletic Association authenticating their rights in writing.^[4][10] The school's traditional rival is Phillips Academy (Andover), and the annual Exeter-Andover Football game has been played since 1878. The school is a member of the G20 Schools Group.

Students are required to participate in intramural or interscholastic athletic programs. The school offers 65 interscholastic teams at the varsity and junior varsity level as well as 27 intramural sports squads. Other various fitness classes are also offered.

Interscholastic sports

[30] Fall Boys cross country Girls cross country Football Field hockey Boys soccer Girls soccer Volleyball Boys water polo

Winter Boys basketball Girls basketball Boys ice hockey Girls ice hockey Boys squash Girls squash Boys swimming Boys diving Girls swimming Girls diving Track Wrestling

Spring Baseball Boys crew Girls crew Cycling Boys lacrosse Girls lacrosse Golf Softball Boys tennis Girls tennis Track Girls water polo

1903 football poster

Opponents

Exeter's main rival is Phillips Academy (Andover). The rivalry is America's earliest between preparatory schools. Exeter defeated Andover 12–1 in the first ever baseball game played between these two academies on May 2, 1878. Andover, in turn, defeated Exeter 22–0 in football on November 2, 1878. One of Exeter's most notable football games took place in 1913 with a 59–0 victory over Andover. Exeter and Andover have competed nearly every year in football since 1878; currently Andover leads in the number of games won.^[31]

Other athletic opponents include Belmont Hill School, Berwick Academy, Deerfield Academy, Northfield Mount Hermon, Brewster Academy, Choate Rosemary Hall, Groton School, The Governor's Academy, Loomis Chaffee, Tabor Academy, Milton Academy, Avon Old Farms, Worcester Academy, Cushing Academy, and various other northeastern prep and boarding schools.^[4]

Championships

The boys' water polo team has won twenty-two New England prep school championships. Until winter of 2008, boys' swimming had won 15 of the last 17 New England championships, placing runner-up both losing years. The cycling team is the defending champion. Wrestling has won the New England tournament 13 times as well.

Exeter is a fixture in New England championship tournaments in nearly all sports, missing the championship in both boys' and girls' soccer in 2005, and winning the New England Class A Championship in football in 2003 and 2009. In 2007, the boys' squash team finished second at the New England Division A Interscholastic Championship and fourth at the National High School Team Tournament. Both the men's and women's cross country teams have won the NEPSTA Championship multiple times in the past decade. The wrestling team has won more Class A and New England Prep School Wrestling Association titles than any other team, most recently winning the Class A tourney in 2007 and 2003 and the New England tourney in 2001. It has also crowned a National Prep Wrestling champion, Rei Tanaka, in 1990. Both the girls' and boys' ice hockey teams have won New England championships recently.^[4]

The boys' crew took first, fourth and fourth place at the U.S. Rowing Junior National Championships in 1996, 2002 and 2008 respectively. The girls' team took sixth place at the 2006 championships, fourth in 2007, third in 2008, and second in 2009. The boys' crew was the first organized sport at Exeter, and over its more than 100 years of competition has produced several Olympians, National Team members and numerous Division I rowers.

Student life

Student body, Phillips Exeter Academy, ca. 1903

Dress code

Exeter has a dress code. Boys are required to wear shirts and ties or turtlenecks. Girls are required to wear either a dress, skirt, or slacks with a blouse, turtleneck, sweater or collared shirt. The attire must be appropriate and reach finger-tip length. Jeans are allowed for both boys and girls. Dress code is only required in the classroom setting and Assembly.

Extra-curricular activities

The Academy has over 100 clubs listed. The number of functioning and reputable clubs fluctuates; several of the listed clubs on the website do not hold tables on Club Night. The Exonian is the school's weekly newspaper. It is the oldest continuously-running preparatory school newspaper in the United States, having begun publishing in 1878. Recently, The Exonian began online publication. Other long established clubs include ESSO, which focuses on social service outreach, and the PEAN, which is the academy's yearbook.

Exeter also has the oldest-surviving secondary school society, The Golden Branch (founded in 1818), a society for public speaking, inspired by PEA's Rhetorical Society of 1807–1820. Now known simply as "Debate Team", these groups served as America's first secondary school organization for oratory and prepared students for the communication skills required for success at Harvard University.^[32]

Residential life

Most students live in the dormitories. Each floor has a faculty member and a senior student proctor. There are check in hours of 8:00pm (for first and second year students), 9:00pm (for third years), and 10:00pm (for seniors) during the weekdays and 11:00pm on Saturday night.

Emblems

The Academy Seal

Exeter has two chief symbols: a seal depicting a river, sun and beehive, incorporating the academy's mottos; and the Lion Rampant. The seal has similarities to that used by Phillips Academy—an emblem designed by Paul Revere—and its imagery is Masonic in nature. A beehive often represented the industry and cooperation of a lodge or, in this case, the studies and united efforts of Academy students. The Lion Rampant is derived from the Phillips family's coat of arms, and suggests that all of the Academy's alumni are part of the "Exonian family".^[4]

Exeter has three mottoes on the Academy seal: Non Sibi (Latin 'Not for oneself') indicating a life based on community and duty; Finis origine pendet (Latin 'The end depends on the beginning') reflecting Exeter's emphasis on hard work as preparation for a fruitful adult life; and Χάριτι Θεοῦ (Greek 'By the grace of God') reflecting Exeter's Calvinist origins, of which the only remnant today is the school's requirement that most students take two courses in religion or philosophy.^[4]

School colors and the alumnus tie

There are several variants of school colors associated with Phillips Exeter Academy that range from crimson red and white to burgundy red and silver. Black is also a color associated with the school to a lesser extent. The official school colors are lively maroon and grey. The traditional school tie is a burgundy red tie with alternating diagonal silver stripes and silver lions rampant.

Notable alumni

Letter from President Abraham Lincoln to Mary Todd Lincoln, written from Exeter where Lincoln was visiting son Robert Todd Lincoln, then an Exeter student. March 1860

Main article: List of Phillips Exeter Academy alumni

Early alumni of Exeter include US Senator Daniel Webster (1796); US President Franklin Pierce (1820); Abraham Lincoln's son and 35th Secretary of War Robert Lincoln (1860); Ulysses S. Grant, Jr. (1870), Richard and Francis Cleveland;^[33] "grandfather of football" Amos Alonzo Stagg (1880); and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Booth Tarkington (1889). John Knowles, author of A Separate Peace and Peace Breaks Out, was a 1945 graduate; both novels are set at the fictional Devon School, which serves as an analog for his alma mater.

Exeter alumni pursue careers in various fields. Alumni noted for their work in government include Daniel Webster, Franklin Pierce, Lewis Cass, Judd Gregg, Jay Rockefeller, Kent Conrad, John Negroponte, Bobby Shriver and Robert Bauer. Those choosing military careers include historian George Bancroft and Charles C. Krulak. Authors George Plimpton, John Knowles, Gore Vidal, John Irving (whose stepfather taught at Exeter), Robert Anderson, Dan Brown (whose father taught at Exeter), Peter Benchley, James Agee, Chang-Rae Lee, Debby Herbenick and Roland Merullo attended the academy.

Other notable alumni include businessmen Joseph Coors, David Rockefeller, Jr., Pierre S. du Pont and Mark Zuckerberg; journalists Drew Pearson, Dwight Macdonald, James F. Hoge, Jr., Paul Klebnikov, Trish Regan, Suzy Welch and Sarah Lyall; actors Michael Cerveris, Jack Gilpin, and Alessandro Nivola; film director Howard Hawks; musicians Benmont Tench, China Forbes, Ketch Secor, Win Butler and William Butler; historians Robert Cowley and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.; baseball player Sam Fuld; educators Jared Sparks and Benno C. Schmidt, Jr.; and composer Adam Guettel.

Other academic programs

Summer school

Each summer, Phillips Exeter hosts over 700 students for a five-week program of academic study. The summer program accommodates a diverse student body typically derived from over 40 different states and dozens of foreign countries.

Exeter's summer school is divided into two programs of study: Upper School, which offers a wide variety of classes to students currently enrolled in high school who are entering grades ten through 12 as well as serving post graduates; and Access Exeter, a program for students entering grades eight and nine, which offers accelerated study in the arts, sciences and writing as well as serving as an introduction to the school itself. Access Exeter curriculum consists of six academic clusters; each cluster consists of three courses organized around a focused central theme. Some of Exeter's summer school programs also give students the opportunity to experience studies outside of Exeter's campus environment, including interactions with other top schools and students, experience with Washington D.C., and travel abroad.^[4]

Workshops

The Academy offers a number of workshops and conferences for secondary school educators. These include the Exeter Math Institute; the Exeter Humanities Institute; the Math, Science and Technology Conference; the Exeter Astronomy Conference; and the Shakespeare Conference.^[34]

The On Beyond Exeter program offers one week seminars for alumni. Most courses are held at the Academy but some meet in the locations central to the courses topic.

Historical endeavors

In 1952, Exeter, Andover, Lawrenceville, Harvard, Princeton and Yale published the study General Education in School and College: A Committee Report. The report recommended examinations that would place students after admission to college. This program evolved into the Advanced Placement Program.^{[35] [36]}

In 1965 Exeter became the second charter member (after Andover) of the School Year Abroad program.^[37] The program allows students to reside and study a foreign language abroad.

In popular culture

Certain works are based on Exeter and portray the lives of its students. Many are written by alumni who disguise Exeter's name, but not its character. Key works are listed below.

• A Separate Peace: This novel by John Knowles '45, is set at "Devon", a thinly-veiled fictionalization of Exeter, in the summer of 1942. The climactic scene of the novel is set in the Ralph Adams Cram-designed Chapel. A movie based on the novel was filmed on campus in 1972.
• A Prayer for Owen Meany: In this novel by John Irving '61, the protagonist/narrator, John Wheelwright (Irving lived with his parents in Wheelwright Hall and Wheelwright was the founder of the town of Exeter), and his best friend, Owen Meany, are both day students at Gravesend Academy, modeled after Exeter. Owen writes a popular column in The Grave (modeled after The Exonian) called "The Voice", which is critical of the school administration and the Vietnam war, among other topics. The book was later adapted for the movie Simon Birch, although Exeter is not addressed in the film.
• The World According to Garp: In this novel by John Irving, the protagonist/narrator, T.S. Garp, is the illegitimate, only child of Jenny Fields, the school nurse at "Steering School", Irving's fictionalized name for Exeter. Young Garp grows up in Steering's infirmary, eventually attending the school and joining its wrestling team. The book was adapted into a screenplay for the film of the same name, starring Robin Williams, Glenn Close, and featuring a cameo by the author as a wrestling referee.
• Tea and Sympathy: This play by Robert Anderson (later a movie as well) treats the inner struggles of an Exeter student.
• In Revere, in Those Days: A novel by Roland Merullo, this is about a boy who, instead of attending public school in his predominantly Italian town in Massachusetts, attends Exeter and plays hockey.
• Marvel Comics' Warren Worthington III, aka Angel, attended Exeter as a child; he eventually sets up a scholarship at the school for "mutant kids".^[38] Later, X-Terminators members Boom-Boom, Rictor, and Skids also attend the school (thanks to Worthington's scholarship), where they are tormented by the other students.^[38]

References

1. ^ "Phillips Exeter Academy's Endowment Falls 22%". The New York Times. February 10, 2009. http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/exeter-academys-endowment-falls-22/. Retrieved May 22, 2010. 
2. ^ Exeter Academy Tuition & Fees
3. ^ Communications Office, "Facts 2006–2007: Phillips Exeter Academy," Exeter 2006
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} "Phillips Exeter Academy – Home". http://www.exeter.edu/. Retrieved 2008-05-06. 
5. ^ Behind Every Successful Man, Connie Brown, The Exeter Bulletin, Summer 2005
6. ^ Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, Charles Henry Bell, William B. Morrill, Exeter, N.H., 1883
7. ^ New Hampshire: A Guide to the Granite State, Federal Writers Project, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1938
8. ^ General Catalogue of Officers and Students, 1783–1903, The Phillips Exeter Academy, News-Letter Press, Exeter, 1903
9. ^ Academy Chronology, Phillips Exeter Academy, exeter.edu/libraries
10. ^ ^{a b c} Echols, Edward (1970). The Phillips Exeter Academy, A Pictorial History. Exeter Press 
11. ^ Austin J. Coolidge & John B. Mansfield, A History and Description of New England, Boston 1859
12. ^ "Phillips Exeter Academy – Academy Chronology". http://www.exeter.edu/libraries/4513_4622.aspx. 
13. ^ "Phillips Exeter Academy – Academics". http://www.exeter.edu/academics/84.aspx. Retrieved 2008-05-06. 
14. ^ Brief Biography of Zuming Feng from the University of Texas at Dallas
15. ^ "Ten Schools Admission Organization". http://www.tenschools.org/members/. Retrieved 2008-05-06. 
16. ^ http://college.exeter.edu/published/newsletters/College%20Matriculation_2006-2008.html
17. ^ Boston Globe, Nov. 1998.
18. ^ Paying For Exeter
19. ^ ^{a b} Phillips Exeter Academy | Phillips Exeter Academy Is Free to Those With Need
20. ^ Julia Dean, "Economy Strains Exeter Financial Aid Budget", The Phillipian, April 24, 2009 in CXXXII no. 9 [1]
21. ^ Ex-Wall Street Executives Go to Bat to Help Nonprofits, The New York Times, August 3, 2007
22. ^ Communications Office, "Facts 2006–2007: Phillips Exeter Academy," Exeter, 2006.
23. ^ KS AR 2004-PDF prep 01.indd
24. ^ ^{a b c} Fabrikant, Geraldine (2008-01-26). "At Elite Prep Schools, College-Size Endowments". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/26/business/26prep.html?ex=1359090000&en=a3048da438b5a526&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink. Retrieved 2008-01-29 
25. ^ http://www.exeter.edu/libraries/4513_4520.aspx
26. ^ http://www.exeter.edu/athletics/3165_3229.aspx
27. ^ http://www.exeter.edu/student_life/85_520.aspx
28. ^ Aten, Carol Walker (2003). Postcards from Exeter. Portsmouth, NH : Arcadia. 
29. ^ New Hampshire: A Guide to the Granite State, Federal Writers' Project, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1938
30. ^ "Prospective Athletes". http://www.exeter.edu/athletics/3165_3227.aspx. Retrieved 2009-01-0. 
31. ^ "Phillips Exeter Academy – Academy Chronology". http://www.exeter.edu/libraries/4513_4622.aspx. Retrieved 2008-05-06. 
32. ^ (Echols 1970, p. 21)
33. ^ New Hampshire: A Guide to the Granite State, Federal Writers' Project, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1938
34. ^ "Summer Programs". http://www.exeter.edu/summer_programs/88.aspx. Retrieved 2009-01-0. 
35. ^ Stanley N. Katz. "The Liberal Arts in School and College". http://chronicle.com/free/v52/i27/27b04601.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-0. 
36. ^ "A Brief History of the Advanced Placement Program". http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/about/news_info/ap/ap_history_english.pdf. Retrieved 2009-01-0. 
37. ^ "A Brief History: Where did we come from?". http://www.sya.org/pages/sitepage.cfm?id=22&pagename=A%20Brief%20History%20of%20SYA. Retrieved 2009-01-0. 
38. ^ ^{a b} X-Terminators #1, written by Louise Simonson (Marvel Comics, October 1988), p. 11.

External links

	New Hampshire portal
	Schools portal

• Phillips Exeter Academy
• Chronology of Phillips Exeter Academy
• Chronology of John Phillips
• Phillips Exeter's "A Separate Peace" website
• Phillips Exeter Academy Crew website
• Official PEA Alumni/ae website
• Alumni/ae Website (Class of 1989)
• Phillips Exeter Academy on Placeopedia
• Donald Hall talking about Phillips Exeter Academy (video)
• Boarding School Review
• America's Best College Preparatory Boarding School Information