@CaliMex, I do have a DS at Groton. He is in the same form as @stargirl3. As far as kids who thrive there, it’s a mix. There are kids who study all the time, kids who are athletic and kids who are more musically inclined. They can thrive in many areas. It has been said her time and time again. None of these schools are just looking for kids with perfect grades and 99 SSAT scores. So many parents and kids are surprised when their “perfect” grade kids don’t get into these schools. My DS didn’t have perfect grades or scores and was welcomed with open arms into the community. They are looking for lots of different types of kids in all the forms; including second.
As for Groton’s second form; my son didn’t come in that year, but I’ve seen a number of kids go through it. I think that in particular they are looking for kids who are more on the mature side. That’s why you see so many boys in that form who are repeats. I would say that a majority of the boys in second form are repeats. It’s pretty difficult to be living away from home at that age and they need to be careful when they accept a kid that they are really ready for it. We talked about it for my second son, but he didn’t think he was quite ready.
As far as the supplementary math, there are definitely levels at Groton. I think that the majority of incoming third formers are taking Geometry; very few are doing Algebra. It’s interesting to hear that school systems are slowing things down. I have an incoming sixth grader and at his school they just announced that they as well aren’t doing an advanced program for that grade. I assume, however, that they will begin in 7th so that the kids can get Algebra in before 9th. We have been very happy with the after school math program that we are doing for our younger kids. My son who isn’t as strong in math has found that his grades in middle school have soared because everything that they are doing has already been learned in Russian School. He went from a kid who had the low end scores to high As. For us, it has really been worth it. It’s a major time committment (2.5 hour classes once a week with about 2 hours of homework), but it is well worth it. We are still able to get them to two sports, but math class always comes first!