Boston Area Prep School for a Boy

Periwinkle
Sat, 31 Jul 2010 13:54:36 +0000

Do you wish to send your son to an all-boys school, or would a coed school suffice? Some of the best known preps in the Boston area begin in 7th grade.

Belmont Hill and Roxbury Latin begin in 7th grade. Noble & Greenough begins in 7th grade as well, but Nobles (as it’s known) is coed. The Groton School begins in 8th grade, and is also coed.

Some schools begin in earlier grades, then add students in later grades. Buckingham Browne and Nichols (coed) begins in “beginner” (before 1st grade), and continues through 12th grade. They do add students in other grades.

Milton Academy is coed, and k-12. Brimmer & May is coed, also k-12, I believe. All of the schools which begin in earlier grades add students along the way, either at planned entry points, or to fill spots which open up. If your son is a strong student, his chances will be higher, particularly in the later grades. Sometimes, schools are looking to fill spots with students who are similar to those who left. It’s not a reflection on your son, just a question of balancing their classes.

Are you looking for a school which is also a high school? You could also try some of the local pre-preps, which end in 8th or 9th grade. For boys, there’s the Fenn School, and Fessenden. Fay School, in Southborough, is coed. Both Fessenden and Fay are day/boarding schools. The Pike School (coed) is in Andover. The Sage School (coed) is in Foxboro. It is a school for the gifted, and (if I recall correctly) places students into levels by ability/achievement, rather than age.

It depends in great measure upon where you plan to live. If you live close to Boston, you must keep rush hour in mind. In general, it is easier to head west (i.e., away from Boston) in the morning and east in the evening than the other way around.

I second nemom’s advice to visit many schools. The schools I’ve listed are top-knotch, but difficult to get into. (apologies to any school I’ve overlooked.) They all have different cultures, and your son is most likely to win admission at a school which fits him. The Association of Independent Schools in New England’s website has a search function: [Association of Independent Schools in New England](http://www.aisne.org/).

There are also the public schools. As you are relocating, you could rent in Boston and try to gain admission for your son to Boston Latin, a famous exam school. Admission is granted by exam. https://www.bls.org/podium/default.aspx?t=113760 The Lexington public schools and Newton public schools also have fine reputations. Lexington is particularly strong in math.