Specialties
Imagine a place where it's cool to be smart, where kids from all walks of life and from all over the world collaborate with inspiring and dedicated teachers around oval Harkness tables. A place where ideas are heard and dreams become reality. Imagine a high school where you live 24/7 in a community that offers the challenges you crave and the support you need to be your best. Imagine a school where learning is fun.
Founded in 1781, Phillips Exeter is a coeducational boarding and day school an hour north of Boston, minutes from the seacoast. We value geographic, racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity.
Classes are discussion based with 12 students and 1 teacher gathered around an oval table sharing their ideas and opinions with each other. As a result, students are prepared for success at the country's most elite colleges and universities.
History
Established in 1781.
Among the many historical texts held in the Academy Archives, the most famous is the Deed of Gift -- the document, dated May 17, 1781, by which John and Elizabeth Phillips gave the assets that formed Phillips Exeter Academy. While written more than 200 years ago, it is still very much the foundation of the school. Every year at the assembly that opens the academic year, the principal of the Academy speaks about some aspect of the Deed of Gift.
Its most famous phrase, "goodness without knowledge is weak and feeble, yet knowledge without goodness is dangerous," is quoted frequently.
"The Academy shall ever be equally open," the Deed proclaims, "to youth of requisite qualification from every quarter." Though perhaps not what John Phillips intended, this phrase has led to the inclusive spirit of the Academy--its cultural, racial and socioeconomic diversity, and the democratic spirit that seems to be born anew each fall at the Harkness table and that influences everything we do here.
Meet the Manager: Tom H.
I invite you to explore Exeter through our website - www.exeter.edu.
Browse through the vibrant offerings of Exeter - from the many cultural events hosted on campus, to the hundreds of courses we offer, and on to the involved and experienced faculty. See what the lives of students are like. Read what the faculty have to say about all aspects of life at Exeter.
Whether it's English or mathematics, at Exeter we call all our classes Harkness classes and our teachers Harkness teachers. Harkness identifies a table you will find at the center of every class both literally and figuratively. Harkness tables are oval and seat a dozen students and a teacher, but they are much more than a place to sit. At the Harkness table classmates learn by discussing their thoughts and ideas rather than just by taking notes. Teachers are participants in the discussion, guiding students in significant ways without lecturing.
-- Principal Thomas E. Hassan