Brooks School

Brooks School was founded in 1926 by Endicott Peabody, the headmaster of Groton School at the time, and was named after Phillips Brooks (1835–1893), a well-known clergyman and author who spent summers in North Andover, Massachusetts, and briefly served as Bishop of Massachusetts in the Episcopal Church during the 1890s.

The school opened on September 29, 1927, with fourteen boys in the first and second forms (seventh and eighth grades), two masters, a headmaster and headmistress, and one dormitory. The school added one form (grade) each year thereafter until it comprised grades 7–12, denoted by the British educational notations, Forms I, II, III, IV, V and VI, respectively. Forms I and II (seventh and eighth grades) were later dropped.

Brooks School has had just four heads of school in over 80 years. The School's first headmaster, Frank D. Ashburn (a graduate of Groton School, Yale University and Columbia Law School), was appointed at the age of 25 and served for 46 years until his retirement in 1973. Ashburn was succeeded by H. Peter Aitken who served until 1986, when he was succeeded by Lawrence W. Becker. Becker, who stepped down in 2008, was succeeded by John R. Packard, previously the Dean of Faculty.

The school started admitting day students in the early 1950s and became co-educational in 1979. Today, the school enrolls 185 boys and 160 girls who come from many states and foreign countries. There has been a steady increase of students of color and of international students, and the school aspires to achieve gender equality. In addition, approximately 20 percent of students receive financial aid.

There are five boys dormitories: Peobody, Chace, Blake, Thorne, and Whitney. Chace is the newest of the dorms of was built in 2012. There are also five girls dorms: Hettinger West, Hettinger East, PBA, Merriman, and Gardner. Gardner and Merriman are both attached to the school building, making it easy for students to get to class in poor weather.

Brooks offers 21 AP courses in the following subjects listed below. In addition to AP's, student are also granted the option of applying for an independent study with the head of department.

• AP Art History
• AP Biology
• AP Calculus AB
• AP Calculus BC
• AP Chemistry
• AP Chinese
• AP Computer Science Principles
• AP English Literature
• AP Environmental Science
• AP European History
• AP French Language
• AP Latin: Virgil
• AP Microeconomics
• AP Spanish Language
• AP Physics C
• AP Spanish Language
• AP Spanish Literature
• AP Statistics
• AP United States History
• AP United States Government and Politics
• AP World History