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George School

Graduation Requirements

Our requirements are designed to ensure that each George School graduate is well prepared both for college and for a lifetime of learning and service. They reflect our belief that students become creative, reflective, open, disciplined, productive, compassionate, and passionate adults by engaging in a broad range of learning opportunities, both in and out of the classroom, in the context of a spiritually grounded education.

They are designed to provide ample opportunity for students to develop the talents and interests of which they are aware and to discover and develop previously unrecognized ones. Finally, our requirements are designed to ensure that students will develop an appreciation for the many interconnected ways of knowing and being and will thus seek to integrate a wide range of perspectives on any issue.

Requirements by Class

Class of 2023

1. Each student must successfully complete 18 credits each year s/he is at George School. [1]

2. Each student who starts George School in 9th grade [2] is expected to:

  • Earn 12 credits in English
  • Earn 9 credits in the arts
  • Earn 9 credits in history (including 3 credits in US History)
  • Earn 9 credits in mathematics (including a geometry course and a second-year algebra course)
  • Earn 9 credits in religions, health, Theory of Knowledge
  • Earn 9 credits in science (including 3 credits in a physical science and 3 credits in a life science)
  • Reach 3rd-year proficiency in a language other than English [3]

A student who hopes to earn some of the credits listed above through an accredited course at another institution must seek pre-approval from the appropriate department head.

Exceptions

While we do not make exceptions to our expectations lightly, we recognize that there are cases when an exception to a requirement might make an important difference to the student’s education without compromising the standards represented by a George School diploma. In such cases, we will consider making an exception to one of the graduation requirements above.[4] A student requesting an exception should work with his or her advisor and parents to develop a proposal that will be considered by a group made up of the department heads committee and the director of college guidance. In general, proposals should only be related to a student’s junior or senior year program.[5]

3. Athletics, Physical Education, and Team Activity

George School promotes long term health and physical fitness by requiring students to participate in competitive sports and in physical education classes. View sports and physical education requirements by grade.

4. Service

Each student must successfully complete Co-op (campus service) assignments each term, averaging 1-1.5 hours per week.

Each student must successfully complete a domestic, international, or independent service project (totaling 65 hours) anytime after completing the sophomore year. George School will require a minimum of 25 hours of engaged activity in pursuit of the improvement of our society for the Class of 2022, given restrictions required during COVID.

Footnotes:

[1] A student finishing a year with fewer than 18 credits will need to make up the credits at a future time, usually by enrolling in a summer course at another institution. In addition, a student who fails a course must make up the failed credits at a future time, even if the student completed 18 credits successfully in that year or earned more than 18 credits in a previous year.

[2] New sophomores need 3 fewer credits at George School in each area. New juniors need 6 fewer credits at George School in each area. The language requirement is modified for the new junior who places into the first year of a language; s/he is required to achieve 2nd-year proficiency.

[3] This may be demonstrated either by passing a 3rd-year language course at George School or demonstrating proficiency on an exam administered by the language department. (Students whose schooling prior to 9th grade has been conducted in a language other than English are considered to have fulfilled this requirement.)

[4] This one exception is over the course of a student’s time at George School, not simply in a given year.

[5] In the case where educational testing indicates that study of a foreign language or some other discipline will be unusually difficult for a student, no written proposal is necessary and the decision to grant the exception will be made by the director of studies, the learning specialist, and the head of the appropriate department, in consultation with the student’s advisor and the registrar. The student would still be eligible to make a request for some other exception.

Class of 2024 and Beyond

George School’s graduation requirements are designed to ensure that students have broad liberal arts exposure in 9th and 10th grade as they:

  • Come to understand themselves as scholars, as young adults, and as individuals within the community
  • Gain exposure to potential new interests and a variety of ways of knowing.
  • Establish a strong foundation on which to build an 11th- and 12th-grade program specifically tailored to their interests.

Students are expected to earn 6 credits in each of the seven academic departments over the course of 9th and 10th grades.

Then, students must either:

  • Fulfill the requirements of the IB Diploma Program, or
  • Design their own 11th- and 12th-grade college preparatory program during which they earn at least 36 credits (not including sports and physical education), including at least 3 credits in Arts and at least 3 credits in Religions.

All students must also: