Academics at AFS are dynamic, discovery-based explorations of both traditional subject areas and cutting-edge intellectual pursuits. Students learn by traditional methods: books, labs, exercises, discussions, research papers. But they also discover their intellectual capacities in the events and habits of their daily lives at AFS.
From their earliest years, students begin habits of inquiry and the life of the mind that will grow a
nd deepen as they mature. In the Lower School, the 4th grade Mold Symposium finds its equivalent in the Middle School science fair project and culminates in the Upper School classes with independent research projects, science fair competitions and, for some of our most advanced science students, Howard Hughes Research Fellowships at Fox Chase Cancer Center.
Likewise, reading and writing begin with foundational activities in Preschool and the early grades, and progress to the Fifth Grade Poetry Night. Middle School boasts its Author's Luncheon, where students engage in a lively round-table discussion. Upper School students have regular opportunities to meet with some of the leading literary figures of the day, including Paul Muldoon, Robert Pinsky, Marina Carr, Reginald McKnight, Terry Tempest Williams and Tim O'Brien.
We believe our academic program is one of the richest to be found in any independent school, and we are proud of what we offer our students and what they accomplish as they make their ways, year after year, through the hallways of AFS.
