Phillips Academy

Revival as college-preparatory institution

After a period of decline, Cecil Bancroft (h. 1873–1901), Alfred Stearns (h. 1903–33), and Claude Fuess (h. 1933–48) led Andover through a long era of expansion that transformed Andover into one of the largest and richest prep schools in the United States. Bancroft improved Andover's academic reputation; he reformed the curriculum to the expectations of college presidents and visited the English public schools to learn about best practices in Europe. Aided by a "sink-or-swim" policy of expelling underperforming or undisciplined students, the academy was able to place a majority of its students at Yale, Harvard, or Princeton (64% in 1931 and 74% in 1937). Enrollment, which had fallen from 396 students in 1855 to 177 in 1877, rebounded to roughly 400 by 1901 and passed 700 in 1937.

To compete with newer, fully residential boarding schools, the headmasters built new on-campus housing and modernized the academic facilities, a process that took over a generation to complete. Shortly after taking over, Bancroft recognized that Andover's historical reliance on local families for student housing was hurting its reputation. By 1901 Andover provided housing for approximately one-third of boarders; by 1929 all boarders could finally live on campus. Much of this expansion was funded by banker Thomas Cochran '90, a partner at J. P. Morgan who had no children and wanted to make Andover "the most beautiful school in America." Cochran donated roughly $10 million to Andover (approximately $181 million in February 2024 dollars); for reference, when he died his estate was probated at $3 million. In 1928, as many as 15,000 people visited Andover's campus to hear President Calvin Coolidge deliver the keynote address at Andover's 150th anniversary celebration, a speech that Cochran had arranged.

During this period, Andover was a primarily white and Protestant institution, although its expanding scholarship program and occasional steps toward racial integration made it relatively diverse by New England boarding school standards. The share of scholarship boys steadily increased from 10% in 1901 to roughly 25% in 1944. Andover was one of the first New England boarding schools to accept black students, starting in the 1850s. However, it had just five black students when Bancroft died in 1901, and black representation actually declined under Bancroft's successors: only four African-Americans attended Andover between 1911 and 1934. The academy admitted more Jewish students but capped their numbers at roughly 5% of the student body. Andover was also one of the first American schools to educate Chinese students, participating in the 1872–1881 Chinese Educational Mission; one student, Liang Cheng, later became the Chinese ambassador to the United States.

In the 1930s, Andover participated in the International Schoolboy Fellowship, a cultural exchange program between U.S. boarding schools, British public schools, and Nazi boarding schools. As U.S.-Germany relations deteriorated, Andover terminated the arrangement in 1939 at the State Department's request. Following America's entry into World War II, over 3,000 Andover graduates participated in the war effort in some capacity, with 142 deaths.

Post-war to present

John Kemper (h. 1948–71) updated the curriculum and improved salaries and benefits for faculty members. Under his leadership, Andover co-authored a study on high school students' preparation for college coursework, which led to the creation of the Advanced Placement program. Although tightening academic standards at elite universities and increased competition from public schools caused Andover's college placement record to decline significantly during Kemper's administration—the proportion of graduates attending Yale, Harvard, or Princeton fell to 55% in 1953 and 33% in 1967—nearly every major boarding school endured similar declines during this period.

Like many other boarding school administrators, Kemper and his successors also sought to democratize the campus. Andover began to admit more black students in the 1950s and 1960s, but progress was slow; by 1978, 6% of the student body was black or Hispanic. Andover abolished secret societies in 1949, although one society still exists. It also abolished mandatory attendance at religious services in the early 1970s. Phillips Academy became co-educational in 1973, when it merged with its sister school Abbot Academy.

During this period, Andover also began coordinating policy with other large and wealthy secondary schools. In 1952, the Ten Schools Admission Organization began coordinating outreach to potential applicants and streamlining the admissions process. After Kemper's retirement, Andover became a founding member of the Eight Schools Association, an informal group of headmasters of large boarding schools that began meeting in the 1970s and formalized in 2006.

Raynard S. Kington has been Head of School since 2019. He was previously the president of Grinnell College in Iowa. The previous Head of School was law professor (and 1990 Exeter graduate) John Palfrey, who left Andover to take over the MacArthur Foundation. The academy is supervised by a board of trustees, all of whom are alumni except the Head of School. It is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.

On July 1, 2026 the school's trustees announced that alumnus Jim Ventre would take over as Head of School on July 1, 2027.

History

Athletic competition has long been a part of the Phillips Academy tradition. As early as 1805, some form of "football" was being played on campus; that year, Eliphalet Pearson's son Henry wrote that "I cannot write a long letter as I am very tired after having played at football all this afternoon." (The first game of what is now known as American football was played in 1869, and resembled association football more than gridiron football.) Andover participated in the first-ever high school football game, playing Adams Academy in 1875. The school organized an athletics department in 1903 with the objective of "Athletics for All".Today, Andover is an athletic powerhouse among New England private schools. Andover athletes have won over 110 New England championships in the last three decades. Some teams have even competed internationally; for example, the boys' crew has competed at England's Henley Royal Regatta.

Andover is not part of any formal athletic conference, but through its membership of the Eight Schools Association, it participates in certain ESA-specific athletic contests. In postseason play, Andover's teams compete in playoffs organized by the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council.

Bulfinch Hall hosts the English Department. It was built in 1819 and renovated in 2012. It was named after architect Charles Bulfinch, who taught the hall's architect Asher Benjamin.

Pearson Hall hosts the Classics Department. It was built in 1817. It was formerly the chapel of Andover Theological Seminary.

Morse Hall hosts the Math Department, the student radio station, some student publications, and the Community and Multicultural Development department. It was built in the 1920s/1930s. It was named after Samuel Morse '05, who invented the telegraph and Morse code.

Gelb Science Center hosts the Science Department and an observatory. It was built in 2004. It was named after donor Richard L. Gelb '41, the heir to the Clairol hair care company.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Library (OWHL) houses over 80,000 books and contains classroom space. It was built in 1929 and renovated in 1987 and 2019. It is named after Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. '25, the poet and physician. Built in the Georgian Revival architectural style, it has been modernized over the years and now contains a silent study room and a makerspace.

Student facilities

Cochran Chapel hosts religious services and the philosophy, religious studies, and community service departments. It is the only building on campus named for the Cochran family, who built much of the modern-day Andover campus.

Paresky Commons is the dining hall. Designed by Charles Platt in the Colonial Revival style, it opened in 1930 and was extensively renovated in 2007, after which it was renamed in honor of donor David Paresky '56. Commons earned LEED Silver certification in 2011. Since its opening, the individual grade levels have generally occupied their own sections of the dining hall.

Cochran Wildlife Sanctuary covers 65 acres and contains the Log Cabin, a place for student groups to hold meetings and sleep-overs.

Rebecca M. Sykes Wellness Center offers physical and mental health facilities.

Andover has two athletic centers: the 98,000-square-foot Snyder Center and the 70,000-square-foot Pan Athletic Center.

Falls Music Center, opened 2025, a 32,700 square foot music facility with stringent acoustical requirements met via low velocity HVAC air distribution and strategic use of displacement ventilation.

The academy's dormitories vary in size from as few as four to as many as 40 students, and are organized into five "clusters" of roughly 220 students and 40 faculty affiliates each. Many social events are organized through the cluster system, including orientation, study breaks, and snacks. None of the original dormitory buildings remain; the oldest dorm is Blanchard House, built in 1789.

Two dormitory names carry on the Andover Theological Seminary tradition: America House, where the song America was penned by a seminarian, and Stowe House, the former residence of writer Harriet Beecher Stowe. Stowe's husband Calvin taught at the seminary from 1852 to 1864, and Stowe used her first royalty check from Uncle Tom's Cabin to renovate the building. The house was moved to its current location on Bartlet Street in 1929.

The academy also operates the Andover Inn, which has 30 guest rooms and various event spaces. Designed by Sidney Wagner, the three-story Georgian style building overlooks a pond. It was built in 1930 and was most recently renovated in 2023. It replaced another inn that had been operating on the same site since 1888.