Curriculum
Starting in Haverford's Lower School, a pre-kindergarten through fifth grade elementary school, our community builds your son’s abilities, strengths, and areas of development.
Sensory-rich lessons, open classroom spaces, and twice-daily recesses celebrate boys’ innate need for movement and activity, resulting in more focused and engaged learning. An emphasis on reading and writing, expressive language, fine motor development, and physical, social, and emotional growth helps Haverford boys become their best selves.
Our Middle School engages boys academically, artistically, and athletically, helping them grow in intelligence, creativity, and strength.
A daily assortment of liberal arts classes, mixed with the fine arts and sports, create a well-rounded boy who begins to find his aptitudes and where he fits in the world. Thinkers and doers, these young men are encouraged to take risks and make mistakes in a safe, supportive, and caring environment as we prepare them for the next step, high school.
Haverford's Upper School offers powerful learning experiences, both formal and informal, to prepare students for success.
Our classes offer the hands-on, up-on-your feet, collaborative problem-solving exercises that boys enjoy and the structured direction and clear expectations that they need. Time designated for extra help, small classes, an advisory program, and the Enrichment and Learning Center helps each student realize his full potential.
Course Offering FAQS
Does The Haverford School offer electives?
Yes! The Haverford School offers many electives across disciplines, encouraging students to pursue existing interests and discover new ones. Non-required electives are offered if the number of course requests exceed nine students, and if an instructor is available. In the tables below, electives are italicized.
Does The Haverford School offer honors-level courses?
Yes! Advanced courses designated with an asterisk (*) are considered Haverford's most demanding courses and are designed to provide highly passionate students with rigorous academic experiences that move at an accelerated pace. Because we want every student to be successful, we are thorough and thoughtful in placing students in our most demanding honors courses. Entry into an honors course may vary by department and therefore students should refer to the prerequisite of each respective honors course to ensure they have met the requirements needed to successfully enroll in the course. Some departments require readiness diagnostics and other departments may require a specific grade and/or recommendation from the teacher and Department Chair in order to enroll.
Can Haverford students change levels between honors and standard courses?
Level changes between an honors level course and its standard counterpart after the class has commenced will be reviewed on an individual basis. A change in a level may result in adjusting other parts of the student's schedule in order to accommodate the level change and should be completed as early in the add/drop process as possible. After a quarter of the semester is complete, level changes will result in grades carrying over between courses. Changes to a student's level will not be processed after the midpoint of the semester.
How does The Haverford School handle non-Haverford courses?
Credit is not granted toward the graduation requirements for courses taken at a school other than Haverford, though coursework completed in Modern and Classical Languages and Mathematics in Middle School may allow a student to take more advanced courses in those subjects in Third Form.
What are The Haverford School's Upper School graduation requirements?
| Subject Area | Requirement | Curriculum |
|---|---|---|
| English | 4 years | Learn more |
| Health and Wellness | Physical Education and Wellness (Form III) Health (Form IV) |
Learn more |
| History | 3 Years | Learn more |
| Mathematics | 3 Years through Precalculus | Learn more |
| Modern and Classical Languages | 2 Consecutive years of the same language | Learn more |
| Science | 3 Years | Learn more |
| Activity Requirement | 3 Activity credits in Form III and IV 2 Activity Credits in Form V 1 Activity credit in Form VI |
Learn more |
| Senior Project | 1 Year during Form VI | |
| The Fine Arts | 2 Years of equivalent activity | Learn more |
What are the typical Upper School course offerings for each class year?
Form III (Freshmen, Grade 9)
| English | The Fine and Performing Arts | History | Language | Math | Science |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English I |
Fundamentals of Music Theater I Visual Arts Foundations |
Ancient World History |
Chinese I Spanish I |
Algebra I Geometry Geometry* Algebra II Algebra II* |
Physics I |
Form IV (Sophomores, Grade 10)
| English | The Fine and Performing Arts | History | Language | Math | Science |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English II: World Literature |
Electives: Advanced Ensemble: Rock Band |
Modern World History |
Chinese II Spanish II |
Geometry PreCalculus |
Chemistry I |
Form V (Juniors, Grade 11)
| English | The Fine and Performing Arts | History | Language | Math | Science |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English III: American Literature |
Electives: |
United States History United States History* Electives: Global Financial Markets & Investments Government & Politics History & Sociology of Sport
|
Electives: Spanish III |
Algebra II Finance: Financial Literacy Logic Math Modeling to Solve Social Challenges Statistics Statistics* |
Biology I Electives: Materials Science Engineering: Applications CAD Physics II: Astronomy Applied Physics* Electronics* Theoretical* |
Form VI (Seniors, Grade 12)
| English | The Fine and Performing Arts | History | Language | Math | Science |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
English IV English IV* English IV Seminar |
Electives: 3D Art Portfolio* Music Composition Senior Thesis* (and all Form III, IV, V electives) |
Electives: Contemporary International Relations European Dictators* Global Financial Markets & Investments Government & Politics History of Science, Sex, and Culture* History and Sociology of Sport Social Psychology The Global South: A Human Rights History* The Civil War Era* |
Electives: |
PreCalculus Economics: Micro* |
Electives: Environmental Science: Ethics/Policy Systems Thinking Physics II: Astronomy Applied Physics* Electronics* Theoretical* |
What are the prerequisites for Haverford School classes?
Prerequisites are conditions that need to be met prior to progressing in a particular course. The prerequisites for each course have been thoughtfully determined by the respective Department to ensure that students have the necessary knowledge and skills required to successfully continue in the next sequential course or level.
Often prerequisites include a completion of/ minimum acceptable performance in a preceding course. Sometimes, prerequisites also include samples of student work and/or a teacher recommendation. Course prerequisites are detailed in the course catalog each year.