Phillips Exeter Academy
20 Main St, Exeter, NH
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Phillips Exeter Academy was founded in 1781 by John Phillips, whose brother Samuel had founded Phillips Academy Andover just three years earlier, making the two schools sibling institutions with a friendly rivalry that has persisted for over two centuries. The school is closely identified with the "Harkness method," a discussion-based teaching approach built around oval tables that seat around a dozen students and a teacher as equals, funded by a 1930 gift from oil magnate Edward Harkness specifically to support this style of instruction rather than traditional lecture-based teaching. Exeter's notable alumni span an unusually wide range of fields, including author Dan Brown, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg (who briefly attended before transferring), and numerous U.S. senators and Pulitzer Prize winners, reflecting the school's long-standing reputation as a pipeline to elite universities and prominent careers. Phillips Exeter Academy's combination of its historic Harkness discussion-based teaching method and its centuries-long track record producing prominent alumni has made it one of the most academically respected boarding schools in the country.
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