Upper School
Ready to Pursue What’s Next
UPPER SCHOOL · GRADES 9–12
Upper School students go deeper into the questions, courses, projects, and experiences that help shape what comes next.
At Bancroft, learning doesn’t sit still. Students take on AP and advanced coursework, pursue research through SEI and Senior Inquiry, build confidence as writers and speakers, create across the arts and design, and connect their learning to college, community, and the world beyond campus.
Questions Grow into Research.
INQUIRY
Curiosity becomes more focused and more independent. Through courses such as SEI I: Research and Design, SEI II: Experimentation, Advanced Global Seminar, Current Events, and Eastern Traditions: World Religions and Cultures, students ask complex questions, design research, test ideas, and present what they discover.
BY SENIOR YEAR: Students classes include thesis-style research, college-level writing, and meaningful investigation.
Students Find their People and their Voice
COMMUNITY
Upper School students build community through advisory, clubs, athletics, arts, Speech, student leadership, service, and shared traditions. They learn to contribute, collaborate, advocate, and take part in something larger than one class or one activity.
BY SENIOR YEAR: Students step into leadership, responsibility, teamwork, and a stronger sense of how they can contribute.
Learning Moves Beyond the Classroom
CONNECTION
Upper School students connect academic work to real places, people, and possibilities. In American Literature and Composition, students pursue inquiry projects and field work connected to Massachusetts literary history. In Advanced Studies in Spanish: The U.S. Latine Experience, students connect language, research, and community engagement in Worcester County. Through College Counseling, community service, and the Bancroft Senior Cooperative, students begin to see how their learning can shape their next step.
BY SENIOR YEAR: Students explore their educational experiences beyond Bancroft and lean into college planning, community engagement, career exploration, and real-world experiences.
Voice, Design, and Curiosity at Work
Voice
Students use their voice through discussion, writing, Speech, performing arts, presentations, AP English, Senior Inquiry, and college-level argument.
Design
Students design, build, test, revise, and create through visual arts, performing arts, computer science, Physical Computing, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, and portfolio work.
Curiosity
Students pursue deeper questions through AP courses, SEI, Advanced Global Seminar, Current Events, Eastern Traditions, independent research, and Senior Co-Op.
AP, SEI, and Research Opportunities
Upper School students can choose from AP and advanced courses across disciplines, including AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Calculus BC, AP Computer Science A, AP French Language and Culture, and AP Spanish Language and Culture.
Students also pursue research through SEI I: Research and Design, SEI II: Experimentation, Senior Inquiry courses, field-based English work, advanced language study, science labs, computer science, visual arts, and community-connected projects.
Meet Helen
SEI
Curious? So is Helen.
In Science & Engineering Inquiry, known as SEI, Bancroft Upper School students move beyond the classroom and into original research.
For Helen, that means asking how different forms of news media may influence the way people think. Her project studies whether reading the news, listening to it, seeing it on social media, or watching it on television affects how strongly people form beliefs about a topic.
“My project is studying the impact of different modes of news media consumption on extremist political beliefs. In simpler terms, I’m studying whether reading the news, listening to it, seeing it on social media, or watching it on television influences how extreme someone’s beliefs about a particular topic are.”
Through SEI, students like Helen take the lead on questions that matter to them. They design research, gather information, analyze what they find, and prepare to share their work with a wider audience, including opportunities such as the Worcester Regional Science and Engineering Fair at WPI.
At Bancroft, learning doesn’t sit still. In SEI, curiosity becomes research, and students begin contributing ideas of their own.
Ready to Take a Deeper Dive?
Explore the Upper School Course Catalog for AP courses, SEI, research opportunities, Senior Inquiry, arts, world languages, computer science, college advisory, and Senior Co-Op.