Ages: Grades 9-12

No. of Pupils: 1,079

Admissions: Online application and standardised test results plus interview.

Curriculum: With more than 450 courses, students have unlimited opportunities to discover their potential. Interdisciplinary and experiential options allow students to develop creative insights, while global programmes open doors across five continents.

Campus and facilities: Retaining its 18th-century New England charm, the in-town campus is divided by the three principal streets of the community, with Georgian-style classroom buildings placed prominently at the centre. The surrounding dormitories are easily accessible from classrooms and other facilities, including an administrative building, post office, library, art gallery, music centre, health centre, bookstore, academy centre, theatre, dining halls and athletic facility.

Noteworthy: Founded in 1781 as a feeder school for Harvard University, Phillips Exeter Academy is considered one of the oldest and most prestigious co-ed prep schools in the US. The school boasts the largest secondary-school library in the world, with 272,000 volumes, and hosts the prestigious Lamont Poetry Series. Exeter is known for its Harkness method of teaching, where a teacher and a group of students work together to exchange ideas and information in a similar vein to the Socratic method. Classrooms don’t have rows of chairs and lectures are virtually non-existent.

New: Students shine in the sciences, taking top spots at events such as the New Hampshire Science and Engineering Expo and the Regeneron Science Talent Search.

Fees: US$53,271 (boarding); US$41,608 (day)

Phillips Exeter Academy, 20 Main Street, Exeter, New Hampshire, exeter.edu