Students are required to take English for all four years, and each course is organized along a thematic axis: 9th grade- Epic Literature, 10th- American Literature, 11th- British Literature, 12th- Comparative Literature. Eleventh and Twelfth grade English are each offered with an AP option for well-prepared students intending to sit the national exams in Language and Literature. Each year, upper school students are required to write a comprehensive research paper in addition to the variety of shorter analysis papers they prepare. Central to the English curriculum is a required summer reading program for all students: these carefully selected fiction and non-fiction works are intended to inculcate a lifelong love of reading for pleasure. Finally, students will continue to refine their grammar, syntax, and vocabulary through drills and weekly quizzes in anticipation of standardized tests like SAT and ACT.