High School Composition

The Final Sequence

The Academy will restructure the accelerated High School Composition (HSC) courses to more effectively cover the entire Classical Composition program. The final stage of this transition (represented on the right) will take several years to implement.

  • HSC I: Fable, Narrative, Chreia/Maxim
  • HSC II: Refutation/Confirmation, Common Topic
  • HSC III: Encomium/Invective/Comparison, Characterization, Description
  • HSC IV: Thesis/Law (semester only)

Students will progress through the Classical Composition program as follows:

    • Those joining in 5th grade, doing one level a year, can join HSC III in their sophomore year.
    • Those joining in 6th grade, doing one level a year, can join HSC II in freshman year.
    • Those joining in 7th grade can do the Fable/Narrative course, then the Chreia/Maxim in 8th grade, and finally join HSC II in freshman year.
    • Those joining in 8th grade can do Fable/Narrative. In freshman year, they can either do the standalone Chreia/Maxim class, joining HSC II in sophomore year, or they may do HSC I in freshman year since it will reinforce Fable and Narrative stages and move on to Chreia/Maxim in the second semester.

The Transition Plan

The Academy will redesign one High School Composition course each year for four years.

  • In the 2022-23 school year, HSC I changed to cover Fable, Narrative, Chreia/Maxim.
  • In the 2023-24 school year, HSC II will change to cover Refutation/Confirmation and Common Topic.
  • In the 2024-25 school year, HSC III will change to cover Encomium/Invective/Comparison, Characterization, and Description.
  • In the 2025-26 school year, HSC IV will be added to the course catalog and will cover Thesis/Law.

Students in the Middle of the Sequence

Students who began the High School Classical Composition sequence in 2021 or earlier will have the opportunity to finish the program in the original sequence. Since only one course will be updated each year, the students that are currently in the program will be able to stay ahead of the transition and finish without missing any stages.