Discover your path
In the Upper School, our focus is to prepare students not just for the rigors of college, but to launch purposeful, personally fulfilling lives.
In high school students journey toward adulthood, taking greater steps towards independence while learning about who they are and who they want to become. At Pacific Ridge, we believe in creating opportunities for students to explore a wide variety of interests, discover their voice, actively practice leadership, and connect to the world.
The center of our school experience is our classroom design: whatever the subject, students spend time around a Harkness table, learning together in dialogue. That means that they are learning as much to be great listeners as to be great speakers, to ask big questions as to explore possible answers. Best of all, our classrooms are communities, where our students can develop close, collaborative relationships with their peers and teachers.
Just as our students find their voice in our classrooms, they can explore their interests and passions through a wide variety of co-curricular options. Our schedule creates time during the school day for students to engage with student-led service groups, clubs, and affinity and alliance spaces. Similarly, we build directly into our school year a global travel program that takes students far beyond our campus to explore the world. Every student can participate in such a wide variety of experiences at Pacific Ridge that by the time they leave high school they have a sense of themselves as curious, open explorers of the world. We invite you to learn more about what makes our program unique!
Alfie Hobbs, Head of Upper School
Liz Grossman, Assistant Head of Upper School
Experience the new standard of academic excellence.
Our upper school curriculum offers the best of both traditional and innovative educational practices.
The college preparatory 9th and 10th-grade program builds toward an 11th and 12th-grade program that incorporates a wider range of classes, including more honors classes and Advanced Placement courses. Ninth and 10th graders pursue the following courses of study: Ancient World History, Modern World History, English, Biology/Chemistry I & II, mathematics, world language (French, Spanish, or Mandarin), arts electives, service learning, and physical education. The Upper School curriculum transforms students into active global citizens as they broaden their studies both inside and outside the classroom by participating in global programs.
