Boston Latin School, is an elite high school located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded on April 23, 1635 by the Town of Boston, it is known as the oldest public school in the United States. It was founded one year before Harvard. In fact Harvard was founded in order that the graduates of Boston Latin School (BLS) could obtain a minstry education closer to home and be spared the long journey to England for such a pursuit.

The school is consistently ranked as the top high school in the State of Massachusetts and is highly regarded around the country. Its sports teams are each known as the Wolfpack, and its official colors are purple and white. The school's motto is the Latin phrase "Sumus Primi" [We are #1]. The color purple and white are representative of the Roman colors usually reserved for the upper Roman class (since purple dye in ancient time was extremely expensive and hard to acquire).

Though the first graduating classes were in the single digits, the school currently is the largest high school serving the City of Boston, with more than 2400 students in grades 7-12. The school has a classical education comprised of a 4-year mandatory Latin curriculum with the 5th and 6th years optional. The school has a few traditions, including public declamation (a public oration) in either Latin, Greek, German, or English. Amongst its other traditions, on some years, a member of the graduating class would ask the headmaster to the senior prom and partake in one dance.

Although it is a public school, it is also known as an examination school that, along with Boston Latin Academy and John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics & Science in Boston, admits students based on the results of the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) and grade point average. New students are admitted at the 7th and 9th grade level. Around 4,000 students take the rigorous entrance exam each year, and roughly 400 are admitted to the 7th grade and 90 to the 9th. The school has a reputation for being academically rigorous with a recommended 4 hours of nightly studies and assignments. About 25% of all incoming students do not graduate after 6 years due to the high standards, but there is a 99.9% college matriculation rate for those who do graduate.

Famous graduates include Samuel Adams, Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Hancock and Leonard Bernstein,Charles Sumner, Cotton Mather, Henry Knox, James Bowdoin and Joseph Kennedy. Famous dropouts include Benjamin Franklin, who ran away to Philadelphia before completing his term.

Recent famous graduates include John King, the White House correspondent for CNN, and a number of corporate executives, including Sumner Redstone.

External link

• Boston Latin School official website
• Boston Latin School Association