In Pursuit of Excellence

Each boy is motivated to pursue personal excellence, and competition takes many forms.

Boys learn to respect and to applaud their classmates' successes—in sports, concerts, plays, debates, and publications. A brilliant performance at the piano has brought an audience to its feet just as quickly as a touchdown pass caught in the end zone. Boys also learn to recover quickly from disappointment of losing a starting position in sports or a coveted stage role and find other ways to contribute to the team or the production.

The faculty encourages boys’ inclination to compete against their own sense of excellence and to rise to standards set by their most talented classmates. As one boy’s success stimulates another boy to redouble his effort to accomplish something noteworthy, they both have strived together, and both gain.

Competition is not a dirty word at Roxbury Latin.

Our goal is to have our students emerge both competitive and compassionate: tough enough to withstand the rigors of competition and endure the present pain of hard work in order to experience the joy of achieving something great, as well as empathetic and responsive to the needs and misfortunes of others.

Student Profile

Name: John '08

  • President of (Senior) Class
  • Boston Mayor’s Youth Council
  • Glee Club
  • Cross-country and Track
  • Attended Summer Session at St. Albans School of Public Service in Washington, D.C.

Prioritizing your workload is one of the toughest things to learn. You realize you can’t get everything done, and so you have to pick the most important things first. The teachers work with you to fit things into your schedule as long as you’re responsible about it. They are always willing to help out.