Upper School 7th - 12th

Our Christian Studies program is designed to develop three things:

Building a Bible literacy

Building faith and consciousness


Building a relationship with Christ

To achieve these goals, students study Scripture in K-6, church history in grades 7-11, and Christian apologetics in grade 12.  Christian Studies is an academic course equal in content and examinations to all other areas of the curriculum.

We believe the Christian faith is true and that both reason and history support this belief. All time is dated from the birth of Jesus Christ, the central figure in human history. Our Christian Studies Program helps students understand why this is true.

All foreign language study includes learning about the people who speak the language, so Classical Studies is the natural companion to Latin. In Classical Studies, students study Greek mythology and Greek and Roman history and literature every year, gradually deepening their knowledge and understanding. This long grounding prepares students to read the classics of Greek, Roman, and English literature, and to study and understand the modern world.

The distinguishing mark of the educated person is mastery of the English language in reading, writing, and speaking. These multifaceted skills require many years to reach a high level and are greatly enhanced by the study of Latin and Greek.  Students study English grammar and vocabulary in both English and Latin classes, beginning in 2nd Grade.

An essential component in the development of superior language skills is the study of good literature, which provides models of correct English and excellence in writing. The ear and eye are trained by constant exposure to good English usage. Students learn best by imitation.

Our classroom reading selections are carefully chosen to increase in reading difficulty each year.  Books are read slowly and thoroughly in class, accompanied by Literature Guides.

Our English Literature Guides include a selection of poetry. Poetry is intense and requires careful, slow, and repeated reading. Poetry requires thought and is especially effective in developing comprehension and thinking skills. Students who are properly prepared are ready to begin the study of Shakespeare in the 7th Grade.

We choose the very best literature and poetry for each age, works that model heroes, virtues, and high ideals. Our literature program does more than develop reading skills; it inspires students to love what is good and noble in life.

The word “logic” has become a catch-all term for good thinking in our everyday life. While this notion is in part true, Formal or Traditional Logic is more systematic and robust than our colloquial understanding and use of the term. Logic is a science which examines the rules and laws of right thinking, e.g., the formal rules of syllogisms. This course will primarily cover the foundations of Traditional Logic because it is more practical in nature than modern symbolic logic, a discipline which is mathematical in nature. The ultimate aim of this course is to teach students how to think well by learning the valid forms of argumentation; a skill that is fundamental to skillful writing, speaking, reading, and listening.    

Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. Cicero said that the rhetorician should seek to teach, to move, and to delight. We will spend the year studying a variety of classical examples of masterful rhetoric including Aristotle’s famous exposition on Rhetoric. Students will be challenged to develop their oratory skills through speeches of
praise, of persuasion, of passion, of condemnation, of justice, and of other forms. Students will learn how to organize and deliver their speeches to be more persuasive and will study the great speeches of history which changed the world. In addition, students will seek to develop a biblical understanding of the role and power of words and communication. 

The study of Latin is the core of a classical education. Latin begins in second grade and continues every year, culminating in the translation of Latin literature in grades 9-12. All new students in both the lower and upper schools are enrolled in an age-appropriate beginning Latin class.

The Lexington Latin School draws a distinction between arithmetic, or the process of computation, and mathematics, a more advanced subject that includes algebra, geometry, and calculus. Younger students build basic skills in computation until, by the 7th grade, they have mastered these skills and are prepared to engage in more advanced mathematical study.

Though Western civilization is founded upon the civilizations of Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem, it grows far beyond—sometimes flowering, sometimes withering. In studying history, we learn from both the triumphs of civilization and its failings. Our aim is to educate students who know and preserve the glories of our past, and who are formed in humility by knowledge of the sins of our past.

In the natural sciences we study all that God has made: from the rocks, trees, and creatures He made, the laws which govern that creation to the organs and cells of the bodies God gave mankind with which to cultivate, inhabit, and discover His world.

Of course, the natural sciences have hugely beneficial applications—engineering, medicine, and on and on—and our studies aim to equip our students for those good endeavors. However, before the natural sciences are "practical," they are yet another mode worship: we study the world God has made in awe of his wisdom and power. Moreover, as we study the human body in all its complexities, we learn about the kind of creatures God made us to be, remembering the worlds of the Psalm 100: "Be assured that the Lord, he is God; it is he that has made us, and not we ourselves."

This course is a culmination for training in rhetoric, logic, and writing. These disciplines will be combined with academic research to compose an extensive thesis paper on a controversial topic. Students will defend their  paper—i.e. present it and answer questions concerning it—before a panel of faculty, local professors, and others familiar with the subject. They will be guided along the research process and learn how to find and cite sources and create a proper bibliography.