Hollis Brookline High School is ranked #1 out of all the high schools in New Hampshire and #826 out of all the high schools nationwide. As you can imagine, this ranking can come with a feeling of pressure to do well for some students.

HBHS offers a large amount of accelerated, honors and AP courses that many students here elect to take. Madeleine McCann ‘18 mentioned, “I feel like, because of the fact that we are such a thriving school academically, as a student, I have to uphold that reputation.”

Getting bad grades on tests or in classes can feel worse for the students who attend HBHS because they compare themselves to those around them. Since this high school is known for high standardized test scores and preparing students for college better than other New Hampshire schools, many students feel they need to do well. “Everyone holds themselves to an extreme standard so I feel like I have to, and therefore, I have more pressure because all of my friends get good grades,” commented Sofia Barassi ‘19. HBHS school counselor, Richard Winslow, commented on the fact that students tend to follow what’s going on around them by saying that “whether or not students plan on going to college, everyone else is trying hard to do well, so they will too.”

While this pressure can be a challenge, HBHS is one of the only schools that has a built in study three out of five days of the school week in order to help alleviate some of the pressure . CavBlock was also put into place in order to relieve some of the stress that comes from the time consuming academics and the lack of time after school for most students.

Although students deal with rigorous schedules and stresses, the school provides a balance by offering extra opportunities such as CavBlock to give  students more time to uphold the HBHS reputation of # 1 ranked school in the state.