THOMASVILLE — All that hard work has paid in dividends, school officials said. The Brookwood School community is celebrating this week with the College Board’s release of the school’s AP scores, as well as its annual AP Scholars list.

Overall, Brookwood students scored 28 percent above the global average and yielded a list of 29 AP Scholars from the classes of 2016 and 2017.

“Success on an AP Exam is perhaps the greatest single predictor of strong performance in college classes,” David Grooms, Brookwood’s Upper School Director, said “Colleges see the results of these exams as an international standard of achievement.”

To be distinguished as an AP Scholar, a student must earn a score of 3 or higher on a scale of 1 to 5 on three or more Advanced Placement exams. The 29 AP Scholars from Brookwood took a total of 116 exams in nine subject areas, garnering an average score of 3.8. This year’s AP Scholars from the Class of 2016 are Emmaline Brannon, Grace Cauley, Abby Patterson and Jacob Sloan. Scholars from the Class of 2017 are J Anderson, Rachel Cooper, Margaret Davis, Caroline Deese, Austin Falconer, William Hamil, Melanie Quinton and Christopher Watt.

AP Scholar with Honor awards are given to those who receive a 3.25 or higher on all AP exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on four exams. From the Class of 2016, Jack Brinson, Maggie Deaver, Hampton Flowers, Scott Saunders and Truman Wright earned this distinction, as did the Class of 2017’s Catharine Fennell and Hampton Toole.

The AP Scholar of Distinction award goes to students who score an average of 3.5 or higher on all AP exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. From the Class of 2016, Stuart Allen, Mary Catherine Bryant, Will Carico, Caroline Filston, David Filston, Tommy Fortner, Aaron Howell, Elizabeth Johnson, John Stauffer and David Wolff have earned this accolade.

“AP Exams demand demonstration of critical thinking skills, content knowledge and synthesis of concepts into a theme that covers an entire year of work,” Grooms said. “All this must be done in a limited amount of time.”

Grooms added a note of praise for his faculty, who “work diligently throughout the year to guide students in the mastery of the skills, concepts and content necessary for the students to achieve at these high levels.”

AP Scholar Rachel Cooper, a rising senior at Brookwood, said that even though the rigor of the work was daunting, she felt more than prepared when she took her exams in May. 

“I made scores I never dreamed I could on my AP exams because my teachers believed more in teaching their students than just giving good grades and self esteem,” Cooper said. 

Cooper said she’s never felt more pride in her work and that her teachers provided pivotal support. ”They refused to yield and taught us that learning perseverance and pride … is infinitely more valuable than an A on a test,” she said. 

Students in schools all over the globe take Advanced Placement exams every spring. Over the past five years, Brookwood students have passed 94 percent of the AP exams that they have taken.

Globally, the pass rate has been 60 percent for the past five years and 58 percent in the state of Georgia.

Brookwood students, in general, have an impressive track record of success in college.

Ninety-two percent of Brookwood alumni have retained their Georgia HOPE scholarship (since 2011). This compares to a national average of 40 percent. On a recent survey, 100 percent of Brookwood alumni indicated that they felt prepared in the areas of college level writing and study skills.

“We know that our students are prepared when they go to college,” Randy Watts, Brookwood School Headmaster, said. “Their success on AP exams is one of many examples demonstrating that they will be ready for the rigors of college level work.”