Commencement

Commencement Weekend kicks off on Friday evening with a Senior-Faculty Reception followed by a Senior-Faculty Convocation and Banquet. Saturday features a range of activities including a buffet dinner and a Baccalaureate Service, which may be attended by family members. The Commencement Ceremony itself is held on Sunday.

In a time-honored Andover tradition, the ceremony kicks off with a graduation procession of faculty and students that is led by the stirring sounds of the Clan MacPherson Pipes and Drums of Lawrence, Massachusetts. Boys wear suit coats and ties; girls wear white dresses, and each carries a red rose. Following speeches by the school's student body president and Head of School Barbara Landis Chase, the graduating members of the class move to the Armillary Sphere on the school’s Great Lawn on the west side of the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library where they stand in a giant circle for the distribution of their diplomas.

To view photos, videos, and news about past Commencements, visit the Commencement Archive page.