Lawrence Academy

Lawrence Academy at Groton is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational college preparatory school located in Groton, Massachusetts, in the United States. Founded by a group of 50 residents of Groton and Pepperell, Massachusetts in 1792 as Groton Academy, and chartered in 1793 by Governor John Hancock, Lawrence is the tenth oldest boarding school in the United States, and the third in Massachusetts, following Governor Dummer Academy (1763) and Phillips Academy at Andover (1778). The phrase on Lawrence Academy's seal is "Omnibus Lucet": in Latin, "Let light shine upon all."Incorporation as Groton AcademyOn April 27, 1792, residents of the towns of Groton and Pepperell, Massachusetts influenced by the growing "academy movement" in the young republic, which sought to provide a broader and more practical education than that available in the traditional Latin Grammar Schools, formed an association "for the purpose of erecting a suitable building, and supporting an Academy for superior educational purposes at Groton, Massachusetts." The association received its charter from Governor John Hancock on September 28, 1793.For the academy's first schoolmaster, the trustees selected Samuel Holyoke, a prominent composer, who was himself a graduate of Phillips Academy and Harvard college.