News

Durham Academy Upper School is thrilled to present Mean Girls, High School Version as the 2026 winter musical, featuring the talents and hard work of more than 60 Upper Schoolers on the stage and behind the scenes.

Helping keep DA Middle Schoolers curious, grounded and engaged is science teacher Alex Eren, who’s laser-focused on helping kids become who they want to be. Get to know Eren through the eyes of one of her former students and advisees, Sreshta Chalicham ’28.

The Upper School Student Academic Committee is helping school leaders develop thoughtful guidelines for AI usage, raising ethical questions, and contributing to a shared understanding of how this powerful new tool should be — and should not be — used in students’ research, writing, creative work and critical thinking.

On Jan. 23, four Durham Academy Upper School students, a staff member and a Lower School teacher delivered “This I Believe” speeches in Kenan Auditorium as part of an annual assembly to honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The speeches, inspired by radio essays from the CBS program This I Believe of the early 1950s, adhere to simple yet powerful criteria: Tell a story about yourself, name one core belief, be personal and be vulnerable.

With college admissions season hitting full stride, it’s a fitting time to highlight how Nancy Swain’s legacy of care, connection and encouragement has touched Upper School students for more than 30 years. No matter what they’re navigating in life and no matter where they are in that journey, Swain helps Upper Schoolers celebrate their highest highs and also helps them overcome challenge and adversity.

Durham Academy’s 43rd Spring Alumni Reception in April will honor two remarkable members of the DA community. Brendan Bradley ’01, a trailblazing actor and creative innovator, will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award. And Robert Wilson, the beloved Middle School math teacher and dean of students who retired in 2025, will be recognized with the Faculty and Staff Legacy Award. This celebration highlights their extraordinary contributions to the arts, academics and the DA community.

This holiday season, our students remind us that generosity is the greatest gift of all. From Upper Schoolers fulfilling wish lists for families across the Triangle, to second graders inspiring pet adoptions with creativity and heart — every act of kindness reflects a Durham Academy community committed to making the season brighter.

Our third ADV spotlight features Taylor Fox ’26 and her ADV Thesis project: Patient Perception of Surgical Robots. This project represents Fox’s year-long exploration of robotic technologies in the medical field, inspired by her grandmother’s successful robotic hip and knee surgeries.

Kwame Mensah-Boone '26 crowdsourced recipes from all corners of the school community for the Durham Academy Community Cookbook.

Five Durham Academy student-athletes made official their commitment to college athletics on Tuesday, surrounded by a supportive crowd of family members, teammates, coaches and friends. Seniors signing letters of commitment were Ben Brock, Owen Ellis, Camden Hughes, Caroline Kantz and Brady Pollard.

Open Math Lab, a time for early-arriving students to play math games before the school day starts. Multiplication tables have nothing on the card game “Multiplication War,” in which combatants willingly try to draw the largest product in a two-card set. Speaking of which: There’s also “SET,” another card game that attracts its own sizable crowd.

For 90 minutes in Horton Hall, an assembled audience of parents, caregivers, students, faculty and staff took in stories of hope, resilience and belonging from six fellow DA community members.

Since their journey together started 20 weeks ago, the team and its coaching staff had an inkling: They could win it all this year. And they did, thanks to the leadership of 2022 individual state champion Audrey Crowder ’26, a tight-knit team culture and two timely PRs on the day of the state meet. 

This time around, she set a course record; won the tournament by 11 strokes; and drew comparisons to Tiger Woods from one of her longtime teammates.

Join Upper School cast and crew members for performances from Oct. 23–25 at 7 nightly.