The top reported proficiency rate is 49% in English language arts. The lowest is 36% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Great Brook School
Great Brook School sits in the small town of Antrim, New Hampshire, serving the middle grades in the Contoocook Valley School District. It is a regular public school for grades five through eight, drawing from a community that describes itself as a bedroom community for Peterborough and Hillsborough. The town itself has a rural, low-density character, with development concentrated along the main roads and a village center built around the intersection of two state routes. Antrim was once a mill and manufacturing center, and the school takes its name from the brook that powered those early industries. Today the town retains a quiet residential texture with limited commercial activity.
The school's enrollment is small for its grade band, consistent with the town's modest population. The student body is predominantly white, with a small number of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. The share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch is relatively low compared with many New Hampshire schools. Data on individualized education programs and English learner populations was not available in the records we reviewed, so we cannot characterize those populations here.
On state assessments, Great Brook's results present a mixed picture. In English language arts, proficiency is moderate across all four grade levels, with roughly half of students meeting the proficiency bar in most grades. These results suggest that literacy instruction is holding its own, though there is clearly room for growth. Mathematics results are weaker. Proficiency in math is lower in the upper elementary grades and rises somewhat by eighth grade, but across the board, fewer than half of tested students reach proficiency. Science results, available for fifth and eighth grades, sit in a similar range. A parent weighing this school may want to look into how math instruction is structured and what supports are available for students working below grade level. Participation rates on state tests are strong, which means these results reflect nearly the full student body.
No multi-year trend data was available, so we cannot say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability over time. The absence of trend data is worth noting for families who want to understand direction, not just a single year's snapshot.
Because Great Brook is a middle school, there is no graduation rate to report. The school does not serve high school grades, so that measure simply does not apply here. Students from Antrim go on to ConVal Regional High School in Peterborough, about a dozen miles away.
The broader district context matters for families considering this school. The Contoocook Valley School District faced a substantial budget gap going into the current school year, driven by rising costs in special education and health insurance. The district eliminated a number of positions, including classroom teachers and specialist roles, while committing to keep class sizes below certain thresholds at the elementary and middle school levels. This is a lasting reduction in staffing that families would want to understand, particularly how it affects specialist offerings and individual attention at the middle school level. We searched for additional detail on specific program cuts or curriculum changes but found limited information beyond the staffing reductions.
Housing in Antrim sits below the state benchmark for home values but above the national one, reflecting the broader New Hampshire market. The town's housing stock is predominantly single-family and rural. Recent county-level data shows a market with strong demand and growing supply, and homes move at a moderate pace. For families considering a move to the area, housing costs are a factor, though Antrim remains more affordable than many parts of Hillsborough County and the state as a whole.
The town offers a modest set of civic and recreational amenities. The James A. Tuttle Library, Memorial Park, and the Antrim Grange serve as community gathering points. Gregg Lake and Willard Pond in the western part of town provide outdoor recreation. An annual Home and Harvest festival brings the community together in early fall. These are the kinds of anchors that give a small town its texture, and they speak to a community where families know one another.
Great Brook School fits a particular kind of family. It is a small middle school in a rural town where the peer group will be compact and the setting quiet. Academic results are moderate in reading and weaker in math, and the district's recent staffing reductions add a layer of uncertainty about resources. Families drawn to Antrim's rural character and housing affordability will want to ask direct questions about how the school supports students in mathematics and how the district's budget decisions have affected the middle school experience specifically.
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