Engaging in “Great Conversation”
The Rhetoric School invites students to engage in the “Great Conversation” through a sequence of study designed to develop leadership, academic initiative, and spiritual maturity. Classes are structured to encourage self-expression and applied knowledge, while intentionally approaching content from a biblical worldview.
Our goal is to equip students with both the technical skills and moral framework to successfully evaluate decisions of the past, problems of the present, and opportunities of the future. In doing so, the Rhetoric School prepares winsome, virtuous scholars who are inspired to lead others toward that which is true, good, and beautiful.
Additional Activities
Senior ThesisAs a requirement for graduation, each senior writes a thesis essay that is presented to a panel of experts and an audience of peers, teachers, and parents. Students must then respond to questions from the panel and audience. The thesis uniquely prepares students for undergraduate and graduate work, providing them necessary skills in research, writing, and argumentation.
Class Trips
Each year, Rhetoric students take a trip that fosters community bonds and deeper understanding of the world. These experiences range from a history class day trip during the sophomore year to a journey to Italy during the senior year.
Pigfest
In the fall and spring semesters, Rhetoric students gather with their classmates and members outside of their school community to share a meal and discuss important topics of the day. As students partake in good food and great conversation, they sharpen their respective abilities to engage with and enhance their communities.
The Highest Academic Standards
Live Oak Classical School is honored to be named to the 2025 AP School Honor Roll as a Platinum Member – College Board’s highest level of recognition – with 98% of the Class of 2025 taking at least one AP Exam during high school, 78% of seniors scoring a three or higher on the AP Exam, and 28% of seniors who took five or more AP Exams.
College Board’s Advanced Placement® Program (AP®) enables students to pursue college-level studies—with the opportunity to earn college credit, advanced placement, or both—while still in high school. Through AP courses, students learn to think critically, construct solid arguments, and see many sides of an issue – skills that exemplify the ideals of classical education. Taking AP courses also demonstrates to college admissions officers that students have sought the most challenging curriculum available to them, and research indicates that students who score a 3 or higher on an AP Exam typically experience greater academic success in college and are more likely to earn a college degree than non-AP students.
Student Reading in The Rhetoric School
10th Grade
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë
All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Night, by Elie Wiesel
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Macbeth, by Shakespeare
11th Grade
The Great Divorce, by C.S. Lewis
The Iliad, by Homer
The Aeneid, by Virgil
Confessions, by Augustine
Purgatorio, by Dante
The Tempest, by Shakespeare
12th Grade
Life Together, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Paradise Lost, by John Milton
Hamlet, by William Shakespeare
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
