Three Foxcroft School students, including current senior Melanie Fann of Purcellville, achieved the rare status of National Scholar to lead a record-tying group of 30 that earned 2017 AP Scholar Honors from the College Board for outstanding achievement on Advanced Placement Exams, Academic Dean Courtney Ulmer announced Friday.

In addition to Fann, May 2017 graduates Lindsay Woods of Bluemont and Isabel Zimmerman of Fairfax, VA, and Tanzania were named National Scholars got earning an average grade of at least 4 (out of 5) on all AP Exams taken and grades of 4 of higher on eight or more of the tests. Foxcroft has had only four previous National AP Scholars — including Fann's older sister Patia —and Melanie is the first to achieve it before her senior year.

Zimmerman, a freshman at Georgetown University, also received an AP International Diploma (APID), for "outstanding academic excellence with a global perspective." The APID is a globally recognized certificate awarded to available to U.S. high school students applying to universities outside the country and international students attending schools outside the U.S.

More than half of the Class of 2017 earned AP Scholar honors. Worldwide, only about 22 percent of the 2.2 million students who took AP Exams performed well enough to earn AP Scholar designation. Ten current students earned recognition, as the number of Foxcroft AP Scholars reached double digits for the 14th consecutive year— an impressive feat for such a small school. Seven 2017 graduates and a current senior joined Fann, Woods, and Zimmerman as AP Scholars with Distinction by achieving an average of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on at least five tests.

Emma Schmidt of Warrenton is the senior. Leland Burke of Middleburg, who attends the University of Mary Washington, Emily Dietz (Unionville, PA; University of Maryland), Guen Geiersbach (Middletown, DE; Lehigh University) Jacina Hollins-Borges (Alpharetta, GA; Davidson College), Elle Lassiter (Round Hill; University of Richmond), Minje Lyu (China; University of Toronto), and Sofia Tate (Upperville, VA; Georgetown) are the recent graduates earning the Scholar with Distinction designation.

Their classmates Michelle Arubi (Nigeria; Florida Institute of Technology), Allison Buffenbarger (Leesburg, VA; Stevens Institute of Technology), Grace Kendall (Woodberry Forest, VA; University of Virginia), and Carolina Wasinger (Fairfax Station, VA; College of William & Mary) were named AP Scholars with Honor, as was current senior Emma Cao of Nanjing, China. They achieved scores of 3 or better on at least four tests with an average of 3.25 on all exams taken.

Rounding out the record-tying group of 30 with AP Scholar honors for scoring 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams were seven recent graduates and seven current students. Of special note is Sylvia Yuan of Ningbo, China, who accomplished this at the end of her sophomore year. Other current students, all seniors this year, are Elisa Chen of China, Abby Jones (Gaithersburg, MD), Camila Kiger (Colombia), Pradyuta Padmanabhan (Chantilly, VA), Pia Scharfenberg (Middleburg, VA), and Yiming Zhao (China). The recent graduates include Fabiana Byles (Jamaica; Colorado), Mary Park Durham (Dallas, TX; Emory), Millie MacArthur (Richmond, VA; St. Andrews), Charlee Schulte (Middleburg, VA; Virginia Tech) , Arianna Soresi (Middleburg, VA; Miami), Isabel Stettinius (Upperville, VA; Virginia), and Chloe Xu (China, New York University).

Patia Fann of Purcellville, VA, attained the rare status of National Scholar to lead a record-setting 30 Foxcroft School students earning 2016 AP Scholar Awards from the College Board for outstanding achievement on Advanced Placement Exams, Academic Dean Courtney Ulmer announced Wednesday.

To become a National Scholar, a student must earn an average grade of at least 4 (out of 5) on all AP Exams taken and grades of 4 of higher on eight or more of the tests. Fann received perfect 5s on all 10 exams taken, becoming Foxcroft's fourth National Scholar and the first one in nearly a decade.

Fann led a stellar group of AP Scholar award-winners that includes 40 percent of the most recent graduating class. Worldwide, only about 22 percent of the 2.2 million students who took AP Exams performed well enough to earn AP Scholar designation. Eleven current students earned recognition, as the number of Foxcroft AP Scholars reached double digits for the 13th consecutive year— an impressive feat for such a small school. Along with Fann, seven recent graduates and two current seniors — Lindy Davenport of Berryville, VA, and Lindsay Woods of Philomont, VA — received the AP Scholar with Distinction Award for achieving an average of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on at least five of the tests. The alumnae who qualified for this lofty honor are Marias Blundell of Helena, MT, and Bluemont, VA, who now attends Hampshire College; Serena Holz (Delaplane, VA; College of William & Mary); Carli MacMahon (Napa, CA; St. Mary's College of California); Lucy Matz (Coatesville, MD; Vanderbilt); Charlotte Scharfenberg (Middleburg, University of Virginia); Marina Shallcross (New York, NY; Davidson College) and Isabella Zhai (Beijing; University of California, Berkeley).

Current seniors Emily Dietz of Unionville, PA, Guen Geiersbach (Middletown, DE), Sofia Tate (Upperville, VA) and Chloe Xu (Shanghai, China), junior Melanie Fann (Purcellville, VA) and 2016 graduate Victoria Zhao (Shenzhen, China; Rhodes College) were named AP Scholars with Honor. They achieved scores of 3 or better on at least four tests with an average of 3.25 on all exams taken.

Ten members of the Class of 2016 and four current seniors achieved AP Scholar status with grades of 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams. They include New York University freshmen Lily Cooke (Key West, FL) and Sophia Deng (Shenzhen, China); Jessie Herman (Waterford, VA; The New School); Carrie Hsueh (Taoyuan, Taiwan; University of Washington); Winnie Masson (Alexandria, VA; University of South Carolina); Annie Mickum (The Plains, VA; Fordham University); Lilly Savin (West Palm Beach, FL; Virginia Tech); Pipsy Steyn (Leesburg, VA; University of Colorado;), Rose Sun (Beijing, China; Boston University), and JiMin Yoo (Seoul, South Korea; University of Richmond;). Seniors Leland Burke (Upperville, VA), Mary Park Durham (Dallas, TX), Grace Kendall (Orange, VA) and Isabella Zimmerman (Fairfax, VA) were also so honored.

More than 3,600 colleges and universities annually receive AP scores. Most four-year colleges in the U.S. provide credit and/or advanced placement for qualifying exam scores. Research consistently shows that students who score a 3 or higher on AP Exams typically experience greater academic success in college and have higher college graduation rates than students who do not participate in the Advanced Placement program.