How safe is the school, really?
Based on the school’s campus-safety page and news reports, Punahou describes a staffed security operation today and has a documented history involving a former coach. It employs security guards, hires sheriffs as an added measure, has cameras installed across campus including at its entrances, a Crisis Response Team and multi-channel emergency alerts, and says all officers, employees and independent contractors are mandated reporters; a former Punahou girls’ basketball coach was sentenced in August 2025 to 33 years in federal prison, and the school settled lawsuits brought by former students in 2021.
| Source | What it shows | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Campus safety page (the school) | Security guards described as “a familiar and reassuring presence on campus”; sheriffs hired “as an added security measure”; a Crisis Response Team; emergency information sent by text message and email; an anonymous third-party helpline, 844.513.8110, open 24 hours for reporting sexual misconduct and abuse | Page undated |
| Spectrum News | The former coach was sentenced to 33 years in federal prison after pleading guilty in December 2024 to 12 counts involving 10 victims; Punahou fired him in 2004; the school settled the civil case for an undisclosed amount | Aug. 18, 2025 |
| Civil Beat | Punahou said it had settled “all the cases” filed from April 2020; the lawsuits contended the school was aware of the coach’s behavior as early as 2003 and “turned a blind eye” to a report, and the school’s statement said it “deeply and profoundly apologizes” to the former students | Aug. 25, 2021 |
We found no incident counts, discipline data or published annual security report, so safety cannot be set against other schools on figures. The lawsuits’ claims are the plaintiffs’, reported by Civil Beat, and the settlement terms were not disclosed. A family should ask how a student reports a worry today, who is told, and how the school’s security staff are overseen.
What's the true total cost, including fees — and how has it moved over the last few years?
Punahou lists tuition of $34,230 for the 2026–27 school year as a single figure, with no split by grade or division, and the tuition page lists no fees, books, lunch or transportation, so the total cost cannot be set from the school’s own page. Wikipedia reports $30,480 for 2023–24, not including student activity fees, which would put the three-year rise at about 12% by our sum; the older figure is Wikipedia’s, not the school’s.
| Year and source | Tuition | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2023–24, Wikipedia | $30,480 | “not including student activity fees” |
| 2026–27, school tuition page | $34,230 | One figure; no grade or division split |
The sums are ours: $3,750 more than in 2023–24, or about 12% in three years, which averages about 4% a year. We found no school tuition schedule for the years between, so we cannot show the path or say what fees add. A family should ask the Admissions Office, at 808.944.5714, for the full fee schedule and for what lunch, books, devices and transportation cost.
Are scholarships or financial aid available, and what share of students receive them?
Yes. Punahou says 24% of students receive financial aid, from an annual financial aid budget of $11.1 million with an average award of $12,400, and that its admissions process is “need-blind and operates independently of financial aid.”
| Source | Share receiving aid | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| School tuition page, 2026–27 | 24% | $11.1 million annual budget; $12,400 average award |
| School funding-priorities page | One in four students | Approximately $10 million a year |
| Niche, 2026 | 23% | Average aid not shown |
The two school pages give different dollar figures, $11.1 million and approximately $10 million, for what is the same one-in-four share, and neither page says which year it describes. The tuition page says: “You must apply for financial aid shortly after submitting your admission application.” The school lists a Kindergarten to Grade 5 financial aid workshop on Saturday, October 10, 2026, 10 a.m. to noon, and a Grades 6–12 financial aid webinar on Monday, November 2, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. An individual family’s award depends on its own finances, so a family should ask the Admissions Office, at 808.944.5714 or admissions@punahou.edu, for an estimate.
What's the graduation rate, and how college-ready are graduates?
Punahou publishes where its graduates enroll and says 99% of them go on to college each year, though it gives no graduation-rate figure. Its college-counseling page reports that the Class of 2026 enrolled in 150 different institutions around the world, and lists every institution attended by two or more graduates of the classes of 2023 to 2026, with counts.
| Measure | What is published | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Where graduates enroll | Class of 2026: 150 institutions; among the largest counts over the classes of 2023 to 2026 are the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (141), the University of California, Irvine (73) and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (41) | School college-counseling page |
| College-going | “Each year, 99% of graduates go on to college.” | School Academy page |
| SAT | Average 1370, from 924 responses | Niche |
The counts cover four graduating classes together, so they show where Punahou graduates go and not how many of one class go to each place. The 99% figure is the school’s own statement, and we found no graduation rate, test-score report or AP exam results to set beside it. Niche’s SAT figure rests on responses it collects and is an outside view, not a school report. A family should ask for the school’s graduation rate and its AP exam results.
How strong is it in robotics, engineering and hands-on problem solving?
Based on our review, Punahou grades 4.0/5 in robotics. The Academy teaches Engineering & Robotics I and II and three further engineering courses, students can join FIRST Tech Challenge teams from Grade 7, and Team 6962 Pokébolts won the Hawai‘i state championship in December 2024 and again in December 2025 and captained an alliance in the Edison Division at the 2026 World Championship.
| Strand | What is published | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Courses | Engineering & Robotics I (CAD, 3D printing, laser cutting; students build and program robots for classroom competition) and II (Arduino and underwater robots), then Engineering III, IV (Electric Vehicle) and V | Academy course list |
| FIRST Tech Challenge, December 2025 | Eight teams of Grades 7–12; Team 6962 ranked first in qualification, was Winning Alliance Captain and won the state championship; Team 6175 won the Control Award | Punahou Bulletin, Jan. 20, 2026; Hawaii FIRST Robotics |
| World Championship, April 2026 | Sixth in the Edison Division, captain of its own alliance and a finalist, among the top 16 of more than 8,600 teams; the school says it was the first time a Hawai‘i FTC team appeared on the world stage as a division alliance captain | Punahou Bulletin, May 7, 2026; FIRST |
| FIRST Robotics Competition | Team 2090 Buff ’n Blue, Punahou School, since 2007; one trip to the FIRST Championship, in 2012; registered but did not compete in 2026 | FIRST |
FIRST’s page for Team 6962 does not name the school, so we matched it through the Hawaii FIRST Robotics results page and the school’s news. The results come mainly from one team, and we found no robotics employer or university partnership, which is why the grade stops at 4.0. The Academy course list gives no grade levels or enrolment, and a school story calls Engineering III “Advanced Robotics” where the course list calls it Industrial Design. A family should ask how many students join the robotics teams each year and what runs from Kindergarten to Grade 3.
How early does STEM begin, and does it become substantially more advanced as my child gets older?
Based on the school’s grade pages, it begins early and grows more specialised with age. Punahou describes one-to-one iPads in Grade 1, basic coding and design thinking and engineering in Grade 2, laptops in Grade 4 and engineering design challenges in Grade 6, and the Academy then lists five engineering courses, AP Computer Science and Advanced Topics in Computer Science on neural networks and machine learning.
| Stage | What is published | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten–Grade 1 | Students “begin to learn the use of educational technology with one-to-one iPads that stay at school” in Grade 1 | Grade 1 page |
| Grades 2–5 | Grade 2 includes design thinking and engineering, and students “begin to learn basic coding”; Grade 4 adds one-to-one laptops; Grade 5 has a Challenger space-shuttle simulation for its math and science project and Lego robotics as a lunchtime option; Punahou Junior Robotics (Grades 4–6) is listed as a club, and First LEGO League teams of Grades 5–6 competed in February 2026 | Grade 2, 4 and 5 pages; clubs page |
| Grades 6–8 | The Grade 6 curriculum includes “engineering design challenges” and Design Technology is an enrichment choice; the FIRST Tech Challenge opens in Grade 7 | Grade 6 and 7 pages; clubs page |
| Academy | Sixteen Design Technology and Engineering courses, among them Engineering & Robotics I to Engineering V, Intro to Computer Science, AP Computer Science, Advanced Topics in Computer Science and AR Explorations | Academy course list |
The grade pages describe a typical year and say enrichment offerings “vary”, so a family cannot count on any one course. The Academy course list does not say which grade each course opens to, so we cannot show which engineering course comes first, and we found no enrolment figures. A family should ask which grade each engineering and computer science course opens to and how many students take it.
Do students get access to advanced coursework, specialist electives and serious competitions?
Based on the school’s course pages, yes. Punahou lists AP Calculus AB and BC, AP Statistics and AP Computer Science, specialist electives such as Advanced Topics in Computer Science and Engineering V: Advanced Engineering Projects, and has reached the FIRST Championship in 2025 and 2026 and the CyberPatriot national finals in 2025, and was named a CyberPatriot national finalist again in February 2026.
| Strand | What is published | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced courses | AP Calculus AB and BC and AP Statistics in the 2026–27 mathematics list; AP Computer Science; Advanced Topics in Computer Science, with AP Computer Science as its prerequisite | Curriculum page; Academy course list |
| Independent and online work | Independent Inquiry, a semester elective for one-half credit; Global Online Academy courses, which the school says are “equivalent to an honors or AP course” in work and time | Curriculum page |
| Competitions | Team 6962 at the FIRST Championship in the 2024 season (Think Award, third place) and the 2025 season (Edison Division, finalist alliance captain); fifth of 1,406 teams at the CyberPatriot 17 National Finals; first place in the Open Division and second in the JROTC Division at the AFCEA TechNet capture-the-flag, October 29, 2025 | FIRST; Punahou Bulletin; Air & Space Forces Association |
We found no AP exam results, dual-enrollment or industry credential, and the school’s course pages list no science elective titles, so science electives are not counted here. The absence of a record is not proof that students never enter one; it means we found none. A family should ask how many students reach the highest course in each subject and for the school’s AP results.
Which future-critical STEM fields is this school genuinely strong in—and which ones are major gaps?
Based on our review, Punahou is strongest in robotics and computer science (4.0/5, Excellent) and developing in AI & data science, cybersecurity, clean energy, Earth systems and advanced manufacturing (3.0/5). Biotechnology, aerospace and battery storage are the thinnest (2.0/5), with no course, laboratory or credential found in any of them.
| Field | Score | Standing |
|---|---|---|
| Robotics & Autonomous Systems | 4.0/5 | Excellent |
| Computer Science & Computational Thinking | 4.0/5 | Excellent |
| AI & Data Science | 3.0/5 | Developing |
| Cybersecurity & Digital Safety | 3.0/5 | Developing |
| Clean Energy & Climate Technology | 3.0/5 | Developing |
| Earth Systems & Geospatial | 3.0/5 | Developing |
| Advanced Manufacturing | 3.0/5 | Developing |
| Aerospace & Space Technology | 2.0/5 | Weak |
| Batteries & Energy Storage | 2.0/5 | Weak |
| Biotechnology & Synthetic Biology | 2.0/5 | Weak |
Will your child be ready for jobs that don’t exist yet?
Here’s what the evidence actually shows for Punahou School — not what the brochure claims.
66/100 — Developing overall. Punahou’s robotics and computer science are its furthest developed fields: students move from Engineering & Robotics I and II into a FIRST Tech Challenge program of eight teams in Grades 7–12, whose Team 6962 won the December 2025 Hawai‘i state championship and captained an alliance in the Edison Division at the 2026 World Championship, and follow computer science from basic coding in Grade 2 through AP Computer Science to Advanced Topics in Computer Science on neural networks and machine learning, beside a cyber team that reached the CyberPatriot national finals in 2025.
But: biotechnology, aerospace and battery storage are thin.
Best positioned forRobotics, Computer Science
Underdeveloped inBiotechnology, Aerospace, Batteries
Future-critical exposure7/15 domains
Very strong
- None
Strong
- Robotics
- Computer Science
Limited
- AI & Data
- Cybersecurity
- Clean Energy
- Earth & Geospatial
- Advanced Manufacturing
Little / no pathway
- Aerospace
- Batteries
- Biotechnology
Best fit for
Less ideal for
Where the marketing exceeds the evidence
No FIRST team or program identified for Kindergarten to Grade 3.
Where the school is stronger than its marketing suggests
No enrolment figure found for these courses.
Curriculum
- Advanced Topics in Computer Science covers artificial intelligence, neural networks, image recognition and machine learning in Python, with AP Computer Science as its prerequisite; AP Statistics is among the 2026–27 mathematics courses (Academy courses page; curriculum page)
- An October 2025 school story describes a new computer science course, Understanding AI: From Concepts to Creation, on AI ethics, how large language models work and building data sets, and an AI literacy unit in English 1 for every ninth grader (Punahou Bulletin)
Activity
- Punahou created an Emerging Technology Executive Committee in 2024; every K–5 grade level received an Introduction to AI workshop, and every Grade 6–12 department a workshop for its own teaching, in the 2024–25 school year (Punahou Bulletin)
- The school reports that Team 6962’s robot combines a custom design with advanced AI programming (Punahou Bulletin, February 2025)
What’s missing
- No AI or machine-learning competition team, credential or university partnership found
- The Understanding AI course does not appear in the 2026–27 Academy course list, and the Advanced Topics listing carries no date or enrolment figure
- Graded Level 3, structured provision with an advanced course and school-wide AI literacy, and held below Level 4 because dated evidence of what runs each year is thin
Activity
- The Cyber Education Leadership Team (CELT) has about 40 students from Case Middle School and the Academy, coached by people who include the school’s infrastructure engineer and a vice president of enterprise information security at First Hawaiian Bank (Punahou Bulletin, July 2025)
Competitions
- CyberPatriot 17 National Finals: fifth of 1,406 teams in the All Service category (Punahou Bulletin); CyberPatriot 18: “Punahou School, Army JROTC, CELT, Honolulu, Hawaii” is on the Air & Space Forces Association’s list of All Service Division national finalists, February 2026 (AFA)
- AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific capture-the-flag, October 29, 2025, Hawai‘i Convention Center: the Open Division team placed first and the JROTC Division team second (Punahou Bulletin)
What’s missing
- No cybersecurity course, industry credential or cybersecurity provision before Grade 6 found; CELT is a club
- Graded Level 3, a structured club with national-final results, and held below Level 4 because no course or credential was found
Curriculum
- Engineering & Robotics I (CAD, 3D printing, laser cutting and fabrication; small teams build and program robots for classroom competition) and II (metalworking on a mini mill and lathe, Arduino and underwater robots), then Engineering III to V (Academy courses page)
- Punahou Junior Robotics (Grades 4–6), the FIRST Tech Challenge (Grades 7–12) and the FIRST Robotics Competition (Grades 9–12) (clubs page); three First LEGO League teams of Grades 5–6 competed at the Hawai‘i State Championships on February 1, 2026 and one finished sixth statewide (Punahou Bulletin)
Competitions
- December 2025 state championship: eight teams of Grades 7–12; Team 6962 Pokébolts ranked first in qualification, was Winning Alliance Captain and won; Team 6175 License to Shred won the Control Award (Punahou Bulletin, January 2026; Hawaii FIRST Robotics results)
- April 2026 World Championship: sixth in the Edison Division, captain of its own alliance and a finalist, among the top 16 of more than 8,600 teams (Punahou Bulletin, May 2026); FIRST lists the team as a finalist alliance captain (FIRST, Team 6962)
- Earlier: Hawai‘i state champion in December 2024 and No. 1 on the global FTC scoreboard in November 2024 (Punahou Bulletin); Think Award, third place, at the FIRST Championship’s Jemison Division in the 2024 season and the Design Award at the Hawai‘i championship in the 2023 season (FIRST)
- FIRST Robotics Competition Team 2090 Buff ’n Blue: Punahou School, rookie year 2007, one trip to the FIRST Championship (2012), registered but did not compete in 2026 (FIRST, Team 2090)
What’s missing
- No FIRST team or program found for Kindergarten to Grade 3, and no robotics employer or university partnership
- FIRST’s page for Team 6962 does not name the school; the Hawaii FIRST Robotics results page does
- Graded Level 4, a two-course sequence and eight Tech Challenge teams with world-stage results, and held below Level 5 for the missing outcomes record
Curriculum
- Engineering IV: Electric Vehicle, in which students research, design, build and operate an electric vehicle and learn battery-powered propulsion; juniors and seniors design in Onshape, plan circuits in KiCad 9.0 and build PVC prototype frames, with TIG-welded steel tube-frame go-karts planned for the spring, to be raced in the Academy Quad (Academy courses page; Punahou Bulletin, September 2025)
- Science and Engineering for Sustainability, in which students apply the design process and scientific method to sustainable solutions for problems in their communities (Academy courses page)
Campus as laboratory
- The Kosasa Community is the first net-zero building for energy consumption on campus, Case Middle School is LEED Gold and the Omidyar K–1 Neighborhood LEED Platinum, and digital dashboards compare energy and water use in real time across buildings (Buildings that Teach)
What’s missing
- No energy competition, credential or student energy project with an outside record found; the building figures describe the campus and are not a student result
- The school’s course pages list no science elective titles, so no energy course is counted from them
- Graded Level 3, a structured vehicle and sustainability sequence beside a net-zero campus, and held below Level 4 for the missing outside record
Activity
- Research Experiences in Science, a semester course whose December 2025 poster session included a neural-network insulin-delivery project for Type 1 diabetes and a study of reef fish biodiversity around O‘ahu (Punahou Bulletin)
- The Assistive Technology Club builds devices for children, among them an Arduino memory game, an adapter for an infant blood-pressure cuff and a wheelchair trainer (Punahou Bulletin, March 2026)
What’s missing
- No biotechnology or biomedical-engineering course, laboratory, competition or credential found; the school’s course pages list no science elective titles
- Graded Level 2, club and research-course activity without a biotechnology sequence
Curriculum
- Intro to Computer Science (one semester: web design, 2D programmatic art and debugging), AP Computer Science (abstraction, data structures and software engineering, with an independent project), Advanced Topics in Computer Science and AR Explorations, in which students build augmented-reality applications in Unity (Academy courses page)
- Second graders begin basic coding and fifth graders can join Lego robotics (grade pages); the ‘Enehana Club is a computer science club for students who want to explore it (clubs page)
Competitions
- Team 6175 License to Shred won the Hawai‘i FIRST Tech Challenge Control Award in December 2025 (Hawaii FIRST Robotics results)
What’s missing
- No computer science competition team or industry partnership found, and no published AP exam results
- Graded Level 4, a sequence from early coding to AP and AI topics, and held below Level 5 because no software employer or university partnership was found
Creativity cannot be graded the way a course can. It can only be evidenced through what students made.
| Criterion | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art + technology | ||||
| Design | ||||
| Architecture | ||||
| Engineering design | ||||
| Media / digital production | ||||
| Maker learning | ||||
| Interdisciplinary projects |
The one strand found runs for three years or more. 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 are the densest, at 2 of 7 criteria.
The record — 1 artefact
The Pokébolts compete in the FIRST Tech Challenge with a robot the school describes as custom-designed by the team: FIRST’s records show the team in its 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026 seasons, with a Design Award at the Hawai‘i championship in the 2023 season, a Motivate Award and a Think Award (third place) in the 2024 season, and an Inspire Award (second place) and a place as finalist alliance captain at the FIRST Championship in the 2025 season.
FIRST Tech Challenge event and award records for Team 6962, 2023–2026 seasons; Hawaii FIRST Robotics results, December 2025
Nothing found for
No student work was found evidencing these. For a school this well documented, an unrecorded programme is unlikely to be a large one.
What a family should ask about directly
- Biotechnology, aerospace and battery storage are thin: biotechnology rests on a research course and a club, aerospace on an astronomy club, and battery storage on one vehicle course. Ask which Academy science and engineering electives cover them, since the school’s course pages list no science elective titles.
- Punahou describes FIRST Robotics from Kindergarten through 12th grade, and its programs start at Grade 4. Ask what robotics, if any, runs from Kindergarten to Grade 3 and how many students join each team.
- The school’s own pages name Engineering III differently: its course list calls it Industrial Design and a November 2025 school story calls it Advanced Robotics. The Academy list also gives no grade levels or enrolment. Ask for the current course catalogue and which engineering and computer science courses run this year.
- The Tech Challenge results we found come mainly from Team 6962, with a Control Award for Team 6175, and FIRST Robotics Competition Team 2090 did not compete in 2026. Ask who coaches each team and how students are placed on them.
- The Understanding AI course described in an October 2025 school story is not in the 2026–27 Academy course list. Ask whether it runs and for which grades.
- Safety history belongs in a family’s questions. A former girls’ basketball coach was sentenced in August 2025 to 33 years in federal prison, and the school settled lawsuits brought by former students in 2021 (Spectrum News; Civil Beat). Ask how reports are made and handled today and who a student can go to.
| Domain | Evidence class | Key sources |
|---|---|---|
| AI & Data | School-reported | Academy Design Technology and Engineering course list; curriculum page; Punahou Bulletin story on AI literacy (October 2025); no AI competition or credential record found |
| Computer Science | School-reported · Officially recorded | Academy course list; grade pages for Grades 1 and 2; clubs page; Hawaii FIRST Robotics results (Control Award); no competition team or exam record found |
| Robotics | Officially recorded · School-reported | FIRST records for Teams 6962 and 2090; Hawaii FIRST Robotics results (December 2025); Punahou Bulletin stories of January 2026, May 2026 and February 2025; clubs page; no partnership record found |
| Cybersecurity | Officially recorded · School-reported | Air & Space Forces Association CyberPatriot 18 finalist list; Punahou Bulletin stories of July 2025 and November 2025; no course or credential record found |
| Clean Energy | School-reported | Buildings that Teach page; Academy course list; Punahou Bulletin story on Engineering IV (September 2025); no energy competition or credential record found |
| Earth & Geospatial | School-reported | Punahou Bulletin stories on AP Environmental Science (October 2022, including invasive-species removal at Mānoa Stream) and on student research (a study of Eastern Pacific cyclogenesis, a survey of reef fish around O‘ahu); outdoor education on the grade pages; no geospatial or remote-sensing record found |
| Advanced Manufacturing | School-reported | Academy course list (CNC machining, laser cutting, metalworking, 3D printing); design lab pages; no fabrication credential or competition record found |
| Aerospace | School-reported | Astronomy Club and student research stories; no aerospace course, rocketry or drone record found |
| Batteries & Energy Storage | School-reported | Engineering IV: Electric Vehicle course description; no storage course or laboratory record found |
| Biotechnology | School-reported | Punahou Bulletin stories on the Research Experiences in Science poster session and the Assistive Technology Club; no biotechnology course, competition or credential record found |
Academics
We are a vibrant K–12 community where children flourish through discovery, collaboration, and creative exploration.
Our Junior School serves approximately 2,000 students from kindergarten through eighth grade in three learning environments, and our Academy serves Grades 9–12. Here are the four places our students learn and some of our advanced courses; there is more on our Punahou Journey pages.
Omidyar K–1 Neighborhood
In kindergarten we develop a love for learning through play, personalization and exploration, and in first grade we give students the space and time to be creative, curious risk-takers.
- Literacy and numeracy, with inquiry-based learning around the theme “Our Island Home”
- PE, outdoor education, music, art and gardening
- One-to-one iPads that stay at school, in Grade 1
- A once-per-cycle chapel focused on character education
- Specialist teachers who work only with the K–1 neighborhood
Kosasa Community
In Grade 2 students move into a larger community with a new mix of teachers and classmates, and the curriculum builds year by year around island systems, Hawaiian and Polynesian studies, adaptation, and continuity and change.
- Grade 2: experiential learning around island systems, design thinking and engineering, iPads and basic coding
- Grade 3: connections and Hawaiian and Polynesian studies, ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i, mele and drama
- Grade 4: inquiry into water systems, Hawaiian studies, swimming and one-to-one laptops
- Grade 5: continuity and change, colonization and the Revolutionary War, and a Challenger space-shuttle simulation at Barber’s Point
Case Middle School
Our middle school students work in four-teacher teams for their core English, math, science and social studies classes, and take PE, art, music and enrichment courses.
- Grade 6 units such as biomimicry, Mesopotamia and engineering design challenges
- Enrichment courses that vary and may include Art, Design Technology, Digital Photography, Gardening, Culinary Arts, Health, Library, SEEL Skills, Theatre and Woodcraft
- Formal study of a second language, Chinese, French, Hawaiian, Japanese or Spanish, beginning in Grade 7
- A Grade 8 outdoor education capstone at Camp Mokule‘ia
- In a typical year, Space Camp and exchange trips to partner schools in Japan, China and Sweden
Academy
Our students select courses from an extensive catalog, personalizing the mix of classes in a modular schedule. Classroom size averages 18–22 students, with some smaller seminars and labs, and larger lectures. Each year, 99% of graduates go on to college.
- Two yearlong laboratory courses in science are required to graduate
- AP Calculus AB and BC and AP Statistics, with Algebra 1 through Pre-Calculus in Honors, Regular and BCP levels
- Sixteen Design Technology and Engineering courses, from Engineering & Robotics I to Engineering V, with Intro to Computer Science, AP Computer Science and Advanced Topics in Computer Science
- Global Online Academy courses and Independent Inquiry, a semester project elective
- Languages: Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian, French and Spanish
Advanced courses
Ask about academics
Calendar
What is coming up, soonest first.
These are the dates we have published this fall, from our calendar of events, our admissions events and our Fall and Winter 2026 Music Department Concert Series. Ask below if you need a date confirmed before you plan around it.
October
November
December
Ask about the calendar
Our Story
We are children of Ka Punahou, the new spring.
We were founded in 1841 on lands given to Christian missionaries by Hawaiian ali‘i (chiefs), and we soon opened our doors to all the children of Hawai‘i. Our mission and five core values tell who we are, and our legacy page tells how we began.
Children of the New Spring
We develop spiritual and ethical values that affirm the worth and dignity of everyone, inspired by our Hawaiian and Christian heritage.
Dream and Discover
We inspire a love for learning, innovation, and exploration from kindergarten through life, empowering all to discover their gifts and passions.
Purpose and Kuleana
We commit to personal responsibility and kuleana as central tenets of our larger public purpose to create a just, compassionate, and sustainable world.
A Mat That Seats Many
We welcome all to realize the full expression of themselves, knowing that our differences are our source of strength.
Hawai‘i and the World
We honor our many communities and unique kuana‘ike while embracing the entire world as our home.
Ask about our story
Give
Philanthropy is the bridge that connects our students’ dreams with the resources to achieve them.
Our spirit of giving is deeply rooted in our history, reaching back to the late 1820s, when the lands of Kapunahou were gifted by Hawaiian ali‘i to missionary founder Hiram Bingham. That act of generosity continues to inspire our community today, shaping generations through a shared commitment to opportunity, purpose, and care for one another. Your support carries this legacy forward – empowering students to learn, grow, and realize their full potential. See all of our funding priorities and ways to give.
The Punahou Fund
The Punahou Fund provides important flexible funds for our current critical needs and top priorities. From tuition support for our families to transformative student experiences and the next programming innovation, it supports all areas of the School and impacts the lives of every student.
PunsUnited
As we strive to attract the best, brightest and most promising students, regardless of their family’s financial resources, a robust financial aid fund is vital. We are honored to offer approximately $10 million in need-based financial aid each year to one in four Punahou students.
Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons
The K–12 Learning Commons are a reimagining of our libraries into a dynamic intellectual hub where students can find their purpose and passion, creating space for the yet unimagined. The second and final phase, the Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons for Grades 9–12, structurally repurposes our Cooke Library.
Sustainability
We are deeply committed to sustainability in our operations, campus culture and curriculum, and we strive to adopt best practices as part of our commitment to a more sustainable future for Hawai‘i and the world.
Ways to give
Make a gift with a credit or debit card, or by check or cash; set up a 5-year pledge to provide reliable, sustained support; or provide ongoing support with a secure, automatic recurring gift. We also welcome estate and gift planning, corporate matching gifts, gifts of stock, donor advised funds, gifts from your IRA and gifts of cryptocurrency.
Ask about giving
News
What is happening across our campus.
Recent stories from our Bulletin, newest first.
Rep. Jill Tokuda Encourages Students to Help Shape Hawai‘i’s Future
U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda met with our students for a lunch and talk story on Oct. 2, discussing issues ranging from Hawai‘i’s high cost of living and artificial intelligence to civic engagement and the importance of finding trustworthy information.
Flaming “P” Brings Punahou Community Together
Our students, families, employees and alumni gathered on Rice Field Friday, Oct. 2, for Flaming “P,” a beloved tradition celebrating school spirit and community.
Academy Club Fair Connects Students and Interests
Our Academy students gathered at Hemmeter Fieldhouse on Sept. 28 for the annual Academy Club Fair, where 120 student clubs showcased opportunities to learn, create, serve and connect beyond the classroom.
Hands-On Learning Takes Shape in the DTE Lab
Academy students are putting the new Design, Technology and Engineering Lab in the Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons to work, gaining hands-on experience with the tools and technology available in the space.
Kalo Connects Voyaging and Cook Your Heritage Courses
With approaching storms keeping our Hawaiian Voyaging elective course on land, students found another way to explore a central lesson of wayfinding: caring for the resources and communities that sustain them.
Students Bring New Energy to the Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons
The Mary Kawena Pukui Learning Commons is settling into the rhythm of campus life, with students filling its spaces throughout the day to study, collaborate, attend classes and spend time with friends.
Punahou Celebrates Fall Spirit Week
Our students from kindergarten through grade 12 celebrate Fall Spirit Week from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2.
Fall and Winter 2026 Music Department Concert Series
Join us as student musicians take the stage October through December of 2026.
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