Wachusett Regional High School (abbv. WRHS) is located in Holden, Massachusetts, United States and services the Wachusett Regional School District. Founded in 1955, WRSD comprises Holden, Paxton, Princeton, Rutland, and Sterling. William Beando was appointed principal as of July 1, 2007, succeeding the one year interim service of longtime principal Hal Lane, who had retired in 1993. The assistant principals are Andrew Costa, Anthony DiBenedetto, Victoria DeSimone, and Michael Pratt. Academics The school offers a wide range of courses in many subjects, chiefly of four difficulty levels. The CPA, College Prep - Accelerated, is the accelerated college preparatory level, and the majority of students take classes at this level. The Honors level is above CPA. CP, College Prep is the regular level for students and prepares them for studies after high school. Students at the CP level may need a little extra support with their studies to prepare them for post-high school studies. The fourth main class level is AP, or Advanced Placement, a College Board program through which college credit can be awarded for excellent performance on year-end standardized exams. There are also V or "0" level courses, which are usually mandatory or non-academic, such as physical education and special education courses. The Advanced Placement program at the school has proven a great success. Since 2005, 88% of students taking the end-of-year examination have earned a score of "3" or better, qualifying many of the students for college credit. As of 2010, the high school offers nineteen Advanced Placement courses. The high school also consistently exceeds state and national averages for the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT. School activities Music Department WRHS has a large and well regarded music department- which includes several choirs or varying sizes, orchestra and concert bands, string and wind ensembles, as well as jazz performance groups (both vocal and instrumental). WRHS's music department also has a special partnership with the Boston Symphony Orchestra which permits the students to sit in on rare closed rehearsals of the orchestra. In the spring of 2005, WRHS performed admirably at an international music competition in Toronto, Ontario. At the Festival of Music, Wachusett received first place in the Jazz Band competition, receiving recognition for having several excellent musicians, soloists, and sections. Jazz Choir and Orchestra also took first place in their respective categories. Singers and Chamber Choir took first place in the Mixed Men's and Women's Choir section.