For many high school students, 10th grade isn't all that special.

The novelty of attending high school has worn off. They're still too young to drive. Graduation is two years away.

But the sophomores at Chandler Preparatory Academy aren't typical 10th-graders, they're pioneers. And the school itself - a charter school with a rigorous liberal arts curriculum - isn't an ordinary school, either.

The school opened in 2005 when those students were eighth-graders. They will be the school's first graduating class in 2010.

Benjamin Hill, a sophomore, was home schooled before enrolling at Chandler Prep two years ago as an eighth-grader.

"A lot of the teachers say we have it hard because we don't have a senior class to look up to," he said. "We don't see it as being hard. We are the senior class, or we're going to be."

Helen Hayes has been headmaster of the school since it opened. She said the school's 10th-graders have handled their trailblazing status well.

"They've been like seniors since their eighth-grade year," Hayes said. "They've been the top dogs on this campus. Next year, they'll actually start to have the credentials to have that status."

It hasn't been easy for the 10th-graders at Chandler Prep but that can be said for all of the school's 287 students.

Chandler Prep follows the challenging Great Hearts curriculum, which places an emphasis on receiving a classical education. Students study great works of Western literature and philosophy in addition to advanced math and science courses.

Classes are small (no more than 22 students) and highly interactive. And students also have a heavy homework load, about two hours per night.

Because Chandler Prep is a charter school (and therefore a public school) students are not screened for academic aptitude before they are admitted. However, the Great Hearts reputation and level of involvement required of students and parents tends to appeal to families serious about education.

Chris Acedo plays linebacker and fullback on the school's football team (the 2007 season was their first) and with his easy smile and laid-back personality could probably fit in well at any school. He said the workload at Chandler Prep, particularly after a long road trip or hard practice could be tough, but it would be worth it.

"We're getting a good education here," Acedo, a sophomore, said. "I'm up pretty late doing homework sometimes and have a lot of projects, too. You have to be very focused."

Hayes said the ability to focus is a better predictor of success at the school than raw intelligence.

"Smart kids with no work ethic will really struggle and butt their heads against the wall," Hayes said. "But kids not as smart, but with a really good work ethic, can really surprise themselves. A lot of times in bigger schools they might not have been recognized for their skills and their industry and earnestness. This can be a good setting for students to learn the value of hard work."

You won't find mention of AIMS (Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards) test scores on Chandler Prep's Web site, but the school's students do very well on that state-mandated test. In 2007 at least 97 percent of the school's seventh- and eighth-grade students passed all three test subjects (reading, writing and math).

The reason, Hayes says, is because so much is expected of Chandler Prep students that doing well on the state test isn't difficult.

"Setting the bar higher has the side benefit of students pretty handily jumping over that lower bar," Hayes said. "We really do think of the AIMs test as being a lower bar. When we looked at the high-stakes 10th-grade AIMs test, we said, that's not all that hard."