Students at St. Stephen's Episcopal School were acknowledged Oct. 7 by the National Merit Scholarship Corp. for their academic achievement. The national organization recognizes and rewards students' academic success.

According to a news release, 10 seniors were named National Merit Scholar semifinalists and are eligible to compete for scholarships worth about $33 million. Eleven students received commended accolades for placing among the top 5 percent of teenagers who took the 2013 preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. More than 1.5 million students took the exam, according to the release.

"Our National Merit Scholarship honorees are models of student achievement on our campus," Head of School Robert Kirkpatrick said. "They live [up] to our school's promise to develop students with sharp minds, great and humble hearts, and strong spirits who are willing to reach and see beyond themselves."