A dozen of Lawrence’s high school seniors are among the most elite group of young scholars in the country.

Six seniors from Lawrence High School, five from Free State High School and one from Bishop Seabury Academy have been selected as National Merit Semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corp.

The Bishop Seabury student is Laura Gauch, said Chris Carter, head of school.

“We’re, of course, very proud of Laura. She’s a very outstanding student. We hope she has success as she moves forward in National Merit Competition,” Carter said.

The FSHS students picked for the honor are Jennifer Brooks, Benjamin Greenberg, Jing Li, Heidi Tenpas and Penelope Tsatsoulis.

“We’re proud of our five kids, of course. They’re all really good students,” said Joe Snyder, FSHS principal. “They’re very accomplished kids.”

Snyder said there were six Free State students who were semifinalists last year.

“I think it says something about the community. Education is valued and it’s passed on to our kids,” he said.

The LHS students are Rebecca Dirks, Anthony Frei, Samuel Huneke, Katherine Mather, Jeffrey Standing and Baoqing Zhou.

“We’re very proud of the individuals who earned this honor,” said Steve Nilhas, LHS principal. “I’m excited not only for them, but also for the teachers at Lawrence High and the district in general who have also been instrumental in them being able to perform at this level.”

Nilhas said there were five LHS students who were semifinalists last year.

“Between the high schools, we have 10 to 12 or 13 a year,” he said.

The dozen local students are among less than 1 percent of the country’s high school seniors.

More than 1.3 million students entered the Merit Program when they were juniors by taking the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

The approximately 16,000 semifinalists will now compete for Merit Scholarship Awards worth more than $30 million that will be announced next spring.

To become finalists, students must show an outstanding high school academic record, be endorsed and recommended by their principal and submit SAT scores that confirm their earlier qualifying test performance. They also need to complete a detailed scholarship application, including an essay and information about their participation and leadership in school and community activities.

About 90 percent of the semifinalists meet the high standards to become finalists, and more than half of the finalists earn Merit Scholarships that will be announced between April and July 2007.