About George School

At George School, we believe the world can be better and society can be different. We think that the rat race isn't the only means and majority rule (with minority suffering) isn't the only method. It means that when you come here, you'll ponder life, truth, and knowledge itself. You'll read Wuthering Heights and reflect how a mid-nineteenth-century novel can make a contemporary statement. You'll compete in sports like lacrosse or softball. You'll write your own Canterbury tale. You'll use pantomime to learn ceramics, iMovie to learn physics, and The New York Times to learn economics. (You may also blast music, build bonfires, and even learn to juggle.) It happens through our incredible courses—like AP Calculus or Spanish Seminar or any of the courses in our ultra-challenging International Baccalaureate Program. And it happens because the teachers and staff are proactive and plugged in. They're ready to offer advice, cookies, or whatever the moment calls for. So when you leave this campus, you may head off to Harvard or Haverford or Hamburg, Germany, go home to Mauritania, or return to the simplicity of a Quaker farm. But you will be different from when you came.  

At a Glance

Founded in 1893, George School is a Quaker, coed boarding and day school for students in grades 9 through 12. It is wooded and sunny, quiet and energetic, serious and playful. It is a comfortable, stimulating place to be yourself, to discover new worlds, to help others. You can study calculus and social justice. Chinese and woodworking. Chemistry and golf. In short, George School is a great place to get ready for college. But that's just a benefit of getting ready for life.  

Community

There are about 540 students enrolled in the average year. 51% are girls; 49% are boys 52% are boarding students; 48% are day students 15% are Quaker 25% are international students 25% are students of color Number of states represented: 23 Number of countries represented: 48 Number of faculty: 85 (on average, 75% with advanced degrees) Administration and staff: 180 Faculty-Student Ratio: 1 to 7 Average Class Size: 14 students  

Academics

George School is academically rigorous. Besides offering a wide variety of Advanced Placement and other interesting, challenging classes, we are one of only a few U.S. boarding schools offering the International Baccalaureate Program.  

Location

George School is located in historic Newtown, Pennsylvania. It is a half hour from Princeton, New Jersey; forty minutes from Philadelphia; and two hours from New York City.  

Tuition and Financial Aid

For 2014-15, boarding student tuition is $53,600. Day student tuition is $36,250. Approximately 50 percent of our students receive some financial aid. The average boarding student financial aid award is over $36,500 and the average day student award is nearly $21,500. Our financial aid program (almost one quarter of our annual operating budget) represents one of the most significant commitments to financial aid of any independent school in the country.  

Special Programs

The International Baccalaureate Program is an intensive, internationally recognized two-year curriculum. Advanced Placement classes are challenging academic offerings that can be recognized for credit at college. The English Language Learner (ELL) Program helps international students adapt to an English-speaking system of education. There are domestic and international service trips to such places as Arizona, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, coastal Louisiana, South Africa, Vietnam, and Washington, DC. Foreign language trips go to places like France, Italy, and Nicaragua.  

Athletics

Team Sports: Baseball (boys), basketball (boys and girls), cheerleading (coed), cross-country (boys and girls), equestrian (coed for fall and spring), field hockey (girls), football (boys), golf (coed), lacrosse (boys and girls), soccer (boys and girls), softball (girls), swimming (boys and girls), tennis (boys and girls), track (coed in winter, boys and girls in spring), volleyball (girls), and wrestling (boys). Students who are managers or athletic trainers can get team sport credit. Physical Education Classes: Topics covered in general Physical Education classes vary with the season, and may include aerobics, badminton, basketball, Frisbee, golf, personal fitness, soccer, tennis, volleyball, or weight training. Specialty Physical Education classes are offered in ultimate Frisbee, weight training, and yoga.  

Arts

George School offers a wide variety of visual and performing arts classes, including theater, stagecraft, dance, music, ceramics, painting and drawing, photography, videography, and woodworking. Classes are offered through different levels and include Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate arts classes.  

Campus

George School's campus is 240 acres of open lawns and beautiful woods. Facilities include a solar-powered greenhouse, two athletic facilities including an eight-lane pool, ten playing fields, ten outdoor tennis courts, stables and two riding rings, as well as a Student Health Center, bookstore, coffeehouse, post office, and snack bar. The library houses 20,000 volumes as well as electronic and computer resources, and participates with over 2,000 libraries in interlibrary loans. A state-of-the-art green (environmentally friendly) library and learning commons opened in Fall 2009. Our Quaker meetinghouse was built in Philadelphia in 1812 and moved to campus in 1974. The structure is little changed but students, during silent meeting for worship, can still gaze up at the eight old, enormous roof trusses.