The Altamont School

The Altamont School is a coeducational, traditional college preparatory independent day school enrolling students in grades 5-12. We are located on the crest of Red Mountain in a secluded residential neighborhood five minutes from downtown Birmingham.

Altamont is a small family with socio-economic, ethnic and religious diversity. We have an intensive college preparatory academic program with a personalized college search program, including an annual college tour. And we offer many opportunities for children to develop multiple talents by participating in arts, foreign language, community service, clubs, class projects, science competitions and sports – all at the same time. Altamont was established in 1975 through the merger of the Birmingham University School (BUS), founded in 1922, and the Brooke Hill School, founded in 1941 as the College Preparatory School for Girls.

Our main campus is located on 28-acres on the crest of Red Mountain in a secluded residential neighborhood five minutes from downtown Birmingham. The main school building houses 40 classrooms, two science wings, a Fine Arts Center, a Student Center, an art gallery and sculpture garden, a complete computer network with a wireless hub, a computer lab, a 15,000-volume library, and special studios for chorus, art, photography, orchestra. An audio-visual recording, editing and production studio was recently added to the fine arts suite. The athletic facilities include two gymnasiums with two basketball courts, three volleyball courts, and a weight room. The main campus offers six tennis courts, a soccer field and a track with discus cage, shot put ring, long jump pit, pole vault, and a golf cage. A second campus provides another gymnasium as well as soccer, baseball, and softball fields.

The Mission of The Altamont School is to improve the fabric of society by graduating compassionate, well-educated individuals capable of independent thinking and innovative ideas. To this end, the school attracts, nurtures, and challenges students whose commitment to truth, knowledge, and honor will prepare them not only for the most rigorous college programs, but also for productive lives.

Altamont’s community reveres the ideals of its mission and strives to keep it at the forefront of all our decisions, programs, and activities. To that end, our community has worked over the last two years to identify and articulate five Core Values--Respect, Integrity, Balance, Curiosity, and Leadership--which guide us along the path of Truth, Honor, and Knowledge and enable us to fulfill our mission of graduating compassionate, well-educated individuals, capable of independent thinking and prepared for productive lives.

• Respect: We value and have compassion for every individual in our diverse school community. Through our curriculum and school activities, we emphasize the importance of respecting and understanding cultural, religious, intellectual, and social differences that constitute our global and local societies.
• Balance: We motivate students to align their passions with their strengths. We encourage and support our students as they discover the arts, pursue athletics, and delve into academics in a manner that not only equips them with the skills to navigate life’s varied circumstances, but also promotes personal growth, emotional health, and physical well-being.
• Integrity: Because we embrace integrity as the heart of Altamont’s mission, we challenge students to demonstrate honorable words and deeds, to make courageous choices, and to exhibit personal responsibility at all times.
• Curiosity: We nurture intellectual curiosity by celebrating learning, discovery, and innovation. We encourage our students to ask questions, seek truth, and put ideas into action.
• Leadership: We foster every student’s unique capacity to lead and improve society through active discourse, student driven initiatives, and service to others.

Altamont is a school where it is cool to be smart; where a top runner might star in a play or a science whiz might tutor a younger peer in English or a once-shy student might become the class president; where passionate teachers go the extra mile for every student every day; where the arts are as important as athletics; where students of different backgrounds and cultures share in the process of discovery; where reading is revered; where multiple language offerings include Latin, Greek, and Mandarin Chinese; where upholding the Honor Code is a source of pride.

The Altamont School admits students of any race, color, creed, gender, or national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, gender, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions practices, or other school-administered programs.