The Bryn Mawr School

The Bryn Mawr School is an independent, nonsectarian all-girls school for grades K-12, with a coed preschool. Founded in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the oldest college-preparatory schools for girls in the country. The school's five founders were determined to offer girls the opportunity to receive the same quality of education then available to boys. It was a radical idea for its time. Guided by the school's first headmistress, the renowned classicist Edith Hamilton, Bryn Mawr became known as a center for academic rigor and inquiry, and maintains this reputation today.

Our goal is to help women succeed by empowering them. We are dedicated to providing girls and young women with the opportunities they deserve. Our students question, lead, achieve and succeed, and they are passionate about lifelong learning. With the support of their teachers and the Bryn Mawr community, they are raising their own expectations about their capabilities – in the classroom, on the stage, in the studio and on the playing field.

The Bryn Mawr School is an independent, nonsectarian, college-preparatory school for girls from preschool through grade twelve. Within a nurturing environment, Bryn Mawr's rigorous academic curriculum inspires a passion for intellectual curiosity and emphasizes the delights and demands of learning. In the classical humanistic tradition, Bryn Mawr promotes the full development of mind, body, and spirit. The school cultivates respect for diversity and engenders habits of moral and ethical leadership and a sense of responsibility to the broader community.

A Bryn Mawr education is grounded in the expectation that young women will be resilient in the face of complexity, ambiguity, and change; will become responsible and confident participants in the world; and, will lead considered and consequential lives.

The Bryn Mawr School, founded by five young women determined to offer girls the same rigorous education available to boys, has long been concerned with issues of equity and access. We believe that a diversity of opinions, experiences, and backgrounds enriches our students and prepares them to engage with the broader community with insight, conviction, and compassion. Our commitment to honoring the dignity and the rights of all people is reflected in every aspect of our program and our school culture. Building and sustaining a diverse community is an ongoing process that must remain at the heart of our mission as a school.

Our students live deliberate, considered and consequential lives, with the resourcefulness and self-awareness to make choices for themselves. They know where they want to go and how to create the lives they want to live. They are well-prepared, creative thinkers. They are confident and resilient. They are dynamic, joyful, energetic, powerful and smart women who care for the world.

An all-girls' environment provides a wonderful opportunity for girls to explore who they are as young women and scholars without social pressure. It's good to be smart at Bryn Mawr! Our students are academically engaged, inquisitive and not afraid to speak their minds. Enthusiasm for all subjects – including math, science, public speaking and technology – is nurtured from the youngest age; no discipline is "off limits" for girls. At Bryn Mawr, students collaborate with their fellow students in the classroom, on a sports team, while planning club activities and more. Girls learn quickly that they have much to offer and much to learn from one another, leading to true lifelong friendships.

Student life at Bryn Mawr is rich with opportunities for personal exploration, growth, discovery and, of course, fun! We offer a whole-girl, whole-day experience that focuses on integrating each girl’s intellectual, physical and personal development in a comprehensive way both in and out of the classroom. This means expanded arts and athletic offerings at all levels; abundant, healthy food choices throughout the day; and clubs, programs and activities that both enrich our students and provide support to families.