Pilgrim School

Pilgrim School, founded in 1958, is an independent, co-educational, college preparatory day school for students in Preschool through Grade 12. The school is located in Wilshire Center, 10 minutes from Silver Lake and Echo Park, and 15 minutes from Hancock Park. Pilgrim School attracts a student body that reflects the city's diverse population.

Our school educates students beyond a narrowly-defined set of academic skills. We’ve redefined student success to include the academic knowledge, artistic exploration, and social skills they will need to become inquisitive critical thinkers, collaborative problem-solvers, creative pioneers, strong communicators, and empathetic global citizens.

We invite you to visit our campus to take a tour. As you enjoy the school’s historical architecture, peruse student work in our leading-edge Art Center, and experience the daily life of our school, you will get a good sense of what Pilgrim School has to offer. During your visit, you will see students working collaboratively on projects, parents volunteering their time, and teachers differentiating the curriculum to meet students’ unique interests and individual needs. We encourage you to talk with students and teachers, walk through our FabLab, meet the Head of School, and learn about our almost 60 year history of our thoughtfully-planned educational program and its foundational philosophy. At Pilgrim, we pride ourselves on our friendly atmosphere and making sure our students are involved, kind, and known.

Our intimate environment is designed to enrich and support your child’s learning and growth. The size of the school fosters tremendous closeness, respect and familiarity among community members. Put simply, each Pilgrim student is involved, kind and known. In all three academic divisions of the school, we have created a rigorous and supportive environment where all students can take ownership of their learning. The depth of our programs, our advanced and A.P. classes, prepare our students for acceptance to the world’s top colleges, art schools and universities. Our instruction goes well beyond the classroom. Our varied extracurricular program, community engagement, and “no cut” athletic teams mean that your child can try a host of new activities, learn about their community and make lifelong friendships at Pilgrim. Our students’ learning goes well beyond academic content and skills; we teach to the whole child. Our life skills programs throughout the school, prepare our students to be joyful, successful, and confident not just while at Pilgrim but well after graduation.

Located in the heart of Los Angeles, our tightly knit student body reflects the diversity and inclusivity of the city. Our students learn about the host of cultures that make our city and community truly special. In addition to the richly diverse local community of families, we also welcome international students through our high school boarding program, with students from all over the world, as well as some local participants. The boarding program adds an international aspect to all levels of the school, in the classrooms, in discussions, through the many diverse holiday celebrations, from our high school down to our early ed program, where our international high school students read to our youngest students.

Moreover, our expanding campus also includes the limitless possibilities of Los Angeles. The California Science Center, Disney Music Hall, The Getty, LACMA, MoCa, art galleries, gardens, and the beach are just some of our additional classrooms. The students learn in our classrooms as they experience the intellectual and creative life of our great city.

When Pilgrim alumni are asked what makes Pilgrim special, one of the answers we frequently hear is that close friendships are made and maintained after graduating. Graduates also speak of the connections they built with faculty members. Pilgrim students are accustomed to interacting with their teachers, and even at the largest universities they are not shy about approaching faculty with questions and comments. Many of our graduates have been at Pilgrim for thirteen years. They have grown up on this campus. And this school is a family. Whenever a student enters Pilgrim, they and you will feel the embracing warmth and care as we make joyful learners.