The Brearley School, an independent school for girls, was founded in 1884 to provide its students with a college-preparatory education equal in rigor to that of boys, and, in the words of the mission statement today, to prepare them for “active responsible citizenship in a democratic society.” Within a highly articulated 13-year curriculum, and with a 6:1 student-faculty ratio, teaching methods are varied, flexible and pragmatic, taking into account individual patterns of development and ways of learning. The School’s program is designed to challenge eager, able students intellectually, and to give each one the opportunity to gain competence, self-reliance and self-knowledge through academic achievement as well as experience in the visual and performing arts, sports, community service and a wide variety of extracurricular activities.
Brearley’s K-12 enrollment is divided into Lower School, Middle School and Upper School, and consists of about 747 students from throughout the New York metropolitan area who represent a diversity of backgrounds, experiences and points of view.