Five Preparatory High Schools Worldwide That Make the Grade
- Caifu Magazine | by Catherine Skrzypinski
- EN
If your son or daughter has his or her sights on the Ivy League, then their path may be determined as early as kindergarten. Competition for places at the top private schools has reached a breaking point.
Do you need help finding the best private school for your child? Would your son flourish more in an all-boys environment or with girls in his classes? Alternatively, would he or she enjoy the boarding school environment, much like Harry Potter and his friends? Would you prefer if they stayed close to home, or spread their wings on a suburban campus or in an urban setting?
Listed below are five private schools continually ranked the best in the world. See which one would be the best fit for your budding academic superstar.
1. Trinity School: Preparing Students for the World in America’s Most Diverse City
The Trinity School, a college preparatory, coeducational day school for students in kindergarten through Grade 12, opened in 1709 as a charity school located near Trinity Church in lower Manhattan, offering the poor free education. The school moved to its current location on the Upper West Side in 1895.
As the fifth oldest school in the United States, Trinity is organized into a lower school (kindergarten through Grade 4), a middle school (Grades 5-8), and an upper school (Grades 9-12). The ratio of students to teachers is six to one, as conversations between students and teachers is the essence of the Trinity educational experience.
Trinity’s Classics department is recognized as one of the strongest in the nation. Nearly 40 percent of students take either Latin or Greek, while more than 60 percent take two languages. Trinity offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses – where students can earn college credit during high school – in Latin Caesar and Virgil, Spanish language, Spanish literature, and French language, as well as statistics, economics, calculus, and art history.
The Trinity community prides itself in welcoming a diverse student body, regardless of race, religion or ethnic background – much like New York City itself. Around 41 percent of the student body consists of African-American, Hispanic and Asian children.
The Wall Street Journal consistently ranks Trinity as one of the top three high schools in the United States, as measured by students’ admission to exclusive colleges.
Trinity School
139 West 91st Street
New York, NY 10024-1326 USA
1-212-873-1650
http://www.trinityschoolnyc.org/
Tuition: $44,570: kindergarten-11th grade; $45,130: 12th grade
Number of Students Enrolled: 986 boys and girls, kindergarten-12th grade
Acceptance Rate: 2.4 percent
Endowment: $40.4 million
University Destinations: Ivy League universities, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, Brown, Dartmouth and Cornell, as well as Stanford University, MIT and Duke University
Notable Students: John McEnroe, former professional tennis player
Humphrey Bogart, Hollywood screen legend
Truman Capote, novelist and screenwriter
Oliver Stone, film director
Yo Yo Ma, cellist
2. Eton College: Students Standing on the Shoulders of Giants in the United Kingdom
Eton is a boarding school where all pupils live and study, and remains a single-sex institution for boys. All Eton students wear a uniform of a black tailcoat (or morning coat) and waistcoat, false-collar and pin striped pants, along with a white tie, every day to class.
The Eton Curriculum encourages intellectual success not only in the traditional classroom, but also in extracurricular activities like music, art, sports, drama and charitable activities. Eton educators encourage students to be well rounded, and to develop teamwork, leadership abilities, communications skills, creative inclinations and self-confidence. Eton students are required to study two modern languages, in addition to English and mandatory Latin instruction.
Eton has seen “quite a growth in demand from families overseas, particularly Asia and continental Europe, reported The Daily Telegraph in 2013. Around 12 percent of Eton’s student population consists of boys from around the world.
Eton College
Windsor SL4 6DW
United Kingdom
+44 1753 370100
http://www.etoncollege.com/
Tuition: $50,213 per year
Number of Students Enrolled: 1,314 boys from ages 13-18
Acceptance Rate: 25 percent
Endowment: $390 million
University Destinations: Oxford University, Cambridge University, The University of St. Andrews (Scotland), The University of Edinburgh
Notable Alumni: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
Prince Henry (Harry) of Wales
George Orwell, author
John Maynard Keynes, economist
19 British Prime Ministers, including current Prime Minister David Cameron
3. Phillips Academy Andover: Rigorous Academic Training Ground for the Real World
Phillips Academy Andover, located 25 miles north of Boston in Andover, Massachusetts, is one of the oldest high schools in the United States. Established in 1778 during the American Revolutionary War, Andover served as a feeder school to Yale University. Paul Revere, a patriot in the American Revolution, engraved Andover’s official seal, which includes two Latin phrases: Finis Origine Pendet (the end depends upon the beginning) and Non Sibi (not for self).
Andover only admitted boys until the school turned co-ed in 1973. Nowadays, both boarding and day students are enrolled in Phillips Academy Andover for grades 9-12, along with a postgraduate year.
Andover’s rigorous academic curriculum provides every student with a strong foundation in the arts, humanities and sciences. Teachers inspire creative writing in essays, and encourage critical-thinking discussions among students. Students say they not only learn from their teachers, but from one another.
Many students have said Andover is “harder than college,” but they added it prepared them well for their undergraduate years and beyond. Andover courses rival a small college – math whizzes can take a college-level algebra class, while English literature aficionados can enroll in an entire class devoted to Jane Austen novels.
Phillips Academy Andover has an educational connection to China, dating back to the 19th century. Andover began offering a Chinese language program in the 1960s, and established an exchange program in the 1970s.
Andover has seen a rise in its international Chinese student population, as several dozen students from China are currently studying at the school, reported China Daily USA.
Phillips Academy Andover
180 Main Street
Andover, MA 01810, USA
1-978-749-4000
http://www.andover.edu/
Tuition: $50,300
Number of Students Enrolled: 1,138 boys and girls, 9th-12th grade
Acceptance Rate: 13 percent
Endowment: $800 million
University Destinations: Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Duke University, Boston University, Tufts University, Georgetown University, University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Southern California
Notable Students: Oscar Tang, Chinese-American investment banker and philanthropist
George H.W. Bush, 41st U.S. President
George W. Bush, 43rd U.S. President
John F. Kennedy, Jr, founder and editor-in-chief, George magazine
Rahim Aga Khan, executive director of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development
4. Sidwell Friends School: Educating Washington, D.C. Politicians’ Children for Centuries
Labeled the Harvard of Washington, D.C.’ private schools by The New York Times, presidents, politicians, philanthropists, ambassadors and journalists based in the U.S. capital have sent their children to the highly selective school because the Sidwell community understands the personal and security needs of prominent children.
A Quaker institution founded in 1883, the faculty at Sidwell Friends School aims to shape both male and female children into socially responsible and spiritually aware adults. Although Sidwell gives some preference to Quaker applicants, students of all religious backgrounds are welcome. Around 43 percent of students are minorities, ranking the private school as one of the diverse in the Washington, D.C. area.
The Sidwell Friends Upper School (Grades 9-12) has a strong English department, where students have scored high marks on the AP English exam. In addition to English, all Sidwell students are required to study another language, mathematics, science, history and art.
Sidwell also has a strong Chinese studies program, with Mandarin classes offered beginning in Middle School (Grade 5-8), and Chinese history courses taught in Upper School. The Sidwell Friends Upper School hosts two Chinese exchange students every year.
Sidwell Friends School
3825 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20016, USA
1-202-537-8100
http://www.sidwell.edu/
Tuition: $36,264 per year
Number of Students Enrolled: 1,150 boys and girls, pre-kindergarten-12th grade
Acceptance Rate: 19 percent
Endowment: $37 million
University Destinations: Harvard University, Brown University, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University, Swarthmore College, Wesleyan University, Boston College, Emory University, Georgetown University, Occidental College, University of Chicago, Tufts University and the University of Michigan
Notable Students: Malia Obama, daughter of 44th U.S. President Barack Obama
Sasha Obama, daughter of 44th U.S. President Barack Obama
Chelsea Clinton, daughter of 42nd U.S. President Bill Clinton and 2016 U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton
Tricia Nixon Cox, daughter of 37th U.S. President Richard Nixon
Albert Gore III, son of 45th U.S. Vice President Al Gore
5. UCC
Modeled after Britain’s all-boys institutions like Eton College, UCC has a link to the British royal family through Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s husband. The Duke of Edinburgh is a member of UCC’s board of governors.
Male students have the option of boarding at UCC, where boys can gain independence, time management skills and confidence living in Toronto, one of the most livable cities in the world, according to The Economist. Students must adhere to a dress code, with uniforms changing in correspondence with the seasons. First Dress is worn on Mondays and special events, consisting of Regular Dress (a conservative dress shirt, UCC tie, grey slacks and polished black shoes), plus a blue blazer with the UCC crest.
UCC adopted the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma program in 1995, which places an emphasis on critical thinking and the development of higher-level writing and research skills.
Students spend their final two years at UCC preparing for an essay and other testing methods in subjects such as social sciences, experimental sciences and mathematics in their native language – English, French or Spanish. According to UCC, the IB diploma is a student’s “gold card” to enhanced post-secondary opportunities.
Upper Canada College
200 Lonsdale Road
Toronto, ON M4V 1W6 Canada
1-416-488-1125
http://www.ucc.on.ca/
Tuition: CAD $30,550 for day school; CAD $61,010 for boarding per year
Number of Students Enrolled: 972 boys from ages 5-18
Acceptance Rate: 25 percent
Endowment: CAD $42.3 million
University Destinations: Queen’s University, University of Western Ontario, University of Toronto, McGill University, University of Waterloo, McMaster University, Wilfrid Laurier University
Notable Students: Brendan Fraser, Hollywood film actor
Galen Weston, Canada’s second wealthiest businessman
Galen Weston, Jr., executive chairman of Loblaw Companies Limited
Norman Bethune, Sr., prominent Canadian doctor, father of Norman Bethune, doctor who helped the Chinese army
Conrad Black, Canadian newspaper baron
Research sources: China Daily USA, The Daily Telegraph, The Economist, Forbes, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, university websites and alumni news.
