One might consider the Philadelphia suburbs an almost magical place, blending the cosmopolitan feel that comes from living between two of the world’s most desirable cities with the ease of being tantalizingly close to the rolling hills and open spaces of the countryside. The region has also earned a reputation for being a bastion of good education, led by a number of some truly impressive private high schools.
With the 2013-14 school year off and running, we once again take an in-depth look at how local private high schools are preparing students for “the college years” and whatever else life has in store once they fling their mortarboards on graduation day. On the following pages are the essential “ones and zeroes”—SAT scores, student-to-teacher ratios and other data—that may serve as an effective tool in gauging how students enrolled at these institutions are learning how to excel once they leave high school for the next phase of their journey.
Although facts and figures help paint a picture as to how private schools are preparing students for the next phases of their lives, they do not take into consideration an institution’s intangible benefits—athletic and social groups, technology availability and other features that may be tougher to quantify.
Fine print: Data was attained by contacting the schools directly, with additional information compiled through resources such as the National Center for Education Statistics and school websites. SAT scores, tuition costs and other data are for the 2013-14 school year, or the most recent year available. Suburban Life has used its best efforts to gather the information in this list but cannot guarantee that the information is complete or accurate.
Schools included in this year’s report:
BUCKS COUNTY
Archbishop Wood High School
Conwell-Egan Catholic High School
The George School
Holy Ghost Preparatory School
Solebury School
Villa Joseph Marie High School
CHESTER COUNTY
Bishop Shanahan High School
Church Farm School
Devon Preparatory School
Malvern Preparatory School
The Phelps School
Valley Forge Military Academy
Villa Maria Academy High School
DELAWARE COUNTY
Academy of Notre Dame de Namur
Archbishop John Carroll High School
Bonner Prendergast Catholic High School
Country Day School of the Sacred Heart
Delaware County Christian School
Westtown School
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Abington Friends School
Academy of the New Church
The Agnes Irwin School
The Baldwin School
Bishop McDevitt High School
Christopher Dock Mennonite High School
Coventry Christian Schools
Friends’ Central School
Germantown Academy
The Haverford School
The Hill School
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
La Salle College High School
Merion Mercy Academy
Mount Saint Joseph Academy
Philadelphia-Montgomery Christian Academy
Pope John Paul II High School
St. Basil Academy
The Shipley School
West-Mont Christian Academy
Wyncote Academy
NEW JERSEY
Notre Dame High School
Princeton Day School
