The Baldwin School (simply referred to as Baldwin School or Baldwin) is a private school for girls in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1888 by Florence Baldwin.
In 1888, Florence Baldwin founded "Miss Baldwin's School for Girls, Preparatory for Bryn Mawr College" in her mother's house at the corner of Montgomery and Morris Avenues in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.[8] The first class was composed of thirteen girls.[citation needed]
"The Residence" (formerly Bryn Mawr Hotel) by Furness, Evans & Company. The second Bryn Mawr Hotel opened May 30, 1891).
The second Bryn Mawr Hotel was designed by Furness, Evans & Company and was built between 1890 and 1891. It is a five-story, L-shaped, stone-and-brick building that was created in a Renaissance Revival / châteauesque style, and features a large semi-circular section at the main entrance, topped by a conical roof and finial. It has a steeply pitched red roof with a variety of dormers, chimneys, towers, finials, and skylights.[9]
In 1896, The Baldwin School began leasing the Bryn Mawr Hotel during the winter months for use as a dormitory for its boarding students. They leased it year-round beginning in 1912. In 1922, the school purchased the building and the surrounding 25 acres (100,000 m2) for $240,000.
Today the school has made many additions to "The Residence", as it is called, but has maintained the elegance of the original building. It is now used for the dining hall, many art studios, a black box, apartments for faculty and staff, music classes, the Middle School, and an Early Childhood Center. It also has many lounge areas for students and others.[10]
A two-story science building opened in 1961; it was enlarged in 1995 to accommodate the increasing number of students. The Upper School inhabits the three-story Schoolhouse, which was built in 1926. It was renovated in 1997.
Grades 1-5 are housed in the Lower School building, which was completed in 1974. Changes have been made, for instance, painting the walls bright colors, to make it a warmer learning environment for the younger girls.
Renovations completed in 2014 to "The Residence" specifically support the Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten classes.[10] In 2015, a performing arts center was built called The Simpson Center, which can be used for many different events.[10]
The school formally opened a new athletic center in 2008. It has a six-lane swimming pool, gymnasium, three-lane jogging track, four squash courts, fitness center, and multipurpose meeting/activity space, as well as five tennis courts and a practice field.[11]
Student body
Students of color represent 40% of the student body.[12] The Baldwin School is not religiously associated.
Arts
Music
Baldwin's music education begins in the Lower School. Students receive twice weekly music classes and sing in weekly choruses in Grades 3–5. Students perform in musical plays once a year. In Middle School, chorus, orchestra and classes in guitar and hand bell are available. In Upper School, ensembles include a jazz band, classical chamber music ensemble Firenze, two hand bell choirs, chorus, select a cappella vocal ensemble Baldwin B-Flats, select singing ensemble Eliza-B-thans and an orchestra. Each ensemble is featured during multiple evening concerts throughout the year.
The Middle School Chorus participates annually in the Music in the Parks competition at Hershey Park in May. At the 2014 competition, the Middle School Chorus received a Superior rating and the Best Overall Middle School Chorus trophy for their performances. The B-Flats are the acapella group for Upper Schoolers at Baldwin, and travels to Denmark every three years. The B-flats have won the Ardmore Rotary in 2022, 2023, and 2024
The Baldwin Conservatory offers weekly private instruction on piano, voice, violin, viola, flute, clarinet, saxophone, oboe, trumpet, trombone, guitar, ukulele, banjo and harp. The Baldwin Conservatory has had many accomplished musicians as faculty including pianist and composer Jean Paul Kürsteiner.
Athletics
The Baldwin School competes in the Inter-Academic League, most commonly known as the Inter-Ac. Interscholastic varsity sports are: Basketball, Cross-Country, Field Hockey, Golf, Lacrosse, Rowing, Soccer, Softball, Squash, Swimming and Diving, Tennis, Volleyball, and Indoor Track. Dance is also offered, and students also have the option of Independent PE if they are seriously committed to a sport outside of school such as horseback riding or ice skating, or any sport included in Baldwins program. Athletes who do participate in IPE are required to play their sport for Baldwin during the season if it is an offered sport. PE is another option, which is during the school day, for either 45 or 70 minutes.
Baldwin is especially strong in tennis, softball, squash, and lacrosse, whose teams regularly travel to the Pittsburgh, New York, and Baltimore areas for heightened competition.[13] The Baldwin Bears have recently been Inter-Ac champions in softball, lacrosse, and squash. Its longtime local rival has been the Episcopal Academy in Newtown.
The Baldwin School's athletic center features an indoor track, swimming pool, multiple locker rooms, team meeting room, fitness center, dance studio, squash courts, and basketball court. The building features solar reflective roofing, regionally sourced materials, Energy Star equipment and appliances, and an indoor air quality management system.
[14]
Squash
Baldwin is best known for its squash program. Each class regularly consists of a couple nationally ranked squash players, many of whom compete internationally across Europe, Canada, and South America. Several Baldwin Squash alumni have gone to play the sport at various Ivy League schools. Many of these players are also among the strongest academically at Baldwin, earning honors including National Merit and induction into the Cum Laude Society.
Baldwin's longstanding rival in squash has been Greenwich Academy in Connecticut. In 2015, the upper school team defeated Greenwich in the US Squash Championships at Trinity College. The school's middle school team won the national championship against Greenwich in 2016 and 2018. The upper school team again faced Greenwich in the 2018 national championships, but lost 1–6.[15] However, in 2019, Baldwin was able to defeat Greenwich 5–2 in the national championships. This ended a 3-year streak of Greenwich being the reigning national champions.[16]
Bertha Adkins (1924) – Undersecretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Chairman of the Federal Council on Aging, Organizer of the White House Council on Children and Youth, Maryland Women's Hall of Fame Inductee, Executive Director of the Women's Division of the *Republican National Committee
^McCarthy, Erin (January 20, 2018). "For new prosecutor, it's a homecoming". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. B02. Retrieved November 25, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent township or townships *The census-designated place is entirely in Lower Merion Township, but there are adjacent areas not in the CDP, with "Bryn Mawr, PA" postal addresses, in adjacent townships
