The Agnes Irwin School is a non-sectarian college preparatory day school for girls from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. It was founded in 1869 by Agnes Irwin in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Irwin, a great-great-granddaughter of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

, later became the first dean of

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...

. In 1933, the campus moved to

Wynnewood, Pennsylvania Wynnewood is a suburban unincorporated community, located west of Philadelphia, straddling Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and Haverford Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The community was named in 1691 for Dr. ...

, and then to its present location in Rosemont in 1961.

Location and campus

The campus in Rosemont, is west of Philadelphia. It is in Radnor Township. The campus sits on eighteen-acres.

Extracurricular

Fourteen varsity sports including basketball, crew, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, squash, swimming and diving, tennis, track, and volleyball. Performing arts include dance, choral and instrumental groups and dramatic and musical productions. Visual arts include studio art, ceramics, photography and media arts. There is a Community Service program and a number of clubs.

Accreditation and associations

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (1934), Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools, National Coalition of Girls’ Schools,

Cum Laude Society The Cum Laude Society is an organization that honors scholastic achievement at secondary institutions, similar to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which honors scholastic achievements at the university level. It was founded at The Tome School in 19 ...

(1991), National Association of Independent Schools.

Notable alumnae

Tory Burch Tory Burch (née Robinson; born June 17, 1966) is an American fashion designer, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She is the Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of her own brand, Tory Burch LLC. She was listed as the 88th most powerfu ...

(1984), fashion designer * Eleanor Stuart Childs, novelist and short story writer *

Dorothy Harrison Eustis Dorothy Leib Harrison Wood Eustis (May 30, 1886 – September 8, 1946) was an American dog breeder and philanthropist, who founded The Seeing Eye, the first dog guide school for the blind in the United States. She was inducted into the Natio ...

(1904), established

The Seeing Eye The Seeing Eye, Inc. is a guide dog school located in Morristown, New Jersey, in the United States. Founded in 1929, the Seeing Eye is the oldest guide dog school in the U.S., and one of the largest. The Seeing Eye campus includes administra ...

, an organization dedicated to training guide dogs to help the blind *

Caroline Furness Jayne Caroline Augusta Furness Jayne (July 3, 1873 – June 23, 1909) was an American ethnologist who published the first book on string figures in 1906 titled ''String Figures: A Study of Cat's Cradle in Many Lands''. Early life and education J ...

, ethnologist * Lindy Li, political analyst * Mary Patterson McPherson (1953), executive officer of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

, former vice president of the

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, former president of

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United St ...

Vanessa Noel Vanessa Noel (born October 12, 1961) is an American shoe designer, hotelier, gallery owner, and philanthropist. Biography Vanessa Noel was born and raised in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Noel was able to make social connections early in life as he ...

, shoe designer *

Agnes Repplier Agnes Repplier (April 1, 1855 – December 15, 1950) was an American essayist. Early years She was born in Philadelphia in 1855,Nancy A. Walker, Nancy Nash-Cummings, Zita Dresner. Redressing the balance: American women's literary humor from Colo ...

(did not graduate), Essayist *

Kara Ross Kara Ross (née Gaffney; born 1966/1967) is an American jewelry designer. Early life Kara Gaffney grew up in the Main Line town of Malvern, Pennsylvania, one of the five children of a surgeon, Edmund Gaffney and his wife, Barbara. She designed ...

(1984), jewelry designer * Molly Swanton, mystery writer

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Agnes School Educational institutions established in 1869 Private high schools in Pennsylvania Girls' schools in Pennsylvania Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Schools in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Private middle schools in Pennsylvania Private elementary schools in Pennsylvania 1869 establishments in Pennsylvania