the Baldwin School

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.{{cite web|title=The Baldwin School Archives|url=http://contentdm1.accesspa.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/kthbs-arch|publisher=Baldwin School|access-date=1 September 2015}} The first class was composed of thirteen girls.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}}

File:Bryn Mawr Hotel.JPG 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.{{cite web| url = https://www.dot7.state.pa.us/ce/SelectWelcome.asp| title =National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania| publisher = CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System| format = Searchable database}} Note: This includes {{cite web| url = {{NRHP-PA|H000791_01H.pdf}}| title = National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Bryn Mawr Hotel| access-date = 2012-03-24| author = Hyman Myers| format = PDF| date= n.d.}}

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 {{convert|25|acre|m2}} for $240,000.

Today the school has made many additions to "The Residence," but maintained the general style of the original building. It is now used for dining, art studios, theater performances, housing, the Middle School, and an Early Childhood Center.

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.

Renovations completed in 2014 to "The Residence" specifically support the Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten classes. In 2015, a performing arts center was built called The Simpson Center, which can be used for many different events.{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725035622/http://www.baldwinschool.org/RelId/605788/ISvars/default/Philosophy_%26_History.htm|title=Baldwin School -> Philosophy and History|archive-date=2011-07-25|url=http://www.baldwinschool.org/RelId/605788/ISvars/default/Philosophy_%2526_History.htm|access-date=9 May 2024}}

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, a fitness center, five tennis courts, and a practice field."[https://www.baldwinschool.org/athletics/facilities Athletics Facilities]." Bryn Mawr: Baldwin, retrieved online December 26, 2022.

Students of color represent 40% of the student body.{{Cite web |url=http://www.baldwinschool.org/baldwin-fast-facts |title=Baldwin School Fast Facts |access-date=2010-11-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725035702/http://www.baldwinschool.org/baldwin-fast-facts |archive-date=2011-07-25 |url-status=dead }}

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, a classical chamber music ensemble, two hand bell choirs, vocal ensembles, and an orchestra.

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 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 has tennis, softball, squash, and lacrosse teams.{{Cite web|url=http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/baldwin-highlanders-(pittsburgh,pa)/girls-lacrosse/schedule.htm|title = Schedule - Baldwin Highlanders (Pittsburgh, PA) Girls Varsity Lacrosse 21-22}} 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.

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.greenwichtime.com/highschool/article/Greenwich-Academy-wins-another-U-S-team-squash-12553237.php|title=Greenwich Academy wins another U.S. Team squash title|date=5 February 2018}} 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.baldwinschool.org/page.cfm?p=592&teamID=181&event=3237&show=recap |title=The Baldwin School: Team Pages |website=www.baldwinschool.org |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204122233/https://www.baldwinschool.org/page.cfm?p=592&teamID=181&event=3237&show=recap |archive-date=2019-02-04}}

{{See also|List of Baldwin School alumnae}}

{{See also|Category:The Baldwin School alumni}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania}}

• {{Official website|https://www.baldwinschool.org/}}
• [http://www.mainlinetoday.com/Main-Line-Today/Resources/Education/index.php/listing/25543/ Main Line Today magazine]
• [https://books.google.com/books?id=2hvGu_waz00C&dq=Baldwin+School+history&pg=PA704 Petersen's Private Secondary Schools]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20101011005547/http://www.ncgs.org/profiles/baldwinschool_42/~thebaldwinschool_42 National Coalition of Girls' Schools]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110721000017/http://transact.nais.org/Custom/CompanyInformation.aspx?id=0040&addressnum= National Association of Independent Schools]
• [http://www.mainlinebyrail.com History of the Main Line]

{{Lower Merion}}

{{Inter-Academic League}}

{{Frank Furness}}

{{Girls' schools in Pennsylvania}}

{{Girls' schools in Philadelphia}}

{{Montgomery County, Pennsylvania School Districts}}

{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania}}

{{Authority control}}

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Category:Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania

Category:Renaissance Revival architecture in Pennsylvania

Category:Private elementary schools in Pennsylvania

Category:Private middle schools in Pennsylvania

Category:Private high schools in Pennsylvania

Category:Girls' schools in Pennsylvania

Category:Schools in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Category:Philadelphia Main Line

Category:Frank Furness buildings

Category:Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Category:School buildings completed in 1891

Category:Educational institutions established in 1888

Category:1888 establishments in Pennsylvania