Upper School

Entrance into the Upper School marks a significant transition in the life of a Brearley Student. With greater opportunities to explore her academic, athletic, and artistic interests, the Upper School provides students with a foundation for developing essential life skills. Guided by dedicated faculty and staff, Upper School students develop a strong sense of themselves and confidence in their abilities. This ultimately creates resourceful young women who are prepared to make a difference in the world outside Brearley.

Brearley's mission asks us to cultivate a commitment to the greater good. We believe that leadership and service go hand in hand. Upper School students are encouraged to fully participate in building an active and inclusive community that works together to address the complex issues facing our world today.

Stephanie Wright, Ph.D.Head of Upper School Student Life

Joy in Learning

Whether academic or extracurricular, our students do not shy away from challenges; rather they love to grapple with and overcome them. Class schedules are customized and tailored each year to meet individual needs, helping students balance curricular and co-curricular demands. Students also have greater choices in their coursework each year. This culminates in Senior Spring when each student immerses herself in a curriculum of her own making. For example, students can take minicourses, participate in internships or volunteer with an organization whose mission resonates with her. These projects capture the intellectual vibrancy that runs through the school.

Faculty Mentors
and Advisors

Our Upper School students benefit from a cadre of dedicated faculty who guide them to stretch themselves intellectually, emotionally and socially. Highly accomplished in their fields, they are attuned to each student’s aspirations and pace of development, her personality and talents. By asking much, and by serving as role models, our teachers inspire students to push beyond their perceived limits. They are an integral part of the Brearley experience and help shape our students into independent, confident women who are committed to the greater good.

No One
Brearley Girl

Brearley students are multidimensional; we like to say there is no ONE Brearley girl. Upper School students are involved in a myriad of activities, both in and outside of the classroom, that allow them to pursue their passions. Everyone can find something they love to do at Brearley. Are you a soccer player who loves the cello and writes for the literary magazine? Are you a thespian who is passionate about the environment and loves robotics? Are you a budding scientist who works in a research lab but also plays chess and enjoys ceramics? Unsure where your interests lie but are curious and want to explore your opportunities? Then you belong here.

Upper school students sitting in a circle of desks smiling and engaging with each other.

Belonging and Building a Respectful Community

Our students have multiple opportunities to develop their individual voices, learn how to have difficult yet respectful conversations and assume responsibility for themselves and for others. They learn how to lead and how to encourage others to succeed. Through student-run affinity groups, clubs and self-government, they develop a true sense of belonging, knowing they are valued and celebrated for who they are. Belonging is more than a buzzword here; it is an inherent part of who we are as a school.

Class IX Curriculum

English

Building on the skills of narrative analysis developed in Class VIII, this course concentrates on close reading across genres, delving more deeply into the intricacies of language and form than in previous courses. The year begins with a unit on the modern essay that explores writers’ relationships to language, identity, and culture, including writers such as Julia Alvarez, Amy Tan, Richard Rodriguez, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Diana Abu-Jaber, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Students examine the sonnet during a poetry unit, paying special attention to the nuances of poetic language and the evolution of traditional poetic form, including writers such as William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Claude McKay, and Rhina Espaillat. Romeo and Juliet extends the discussion to consider the richness of Shakespeare’s language and the play as a performance piece. It also invites an opportunity to explore the play’s reception over time. The year ends with two novels, Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, which consider the position of women in marriage and society. Writing in the course includes analytical, discursive, and creative assignments, and is accompanied by a review of English grammar and usage.

Twentieth-Century World History

All students in Class IX take Twentieth-Century World History, which completes the four-year sequence of world history that begins in Class VI (study of ancient civilizations in the Mediterranean basin, China, and India). The course surveys global history from c. 1880 to the present. Beginning with the interlinked phenomena of nationalism, new imperialism, and the Second Industrial Revolution, it traces the history of the World Wars and the Great Depression, ideologies such as communism, fascism, and anti-colonialism, the emergence of scores of new nation-states (for example, the state of Israel), and the rise and fall of the Cold War. The course emphasizes close reading of primary sources and prepares students to understand the deep background of contemporary world affairs. In most years, Class IX visits the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.

Latin

Students complete the introduction to basic vocabulary and syntax, and study Latin grammar using the Suburani Book Two. They practice reading and understanding advanced Latin syntax through a survey of various textbooks, stories from the Fabulae Faciles collection, and authentic Latin literature by Roman authors such as Caesar, Livy, and Virgil.

Drama

This course introduces students of all levels to physical comedy and character creation through the study of improvisation, open scene work, farce, and commedia dell’arte. The class rehearses and performs short comedic plays in the late spring for the Middle and Upper School, and through the production process, students engage with various aspects of technical theater. All students are cast in a role.

Studio Art

The foundations of drawing, painting, and creating a cohesive composition are explored in this year-long course. Students develop their hand and eye by learning to draw what they see and to arrange forms spatially into a compelling image. Students explore using color in expressive and poetic ways through investigations of pattern design, oil painting, collage, and ink-and-brush drawing. Participation in conceptual and art-historical discussions, group critique, and one self-guided museum or contemporary gallery study is required.

Physical Education

The Upper School physical education program at Brearley offers an elective curriculum emphasizing lifelong fitness and well-being. An objective of the program is to expose students to a variety of activities and equip them with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to develop their physical potential through adolescence and beyond. The offerings vary by trimester, including courses on fitness, dance, sports, Pilates, special programming, and mindfulness, with an emphasis on lifelong fitness and exercise. Students may fulfill the requirement either by taking a PE class or participating in the School’s interscholastic athletic teams.

Co-Curricular Activities

Students have many opportunities to pursue their interests beyond the curriculum. The School offers arts activities—photography, sculpture, ceramics, dramatic productions, orchestra and chorus, for example—in addition to the regular courses, as well as writing and publishing opportunities. Students in the Upper School may be admitted to Brearley’s Advanced Science Research Seminar or Poetry Workshop; they may also participate in clubs that focus on model government, robotics, debate, and many other topics; they may join Interschool advanced math courses as juniors or seniors.

Class IX Co-Curricular Activities

Mathematics

Class IX students study geometry. Two different tracks are offered and placement is determined with the help of the math faculty.

Class IX Math Section Descriptions

Biology

All students in Class IX take Biology, which makes extensive use of the biological and physical principles first learned through the department’s vertically integrated K–XII science program. This course is designed to develop an understanding of life processes, with emphasis on cell biology, biochemistry, DNA, biotechnology, genetics, evolution, and animal physiology. Students learn about data analysis through extended laboratory studies of the growth and genetics of Fast Plants, as well as the exploration of molecular genetics techniques such as bacterial transformation and gel electrophoresis. Students are encouraged to design experiments to test their own hypotheses. The course culminates in a research project on the physiology of a human disease or condition, and students learn how it affects a specific physiological system.

Modern Languages

Students continue with their study of modern languages, either French, Spanish or Mandarin.

Class IX Modern Language Course Descriptions

Music

While music is no longer a required course in Upper School, Class IX students have the opportunity to delve into different courses including vocal work, orchestra or instrumental techniques. (half credit; throughout the year)

Class IX Music Course Descriptions

Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Through an Ethical Lens

Grounded in Brearley’s commitment to intellectual curiosity and ethical responsibility, this foundational course introduces students to computer science through the study of computing and artificial intelligence (AI) in society. Students will explore how AI systems learn, ethical decision-making, and the real-world impact of technology, taught through hands-on labs and case studies. Includes ethical debates and the design of a final AI regulation project.

Health Education

Class IX health integrates the five core competencies of social and emotional skill development (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making) into a solid health framework. The curriculum covers mindfulness, values clarification, communication styles, relationships, human sexuality, media literacy, body image, consumerism, and drug and alcohol awareness. The class is designed to promote small group discussion and culminates in a project in which students create public service announcements on topics of their choice. Students also take a violence prevention course offered by Prepare.

Class X Curriculum

English

This course is the only survey class in the Brearley English curriculum. Texts (novels, novellas, essays, autobiographies, and poems) in the syllabus range from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries. Students read from a variety of genres, which include novels (The Scarlet Letter, Beloved); nonfiction by Franklin, Douglass, Zitkala-Ša, Du Bois, Baldwin, and Rankine; short stories by Melville, Cather, and Baldwin; and poetry, including Bradstreet and Wheatley Peters, as well as a selection of modern and contemporary poets (including Dickinson and Whitman). Students read at a faster pace than they have in previous years and produce substantial analytical essays as well as several pieces of creative writing.

United States History

This course prepares students to engage in complex historical inquiry and provides them with a strong foundation in historical reasoning to understand and engage in the competing narratives that form the basis of this nation’s history. Through analysis of primary and secondary sources and scaffolded research and writing projects, students will develop the skills necessary to ask meaningful questions and find answers about all aspects of American history, from the colonial period to the present. In keeping with Brearley’s commitment to antiracism, students will learn to challenge traditional narratives about United States history from its founding, explore fundamental questions about who has and has not been included in the American story, and consider fundamental questions about the struggle of various groups in their quest to become full members of “We, the People .”

Latin

Students review and extend their knowledge of advanced syntax and vocabulary and spend the fall reading excerpts from Caesar’s De Bello Gallico or Cicero’s In Catilinam. In the spring, students read selections from Books I, II, and IV of Vergil’s Aeneid.

Drama

Focuses on developing a deeper understanding of the art of acting: script analysis, developing a character, and the actor as an interpreter of the playwright’s story. The class progresses toward the performance of a play newly commissioned by a professional playwright for each year’s ensemble, usually in February. In the spring, after the performance, students explore theater artistry through an introduction to scene study in a variety of styles and genres.

Studio Art

The first semester of this course is dedicated to an in-depth exploration of drawing and image-making, both from observation and imagination. Working from a variety of prompts, students learn to problem-solve visually and to develop their own unique voice. In the second semester, students are introduced to graphic and sculptural mediums through various mixed-media techniques. One self-guided study of a museum or contemporary gallery is required.

Co-Curricular Activities

Students have many opportunities to pursue their interests beyond the curriculum. The School offers arts activities—photography, sculpture, ceramics, dramatic productions, orchestra and chorus, for example—in addition to the regular courses, as well as writing and publishing opportunities. Students in the Upper School may be admitted to Brearley’s Advanced Science Research Seminar or Poetry Workshop; they may also participate in clubs that focus on model government, robotics, debate and many other topics; they may join Interschool advanced math courses as juniors or seniors.

Class X Co-Curricular Offerings

Mathematics

Class X students take Algebra II. Three different tracks are offered, and placement is determined with the help of the math faculty.

Class X Math Course Descriptions

Chemistry

All students in Class X take Chemistry, which then allows them to take Advanced Biology or Advanced Chemistry in Class XI or XII. Through qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis, students investigate the nature of matter and chemical change. Topics include electron configuration, bonding, gas behavior, the concept of moles, stoichiometry, equilibrium, redox reactions, thermochemistry, and acid-base chemistry. Whenever possible, the course explores the chemistry of environmental issues. In addition to frequent lab investigations, students work in teams to explore concepts, culminating in an independent research project.

Modern Languages

Students continue with their study of modern languages, either French, Spanish or Mandarin.

Class X Modern Language Descriptions

Music

While music is no longer a required course in Upper School, Class X students have the opportunity to delve into different courses including vocal work, orchestra or instrumental techniques.

Class X Music Course Descriptions

Physical Education

The Upper School physical education program at Brearley offers an elective curriculum emphasizing lifelong fitness and well-being. An objective of the program is to expose students to a variety of activities and equip them with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to develop their physical potential through adolescence and beyond. The offerings vary by trimester, including courses on fitness, dance, sports, Pilates, special programming, and mindfulness; emphasis on lifelong fitness and exercise. Students may fulfill the requirement either by taking a PE class or participating in the School’s interscholastic athletic teams.

Class XI Curriculum

English

Fall elective in poetic analysis, winter required course on drama, and a spring elective on narrative works. During the winter trimester, students read Oedipus Rex, Medea, Macbeth, and one contemporary play. There are analytical essays of varying lengths, imaginative writings and ruminations, and the staging and performance of scenes. The fall poetry and corresponding spring narrative electives for 2026–2027 are listed below. Not all of the paired elective offerings will run every year, and those that do may ultimately differ from the descriptions below.

Class XI Fall and Spring English Electives

History

Below are representative samples of the electives offered to Classes XI and XII. Not all of the elective offerings described below will run every year, and those that do may ultimately differ from the descriptions provided below

Class XI History Course Descriptions

Modern Languages

Students continue with their study of modern languages, either French, Spanish or Mandarin, delving deeper into literature and culture.

Class XI Modern Language Course Descriptions

Art

Students in Class XI have the opportunity to explore different media through their course selection.

Class XI Art Course Descriptions

Music

Although music is no longer a required course in Upper School, Class XI students have the opportunity to delve into different courses, including vocal work, orchestra, or instrumental techniques.

Class XI Music Course Descriptions

Physical Education

The Upper School physical education program at Brearley offers an elective curriculum emphasizing lifelong fitness and well-being. An objective of the program is to expose students to a variety of activities and to equip them with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to develop their physical potential through adolescence and beyond. The Upper School offerings vary by trimester, including courses on fitness, dance, sports, Pilates, special programming, and mindfulness; there is an emphasis on lifelong fitness and exercise. Students may fulfill the requirement either by taking a PE class or participating in the School’s interscholastic athletic teams. Students are required to become certified in First Aid/CPR before graduation. This course, offered to Classes XI and XII, follows the American Heart Association Heartsaver Course.

Mathematics

In the last year of required math, Class XI students can take precalculus, calculus, or statistics.

Class XI Math Course Descriptions

Science

Students in Class XI can choose to pursue subjects in biological or physical sciences.

Class XI Science Course Descriptions

Classics

In Class XI, selections of Latin texts are studied and Greek is introduced.

Class XI Classical Language Courses

Drama

PLAYWRITING (half credit; spring semester): Introduction to the art and craft of playwriting through in-class writing prompts and the study of contemporary plays. Students write and edit their own short plays, reading through their classmates’ work and offering feedback. By the end of the semester, students will have created a portfolio of their own original short plays. A selection of these plays will be presented to the public in a staged reading in May or June.

Technology

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE (half credit): Introduction to the concepts of computer science utilizing the Python programming language. Topics include recursion, computer security, algorithm complexity, and game programming.

Co-Curricular Activities

Students have many opportunities to pursue their interests beyond the curriculum. The School offers arts activities—photography, sculpture, ceramics, dramatic productions, orchestra and chorus, for example—in addition to the regular courses, as well as writing and publishing opportunities. Students in the Upper School may be admitted to Brearley’s Advanced Science Research Seminar or Poetry Workshop; they may also participate in clubs that focus on model government, robotics, debate and many other topics; they may join Interschool advanced math courses as juniors or seniors.

Class XI Co-Curricular Offerings

Class XII Curriculum

English

In the fall trimester, Class XII students take Practical Criticism, a required course, to hone and polish reading and writing skills and study rhetorical techniques in a more formal way than in previous courses. Students read and analyze essays by Joan Didion, James Baldwin, and others, with major attention to matters of style. Writing assignments are designed to allow students to experiment with genre and style, including discursive essay writing, analytical writing, and creative writing. Starting in early October through the start of examinations in mid-March, students enroll in electives (in recent years, primarily individual projects in fiction, drama, or writing). The electives for 2026–2027 are listed below. Not all of the elective offerings described below will run every year, and those that do may ultimately differ from the descriptions provided.

Class XII English Electives

History

Class XII History Course Descriptions

Modern Languages

Students continue with their study of modern languages, either French, Spanish or Mandarin, delving deeper into literature and culture.

Class XII Modern Language Course Descriptions

Art

Students in Class XII have the opportunity to explore different media through their course selection.

Class XII Art Course Descriptions

Music

Although music is no longer a required course in Upper School, Class XII students have the opportunity to delve into different courses including vocal work, orchestra or instrumental techniques.

Class XII Music Course Descriptions

Physical Education

The Upper School physical education program at Brearley offers an elective curriculum emphasizing lifelong fitness and well-being. An objective of the program is to expose students to a variety of activities and to equip them with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to develop their physical potential through adolescence and beyond. The Upper School offerings vary by trimester, including courses on fitness, dance, sports, Pilates, special programming, and mindfulness; there is an emphasis on lifelong fitness and exercise. Students may fulfill the requirement either by taking a PE class or participating in the School’s interscholastic athletic teams. Students are required to become certified in First Aid/CPR before graduation. This course, offered to Classes XI and XII, follows the American Heart Association Heartsaver Course.

Co-Curricular Activities

Students have many opportunities to pursue their interests beyond the curriculum. The School offers arts activities—photography, sculpture, ceramics, dramatic productions, orchestra and chorus, for example—in addition to the regular courses, as well as writing and publishing opportunities. Students in the Upper School may be admitted to Brearley’s Advanced Science Research Seminar or Poetry Workshop; they may also participate in clubs that focus on model government, robotics, debate and many other topics; they may join Interschool advanced math courses as juniors or seniors.

Class XII Co-Curricular Course Descriptions

Mathematics

For students choosing to continue their studies of mathematics, we offer a variety of course options.

Class XII Math Course Descriptions

Science

Students in Class XII can choose to pursue subjects in biological or physical sciences.

Class XII Science Course Descriptions

Classics

In Class XII, students can go further in their study of Latin or Greek.

Class XII Classical Languages Course Descriptions

Drama

ACTING AND DRAMATIC LITERATURE (half credit; fall): This advanced course examines theater from the perspective of actors, directors, playwrights, and technicians. A laboratory session focuses on improving the actor’s craft through the study of major plays, predominantly modern, with the opportunity to perform short scenes from significant plays. Playwrights in the syllabus include Shakespeare, Ibsen, Miller, Williams, Nottage, DeLappe, Wilson, Treadwell, Hansberry, Yee, and Kushner. The class meets at least two evenings in the semester to attend professional theater productions. In the spring, selected scenes may be presented to the public in an evening performance.

Technology

ADVANCED COMPUTER SCIENCE: Prerequisite: Completion of Introduction to Computer Science or permission from the technology department. Students explore computing structures, master various programming languages, and refine their problem-solving capabilities. The journey begins with Turing models, where students learn to write programs, build intricate systems, and develop expertise in object-oriented programming using Python and Java. This journey emphasizes effective system modeling, culminating in in-depth discussions on interfaces as collaborative programming tools. In addition to preparing students for the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) Computer Science A exam, the curriculum delves into computer hardware and circuits, providing a comprehensive understanding of these essential modern concepts.