What's the deal with St. Andrew's?

[Anonymous]

Nice campus, now a split campus. How do parents with kids there like it this year? I never hear good or bad about the school. Is it just mediocre? Unpretentious?

[Anonymous]

better than Bullis, not as good as Holton.

[Anonymous]

I cannot get a grasp on that school either.

[Anonymous]

My take is that it would be better to consider public school. It is by no means a bad school, but it can be compared to Churchill and Wootton.

[Anonymous]

small classes, some really great teachers, super nice parents, very nice facilities. A hidden gem. It is expensive, however. Seems to attract nice families, who are well off but are "normal" as the saying goes, the school works hard on values, respect, and seems to walk the talk.

[Anonymous]

So not pretentious and well-monied families like Landon or even Norwood?

[Anonymous]

Made up of families wealthy enough to send their kids to a pricey private, but not brainy enough to make it into the Big Three or Big Eight for that matter. For that same reason, wealthy but not brainy, they figure a private school education will place DC in a better brand college than being just an average kid at the fancy publics, Whitman, Churchill, BCC, etc.

[Anonymous]

Gosh, some of you are really obnoxious.

[Anonymous]

St. Andrews serves a population that is further out in the suburbs. If you live in Gaithersburg, there is no way that the commute to the more famous schools in DC makes sense. Also, it, like Bullis, is surrounded by many excellent public schools. No, St. Andrews is no Holton Arms, but it serves the families that go there very well.

[Anonymous]

Oh for heaves sake, our DC is very bright and St. Andrews has been a great fit. We know many exceptional children and families there, and certainly just some very nice "average bright" kids and families. But a lot of the kids that go there are like their families; bright, well-rounded, down to earth, leaders, etc. so they are kids with great backgrounds who are likely to do well whereever life takes them.