Members of the George School Class of 2010 graduated on Saturday, May 29, 2010, amid smiles, tears, and applause. More than 98 percent of the 124 students plan to go on to college next year with a few planning to take gap year before moving on to higher education. The graduating class performed more than 8,060 hours of community service while attending George School.

Among the many highlights of their last year at George School, the Class of 2010 performed in I Hate Hamlet, West Side Story, and The Tempest, and in superb dance, orchestra, and choral performances. They created remarkable artwork in painting, drawing, photography, film, woodworking, music, and ceramics. The class includes editors and contributors to the Opus, the school’s yearbook; the Curious George, the school newspaper; and Argo, the literary magazine. George School sports teams were led by a very dedicated group of seniors this year as well. This year boys’ tennis, wrestling, and softball made it to the semi-finals or finals and three teams, girls’ soccer, girls’ track, and co-ed golf won Friends Schools League titles.

Several members of the class distinguished themselves in outside competitions as well. Two were named Bucks County Scholar-Athletes of the year, one was named to both the District and Southeast Pennsylvania Regional orchestras, five had photos selected to the Phillips’ Mill Photography Exhibition, three had pieces selected for the Philadelphia Furniture Show and three others had work accepted into the Bucks County Community College Furniture show. One student was selected to the prestigious U.S. House of Representatives Page Program, and several were commended National Merit commended students.

A number of students also distinguished themselves in their academic work at George School. More than twenty made both the Head of School list and the Honor Roll almost every term and a record number of seniors were registered to sit for International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) examinations. Six students, four of them young women, sat for the IB Higher Level mathematics examination, the exam that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) website calls one of the “strongest indicators of mathematical success at MIT.” Students also took IB exams in seven languages, including English, Latin, Spanish, French, Persian, Japanese, and Chinese.

“While a wide variety of backgrounds, talents, and interests distinguish these students from one another, a handful of qualities distinguish them, for me at least, as a group,” said Head of School Nancy Starmer. “These qualities are their creativity and skill at creative expression; the number of strong individuals in this class—young people who are already and will continue to make a difference in the world or have already successfully overcome significant personal challenges—and the close relationships and spirit they’ve created among themselves and in the school community.”

Members of the Class of 2010 have demonstrated their ability to make a difference through their participation in and initiation of service projects and within their leadership in the class. They have led Red Cross blood drives, performed weekly service-learning with Woods Services, and helped to develop a relationship with the Miracle League, an organization the provides opportunities for children with disabilities to play baseball, regardless of their abilities. They have completed many different individual local service projects and traveled to Mississippi, Louisiana, Arizona, Washington DC, Nicaragua, France, Ghana, and Vietnam with George School service groups. Individual members of this class initiated and raised money for service projects in Afghanistan and Haiti, supported ongoing projects in China and Nicaragua, and through their leadership of Art for Relief, raised money to help eradicate landmines. As leaders of Student Council they’ve helped create a stronger voice for students in decision making, and as prefects they’ve reinforced the sense of community for which George School is known.

About George School
Founded in 1893 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), George School, a rigorous coed boarding and day school for grades nine through twelve, educates students from twenty-one states, thirty-four foreign countries, and a variety of ethnic, racial, religious, and economic backgrounds. Through its commitment to diversity and the Quaker values of equality, integrity, and peacemaking, George School inspires students to be led by their own truths while respecting and appreciating opinions and beliefs different from their own. George School was one of the first schools in the United States to implement an International Baccalaureate diploma program. For information about admission, please call 215.579.6547 or visit http://www.georgeschool.org.