Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School
From Freepedia
Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School ("Columbia Prep", "CGPS") is the oldest non-sectarian private school in the United States, located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in New York City, New York. It was founded in 1764 by Columbia University in order to properly prepare incoming freshmen in the fields of English, Greek, and Latin grammar. By 1865, the school had grown substantially and was no longer necessary to the university, thus disassociating itself from the university.
The school was originally known as The Grammar School of King's College (relating to the former name of Columbia University), changing its name during the American Revolution to Columbia Grammar School, adding preparatory in 1978. While grammar and preparatory have differing connotations, the entire school is known by its full name.
The school has existed in several locations over the centuries. In 1906, the school moved to its current location on 93rd Street, off Central Park West. It originally consisted of one building, adding five brownstones through the merger of the adjacent Leonard School for Girls in 1950. A building across the street was built in 1984, followed by two more in 1997 and 2001. In the past 10 years, the average size of the graduating class has more than doubled from approximately 45 to approximately 100.
Selected graduates
- Jeffrey Toobin (valedictorian) - Legal analyst for CNN
- Murray Gell-Mann (valedictorian) - Nobel Prize winner for the discovery of quarks and other subatomic particles.
- Richard Diamond (valedictorian) - Georgetown University professor and former Supreme Court clerk.
