Springside School is a small private all-girls school located in the affluent Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. It is across the street from its "brother school", the all-boys Chestnut Hill Academy. Classes at the two schools are completely separate from one another until high school, where gradually students start having coed classes. In freshman and sophomore year, arts, music, and languages classes are coed; while the remaining classes are single sex and taught on the home campus. Junior and senior years, all classes are coed and students flock between the two campuses for class. Being a college preparatory school, the academics are rigorous and the teachers are very good. Teachers place high demands on the students, preparing them adequately for college level courses. Starting in 7th grade, the distinction is made between honors level (advanced) and regular mathematics classes. These students, once placed in honors usually remain in that section until graduation. Students who prove exceptionally well in regular mathematics may then be recommended to move up, yet the majority of students stay in the section they are placed in. Starting in 9th grade, the option of being in honors history is added. Students are selected based on their performance in 8th grade, and again, they usually stay in honors once put into that level. Starting in junior year of high school the difficulty level breaks down further - into a regular, honors, and advanced placement (AP) level for most classes. Many students choose to take AP exams and students who do, score very high. Classes at Springside are not competitive. If you do well on tests and assignments, you will do well in the class. Point blank. There are no instances of foul-play on assignments, teachers are generally fair, and there is a good support staff from the administrative body. The atmosphere is very caring, and since classes are so small (roughly 12 - 18 students per section), your teachers not only know you, but monitor your work. This allows for the development of close relationships with your teachers, administrators, and a great environment. It is a school where everyone knows everyone by name, since most grades have at a maximum 60 students. Springside is not an "exam factory." Administrators stress the importance of learning for its own sake, there are several tests per quarter (they are on the quarter-system), and a student who demonstrates a marked improvement will often do well, even if they had a rough start. In high school, there are two "finals" periods - once at the close of Winter and at the end of the year.