Imagine yourself thriving in a place where girls are excited about learning, care about ideas and the world around them, and challenge each other to do and be their best. This is the Westridge Upper School experience.
Learning in the Upper School
Upper School at Westridge is designed to foster deep student engagement and critical, nuanced thinking. Students don’t just listen and memorize; they are expected to create, analyze, challenge, and rethink every day. Course offerings include more than 30 honors and Westridge Advanced Courses such as Advanced Aerospace Engineering, Advanced Ethics, and Perspectives in Literature. These are robust, courses developed and led by expert faculty who listen and respond to topics students really care about.
As girls advance from 9th to 12th grade, they take on increasing responsibility for their own intellectual progress and, in turn, are able to select and combine courses that match their unique passions and ambitions. They take on increasing leadership on campus as affinity group and club heads, members of the honor council, science and history researchers, writing and math fellows, peer mentors to younger students, and much more.
Whether her future takes her to a lab or a gallery, a hospital or a concert hall, her extraordinary story begins at Westridge.
Upper School Courses
- ENGLISH
- HISTORY
- MATHEMATICS
- SCIENCE
- WORLD LANGUAGES & CULTURES
- COMPUTER SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
- VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS
- PHYSICAL EDUCATION
- ELECTIVES
- HUMAN DEVELOPMENT & COLLEGE PROCESS
ENGLISH
HISTORY
MATHEMATICS
SCIENCE
WORLD LANGUAGES & CULTURES
COMPUTER SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
ELECTIVES
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT & COLLEGE PROCESS
Advanced Courses
Going beyond traditional APs, Westridge Advanced Courses are designed to promote advanced cognitive skills. Content is responsive to student interests and real-world events—both critical to student engagement—and students cultivate the skills and habits of mind they need in college and beyond.
College Counseling
We believe the college process should be exciting and collaborative (and dare we say, fun!). At Westridge, the process is not a competition, but rather a continuation of students’ journeys of self-discovery, exploration, and empowerment. Students and families walk away feeling supported, not stressed.
Why Girls' School?
All-girls schools know how to engage and prepare girls for success beyond their high school years. Study after study has shown that graduates from all-girls schools perform better on standardized tests, and graduate from college and go to graduate school at higher rates than their coed peers. They also tend to rise to positions of leadership faster and are more likely to enter careers in historically male-dominated fields.
On campus, we see girls feel free to take risks, grow through their mistakes, express their ideas freely, and overall feel more comfortable being themselves. The unmatched “yes I can” energy at Westridge is something you only find in an environment where girls fill every role.
