Directory

Independent · Danville (East Bay)

Athenian

“We teach you why thinking matters.”

Students
~340
Ratio
8:1
Tuition
$62k

What makes this school special

  • Every junior spends 26 days in the High Sierra or Death Valley on the Athenian Wilderness Experience, a requirement since 1969
  • March Term clears two weeks each spring for a single immersive course, and a six-week exchange runs through Round Square, the international consortium Athenian helped found
  • The Carter Innovation Studio gives the making side of the school 5,200 square feet of classrooms and shop space
  • Two-thirds of students ride a school bus, which for a San Francisco family means BART to Rockridge and a 7:10am pickup

Academics

Curriculum

No APs — honors sections, with seminar courses in 11th and 12th grade

Do APs matter?

World languages

French, Mandarin, Spanish

Schedule

Block schedule, semesters

Signature programs

  • Athenian Wilderness Experience (AWE), required in 11th grade
  • March Term (two-week immersive courses)
  • Round Square exchanges and global education
  • Carter Innovation Studio

College matriculation

UC Berkeley, Boston University, Occidental, Santa Clara, USC, Washington University in St. Louis, NYU, Northeastern, UC Davis, Purdue, UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz, University of Washington, Emory, Tulane, University of Michigan, Cornell, Northwestern, UCLA, University of Pennsylvania

See the full list

UC admissions

In fall 2025, 70 students applied to the UC system from this school; 40 were admitted to at least one campus, and 10 enrolled.

What these numbers can and can’t tell you

Athletics, arts & activities

Athletics · North Coast Section — Division 5

BadmintonBaseball (boys)BasketballCross CountryGolfLacrosse (girls)SoccerSwimmingTennisTrack & FieldVolleyball (girls)Wrestling

Arts

ChoirDanceDramaFilmJazz & Chamber MusicPaintingPhotography3D Art

Clubs & activities

Robotics 852 TeamModel United Nations TeamMock Trial TeamQuiz Bowl ClubAthenian Strategy ClubAthenian Writers WorkshopGreen TeamComputer Science ClubInto Business ClubOutdoor Adventure ClubGender Equity CoalitionKey Club
See all clubs

Life there

Tuition includes

  • Local March Term courses

Food

Optional lunch and breakfast plans (for purchase); included for boarding students

Learning support

Learning Services — Personalized Learning Plans for documented learning differences, with conference periods built into the schedule

Often on the same list

The College Preparatory School

Independent

Head-Royce School

Independent

Sources

  1. Fast Facts — Upper School enrollment (338), whole-school enrollment, boarding students, students of color (63%), financial aid (23%), bus ridership. The page states no student-teacher ratio and no average class size.
  2. Tuition & Affordability — 2026-27 tuition and fees, meal plans, transportation cost, Clarity, aid awarded. The tuition figures here are read from the page's rendered "Tuition & Fees 26-27" cards (Upper School day $61,650, boarding $94,550). The page's embedded structured data still carries a superseded set ($59,275 and $90,900). This page also states that 26% of students receive financial aid, which contradicts the 23% on Fast Facts (source 1). We publish the Fast Facts figure, the school's canonical stats page, and are seeking a correction from the school.
  3. How to Apply — the 2027-28 cycle dates, the two application paths and the $100 fee, required tests, teacher recommendations, transcripts, the Student Activity & Interest Form, and the Kira interview. The application steps are inside the page's three "Step" cards, which open only in a browser.
  4. Upper School — block schedule, Carter Innovation Studio, clubs and affinity groups
  5. 2026-2027 Upper School Course Catalog — world languages, semester calendar, and the absence of AP courses (the catalog lists none, and says of one art elective that "this is not an AP course")
  6. Athenian Wilderness Experience — the 26-day junior requirement, in the program since 1969
  7. History — founding in 1965 by Dyke Brown, and Round Square founding membership
  8. Arts — arts offerings and the two-year Upper School requirement
  9. Athletics — teams by season and gender, and NCS Division 5. Middle-school-only teams are excluded here.
  10. College Counseling — matriculation over 2023–2026, and the college counseling program
  11. Academic Support — Learning Services and Personalized Learning Plans
  12. Transportation & Dining and the 2025-26 bus schedule — bus routes and pickup times. The school's four BART pickups are Rockridge, Orinda, Lafayette and Pleasanton; there is no San Francisco stop, and the school describes the service as reaching "other parts of the East Bay."
  13. NCES Private School Universe Survey — student-teacher ratio (8.2 for the 2023-24 survey year, from 537 students and 65.1 FTE teachers). The figure covers the whole grades 6–12 school, not the Upper School alone, and the school publishes no ratio of its own.
  14. California Private School Affidavit 2025-26 | CDE — the school's own state filing, which reports 354 students in grades 9–12 and 540 overall, against the 338 and 527 on Fast Facts
  15. ACS WASC Directory of Schools — accredited, grades 6-12 (directory read 2026-08-24)

Details checked August 2026