Hi all-- I haven't seen any BPN reviews for the Branson School in Ross. We are a North Berkeley family and are looking for a both academically challenging and socially-rich high school. From what we have read so far, there seems to be plenty of posts on CPS, but hardly any info for Branson. Anyway, just wondering if there are any current or ex-Branson families who can give us some info on the school, particularly on: the commute, campus atmosphere, classes (variety and difficulty), teaching quality, social interactions among the students, problems with the administration, etc. Thank you!
I went to Branson but graduated in 2004 so it may have changed a lot. It was likely my best life choice that I was spoiled enough to get. If you can afford it (because it costs more now) it was almost as good as my college education. For most of my friends, I think the classes were better than their college classes. For context, the books we read in Freshman Year English were read sophomore year at my public school. I took classes like European Lit and read Dante's Inferno, the Decameron, etc. I took comparative Eastern Religions - things other schools don't offer.
The small class sizes meant less cliques. I had a core group of about 12-16 friends who are all different. 17 years later we still all hang out.
The teachers care. You can play sports and don't have to be the best because of the small school size. Students want to be there generally.
i was in public school all before high school and having other students who were driven and wanted to learn was amazing. I found the same experience in college but with more responsibility so it was likely less fun for me than high school where I got to learn for the sake of learning with no looming job search /PhD program ahead. In sum, who says that high school was their best years - I might argue greater proportion of Branson Alums would say that.
Good luck!