Nightingale-Bamford School

Nightingale's Lower School includes grades K-4. Middle School includes grades 5–8, while Upper School includes grades 9–12. As of 2021, Nightingale enrolls 686 students, the student-faculty ratio is 6:1, and the average class size is 12 students.[4] Nightingale is typically ranked among the best all-girls private schools in the United States, and, like many private schools in Manhattan, is ranked as one of the most expensive.[5]

Frances Nicolau Nightingale and Maya Stevens Bamford founded the school in 1920. NBS was originally named Miss Nightingale's School, officially becoming "The Nightingale-Bamford School" in 1929. Since 1920, NBS has graduated nearly 3,000 alumnae.[6] As of 2008, the School endowment was $74.9 million.[7]

Paul Burke has been head of school since July 2012. He succeeded Dorothy Hutcheson, who was head of Nightingale for the prior 20 years.[8]

In April 2013, a team of five upper school students won first place at Technovation Challenge, the world's largest tech competition for girls. The $10,000 prize was used to develop and market their winning app.[9]

Nightingale-Bamford's admissions process has received media attention for its strict, high-stakes nature.[10]

As of the 2020–2021 school year, 20% of the student body received financial assistance with $5.9 million in grants being awarded.[11]

Nightingale-Bamford has a diverse community for an independent school with over 30% of the student body being students of color.[12] The school has a program called Cultural Awareness for Everyone, or informally CAFE. CAFE touches on the basis of not only race, but also class, religion, sexual orientation, gender, and age.[13] To keep diversity at the school a priority, Nightingale recruits actively from an inner-city program called Prep for Prep. Prep for Prep is a leadership development program that offers promising students of color access to a private school education based in New York City.[14]

Nightingale-Bamford has no official partner or brother school. However, the school has activities with St. David's and Allen-Stevenson (both boys schools) and is a member of Interschool, which organizes programs and activities for eight New York City independent schools: Trinity, Dalton, Collegiate, Brearley, Chapin, Spence, Nightingale-Bamford, and Browning.[15]

• Millicent Fenwick, 1928 – politician [16]
• Amina Gautier, – author
• Isabel Gillies, 1988 – author, actress
• Lisa Grunwald, 1977 – novelist
• Mandy Grunwald, 1975 – political consultant and media advisor[17]
• Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss, 1993 – Fashion designer[18]
• Sophie von Haselberg – actress, daughter of Bette Midler
• Renne Jarrett – actress
• Sakina Jaffrey - actress[19]
• Alexa Ray Joel – model, daughter of Billy Joel and Christy Brinkley
• Sally Kirkland-oscar nominated and Golden Globe winning actress
• Signe Nielsen, New York Public Spaces landscape architect
• Olivia Palermo, 2004 – Socialite and fashion influencer
• Adelaide Brevoort Close Riggs, philanthropist
• Michèle Rosier, 1948 – French fashion journalist
• Beatriz Stix-Brunell – ballet dancer[20]
• Sarah Thompson, 1997 – actress [21]
• Tschabalala Self, 1990 – artist
• Gloria Morgan Vanderbilt, 1921 – socialite
• Cecily von Ziegesar, 1988 – author of Gossip Girl series
• Dana (Pam) Wilkey – television personality[22]

• Nightingale-Bamford received mention in the Woody Allen film Everyone Says I Love You.
• In the Gossip Girl book series by NBS alumna Cecily von Ziegesar '88, the character's elite all-girls school, Constance Billard School for Girls, is based on Nightingale-Bamford and the lives of the girls who attend the school. "[Constance Billard] is completely based on Nightingale," von Ziegesar told ABC News. "But I exaggerated to make it more entertaining."[23]
• Nightingale-Bamford is mentioned in the book How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff.
• Mentioned briefly in Bunheads by Sophie Flack Nightingale Bamford School is also mentioned in season 1 of The Summer I turned Pretty.

• Official website