ST. ANDREW'S, THE HOME OF

St. Andrew’s School inspires young people age 3 through grade 12 to go beyond each day in the classroom, on the playing field, and in the spot light. We offer rigorous academics, amazing arts, and exciting athletics along with a commitment to community engagement. The best way to learn more about St. Andrew’s is to visit campus and see for yourself why we were voted the Best Private School in the area. Download our 5 year Strategic Plan.

In 1974, the governing board of Independent Presbyterian Church saw a need for another quality college preparatory school in Savannah. A site was secured on Wilmington Island. The church relinquished ownership of the school so that it could become an independent, nonprofit institution. However, the newly formed board of trustees held dear the traditional Scottish values of community, hard work and high standards.

One important part of being in a clan is taking part in our annual Scottish Games day, where clans compete in a variety of events. Striving to win the coveted first place award is a thrill and honor that every member, young, old and in-between can take part in, aspire to and celebrate. Within the clans, we pair our older students with our youngest, so our lower school students have a buddy during Scottish games day and other planned events during the school year when the partners interact and share experiences. Our youngest students look up to their “grown up” counterparts, and our upper school students are true role models to the little ones. Games include the sheaf toss, caber toss, tug-of-war and other physical activities.

Every member of the St. Andrew’s community becomes part of a Scottish Clan upon arrival. These six clans provide a large, extended family with a common bond. Each group, identified by their name and tartan, has a distinguished history.

Clan CHISHOLM

originated outside Scotland. Early records show the name is written as “de Chesholme” and was chartered in Scotland in 1248.

Clan CAMPBELL

is historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The earliest Campbell is believed to be Gilleasbaig of Menstrie in the 1260’s.

Clan MACDONALD

is one of the largest clans with numerous branches. Chartered in 1250, MacDonald is allies with Clans Cameron and Stewart.

Clan MACDUFF

is the premier clan among Scottish Gaels. It is the first clan to be recognized by the ScottishParliament.

Clan MACPHERSON

comes from the Gaelic Mac a’ Phearson meaning ‘Son of the Parson’. Their most common tartans are red, hunting and dress.

Clan STEWART

is a Highland Scottish clan. Their crest features a pelican feeding her young. The Stewart tartan is the official tartan for the Royal House of Scotland.

Check out the Highlander

The Highlander is St. Andrew’s quarterly publication.

Mission & History

Our Mission: St. Andrew’s, an independent college preparatory school dedicated to personalized student development, strives to develop engaged, well-rounded individuals by inspiring a passion for knowledge, a commitment to personal integrity and a deepened social consciousness within a supportive educational community.

St. Andrew’s traces its beginning to 1947 when Independent Presbyterian Church opened a kindergarten for four and five year olds. Over the years other grades were added and in 1978 the first and only class graduated from Independent Presbyterian Day School. St. Andrew’s considers the ten members of this class to be its first alumni.

During the 70’s, the church’s governing body had determined that the city was in need of another quality college preparatory school. Business leaders and parents worked together to secure a site for a new campus and to raise money for the buildings. It was decided that the school should be named St. Andrew’s on the Marsh to reflect a Scottish heritage and the island setting. The church agreed to relinquish the school so that it could become an independent, nonprofit institution governed by a board of trustees.

From its inception, St. Andrew’s has been a family oriented institution. In November of 1978, when the time came to move from the downtown location to Bell Hall and Compton Center on the new campus, students, faculty, parents and administrators did the actual moving. By 1986, the third building on campus, Skinner Hall, was opened following a successful capital campaign.

In 2002 the school purchased the adjoining property on the north side of Betz Creek, which had been the Islands YMCA. Following year-long renovations to the building, the doors opened on a brand new Early Childhood Center.  And soon after, a first-class athletic field house complete with additional classroom space, was added to the school’s footprint.

Despite expanding facilities, programs, and technology, the fundamental principles of the school have remained unchanged. Our lower school inspires passionate learners, the middle school provides unique and diverse opportunities for all students, and the St. Andrew’s upper school encourages students to explore their interests and talents.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

St. Andrew’s is committed to growing an environment that values diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). This work aligns with and is directly in service to our mission as a school, striving to develop engaged, well-rounded individuals by inspiring a passion for knowledge, a commitment to personal integrity, and a deepened social consciousness within a supportive educational community. We work to examine, consider, and respect all perspectives during the development of academic and extracurricular school programming by embracing differences in race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, religion, gender, and sexual identity. We work to inspire deeper and more comprehensive conversations within the community with the goal of true appreciation of our diverse school body. Our work aims to foster an inclusive environment based on respect, tolerance of differences, and multiculturalism.

Work in this area in recent years includes:
• The creation of a dedicated position to help inform, direct, and lead this work
• Ongoing support, sponsorship, and hosting of Horizons Savannah
• A three year partnership with RIISE, an organization that works in consult with the school to support our current and prospective families of color, inform our efforts and work with and in support of them, and provide ongoing professional education
• Anti-bias training with the ADL for all faculty and staff, the board, students grades 3-12, and investment in their anti-bias curriculum resources for use in classrooms and advisory
• The meeting of a Faculty and Staff PLC devoted to Diversity & Inclusion for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years
• Formation of a Parent Diversity Council to bring together parents and stakeholders to help inform the vision, direction, and steps in our DEIB efforts and create collective ownership in it
• Parent Diversity Council sponsored book study with The Blind Spot, exploring implicit biases and how to become more aware of them in ourselves
• Attendance at and participation in the NAIS People of Color Conference in 2018 and 2019
• Co-founding of the Lowcountry Student Diversity Conference with SCDS in which 13 of our Upper School students, adult allies from the school and Parent Diversity Council, and 7 other schools came together to discuss ways to lead and make progress on creating more equitable and inclusive communities
This resulted in the formation of the Upper School student led club dedicated to DEIB work