Top 10 Private Schools in South Florida

South Florida boasts many of the finest private schools in the country. With dynamic curriculums and expansive extra-curricular programs, the schools on this list continually enrich young minds with a diverse scholastic experience that builds a foundation for success.  

Private Schools in Miami Dade County

Ransom Everglades School

Official website

Location: Coconut Grove, FL

Grades: 6-12

Total Number of Students: 1,130

Student-Teacher Ratio: 7:1

Notable Alumnus: Skylar Satenstein, a cosmetic surgeon and former girlfriend of Matt Damon, was an inspiration for the 1997 film Good Will Hunting.

Founder Paul C. Ransom once described his ideal students as those who “believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it.” To this day, Ransom Everglades School continues to live up to its creed as a “private school with a public purpose. 100% of its students attend a four-year institution after graduation.

Gulliver Preparatory School

Location: Pinecrest, FL

Grades: PK, K-12

Total Number of Students: 2,185

Student-Teacher Ratio: 10:1

Notable Alumni: Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, Mozilla Firefox creator Blake Ross

Consistently ranked among the top private schools in Miami-Dade County, Gulliver offers more than 30Advanced Placement courses, which allow students to earn college credit while in high school. Additionally, Gulliver offers an internship program as well as dual enrollment opportunities at the University of Miami, Florida International University, and Miami-Dade Community College.

Miami Country Day School

Location: Miami, FL

Grades: PK, K-12

Total Number of Students: 1,250

Student-Teacher Ratio: 5:1

Notable Alumni: Actress Natasha Lyonne (Russian Dolls, American Pie)and Manny Diaz, former head football coach for the University of Miami.

Founded in 1938, Miami Country Day School boasts a diverse student community with more than 40% of its students born abroad. Miami Country Day School also touts its College Counseling Office, which employs a hands-on, customized approach in seeking to maximize the college admission opportunities for each of its students. Beginning in the 10th grade, each student is assigned a full-time college counselor to help navigate the college admissions process.

Palmer Trinity School

Location: Palmetto Bay, FL

Grades: 6-12

Total Number of Students: 770

Student-Teacher Ratio: 9:1

Notable Alumni: US congressman Patrick Murphy, Broadway actor Roberto Morean

Numbers tell the story of this Episcopal day school dedicated to “providing academic excellence and inspiring students to lead lives of virtue, humanity, and spirit.” Palmer Trinity offers 27 advanced placement classes, which allow students to earn college credit while still in high school. 67% of the faculty has advanced college degrees. The school features 77 athletic teams, 38performing arts classes, and 30 global programs, which prepare students for life and work as both citizens and leaders of a global world. Palmer Trinity’s diverse student body represents 35 different countries from around the globe.

Private Schools in Broward County

Pine Crest School - Fort Lauderdale Campus

Location: Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Grades: PK, K-12

Total Number of Students: 1,803

Student-Teacher Ratio: 9:1

Notable Alumni: Actor Kesley Grammer, singer Ariana Grande, businessman Wayne Huizenga

Founded in 1934, Pine Crest School has been named a “Blue Ribbon School” by the US Department of Education and was ranked among the top private schools in the nation by The Washington Post in 2012. ​​All students in Grades 9-11are assigned to a grade-level dean for college and academic advising, who meets individually with students to help them find a balance between academic and extracurricular pursuits. Deans also work with students and their families to prepare for the college admission process.

American Heritage School

Official Website

Location: Plantation, FL

Grades: PK, K-12

Total Number of Students: 2,785

Student-Teacher Ratio: 9:1

Notable Alumni: Current NFL players Sony Michel, Brian Burns

While American Heritage has made national news of late as a football powerhouse, the school has an even more impressive academic record. In 2015, American Heritage School was one of just five schools in the US to have three students achieve perfect scores on Advanced Placement exams. In 2016, 50 students were semifinalists to the National Merit Scholarship Program. Three years later, that number rose to 70.

North Broward Preparatory School

Location: Coconut Creek, FL

Grades: PK, K-12

Total Number of Students: 1,649

Student-Teacher Ratio: 11:1

Notable Alumnus: Leonard Blavatnik, Ukrainian billionaire

Founded in 1957 at Lighthouse Point, Florida ,and relocated to its current location in 2004, North Broward Preparatory School considers itself an international community with over twenty-eight nationalities represented in its current student body. The school prides itself on resembling a small college and features an International Baccalaureate program that consistently ranks among the best in Florida.  

Private Schools in Palm Beach County

Saint Andrew’s School

Boca Raton, FL

Grades: PK, K-12

Total Number of Students: 1,335

Student-Teacher Ratio: 8:1

Notable Alumni: Professional tennis players Michael Yani, Vincent Spadea, Cornina Morariu

Nestled on an 80-acre campus in Boca Raton, St. Andrew’s student body consists of students from over forty different countries. The school is a world member of the Round Square Organization, an internationally diverse network of 200 like-minded schools in 50 countries on six continents that connect and collaborate to offer “world-class programs and experiences to students.”  Readers of The Palm Beach Post voted St. Andrew’s the best private school in Palm Beach County in 2019, 2020, and 2021.

The Benjamin School

Location: North Palm Beach, FL

Grades: PK, K-12

Total Number of Students: 1,335

Student-Teacher Ratio: 8:1

Notable Alumnus: Screenwriter Mark Swift (Freddy vs Jason)

Students at the Benjamin School begin to receive college counseling in the 8th grade. Customized, family-based counseling begins in eleventh grade. The positive results of such structured preparation are evident in the truth that every Benjamin graduate attends college or university with top recent alums attending Harvard, Yale, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, Duke, Georgetown, Notre Dame, and Vanderbilt.  

Oxbridge Academy

Official Website

Location: West Palm Beach, FL

Grades: 7-12

Total Number of Students: 512

Student-Teacher Ratio: 9:1

Notable Alumnus: Justin Lubin, computer science and mathematics major at the University of Chicago

Oxbridge’s signature academic programs include Artificial Intelligence, Aviation, and the Cambridge Schools program, which is an interdisciplinary program whose focus of study changes yearly but centers on the intersection of British literature and history. Each year 15 juniors who demonstrate academic excellence are selected and travel to Cambridge to participate in the program, including writing then defending a college-level paper before Cambridge professors.  

Moving to Florida? City National Private Can Help You Find The Perfect Private School.

We are more than just a private bank for our clients, City National Bank of Florida has a team of experts who are immersed in South Florida’s private school system and can help you select the perfect match for your family.

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