Connecticut's Best Private High Schools for 2016: Simsbury Made the List

Online review and real estate site Niche.com has ranked the best private high schools across the country, and seven Connecticut schools made the list.

The ranking is ”based on statistics, student and parent reviews, and expert insights,” according to Niche. “Ranking factors include SAT/ACT scores, the quality of colleges that students consider, student-teacher ratio, student and parent reviews, and more.”

Connecticut’s top private high school is Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, according to Niche, followed by The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville and Hopkins School in New Haven. Greenwich Academy is fourth, followed by The Taft School in Watertown.

The Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor is sixth, followed by Brunswick School in Greenwich, Miss Porter’s School in Farmington in eighth place, Avon Old Farms School in ninth and Greens Farms Academy in Westport rounding out the top 10. In some cases, Niche.com lists a school’s location by its largest nearby community.

The nation’s top private high school is Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, according to Niche, followed by Phillips Exeter in Exeter, NH, and Stanford Online High School in Stanford, CA. Rounding out the top five nationally are St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH, and The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville Township, NJ.

Here are the top 58 private high schools in the state, according to Niche.com (national ranking is in parentheses):

1. Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford (#8 nationally)
2. The Hotchkiss School, Lakeville (#9)
3. Hopkins School, New Haven (#25)
4. Greenwich Academy, Greenwich (#45)
5. The Taft School, Watertown (#58)
6. The Loomis Chaffee School, Windsor (#61)
7. Brunswick School, Greenwich (#65)
8. Miss Porter’s School, Farmington
9. Avon Old Farms School, Avon
10. Greens Farms Academy, Westport
11. Kent School, Kent
12. Westminster School, Simsbury
13. King Low Heywood Thomas School, Stamford
14. Canterbury School, New Milford
15. The Master’s School, Simsbury
16. Westover School, Middlebury
17. Kingswood-Oxford School, West Hartford
18. Ethel Walker School, Simsbury
19. Pomfret School, Pomfret
20. Williams School, New London
21. Hamden Hall Country Day School, Hamden
22. Chase Collegiate School, Waterbury
23. Suffield Academy, Suffield
24. The Cheshire Academy, Cheshire
25. Fairfield College Preparatory School, Fairfield
26. Watkinson School, Hartford
27. Marianapolis Preparatory School, Thompson
28. Salisbury School, Salisbury
29. Sacred Heart Academy, Hamden
30. Academy of Our Lady of Mercy - Lauralton Hall, Milford
31. Wooster School, Danbury
32. Christian Heritage School, Trumbull
33. Hebrew High School of New England, West Hartford
34. The Marvelwood School, Kent
35. Northwest Catholic High School, West Hartford
36. St. Thomas More School, Montville
37. Faith Prep School, New Milford
38. Franklin Academy, East Haddam
39. Bridgeport International Academy, Bridgeport
40. St. Joseph High School, Trumbull
41. Xavier High School, Middletown
42. Immaculate High School, Danbury
43. Notre Dame High School, West Haven
44. South Kent School, Kent
45. Hyde School, Woodstock
46. Mercy High School, Middletown
47. East Catholic High School, Manchester
48. Emmanuel Christian Academy, Newington
49. The Cornerstone Christian School, Manchester
50. Trinity Catholic High School, Stamford
51. Holy Cross High School, Waterbury
52. St. Bernard School, Montville
53. St. Paul Catholic High School, Bristol
54. Notre Dame Catholic High School, Fairfield
55. The Forman School, Litchfield
56. Sacred Heart High School, Waterbury
57. Grove School, Madison
58. Kolbe Cathedral High School, Bridgeport

Read more about the Niche’s methodology and see how other schools rank here.

Patch Editor Ryan Bonner contributed to this report.