“For the scholars, past and present, whose bounty we digest…we give you thanks, oh God.”
From the hymn “For the Splendor of Creation” –Carl P. Daw, Jr.
Copyright 1990 Hope Publishing Company
An honorable inheritance
Tracing our history to the 1868 founding of the “Junior Department” of the University of the South, St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School is the result of the 1981 merger of St. Andrew’s School (est. 1905) and Sewanee Academy (est. 1971). These schools were preceded by the Junior Department (1868-69), the Sewanee Grammar School (1869-1908), St. Mary’s School (1896-1968), and Sewanee Military Academy (1908-1971).
A continuing legacy
St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School embodies much of the character prescribed for the University of the South by its Board of Trustees in 1857.
- A close relationship with the Episcopal Church
- A location in the central South (the Sewanee location was said to meet the requirement of easy and speedy access by train)
- A student body drawn from a wider area than the immediate community
- Distance from any city in order to create its own environment
- A location considered healthy because of its height above sea level, thus freer from the yellow fever, malaria, and cholera prevalent in the lowlands
These factors, along with munificent gifts of lands, are why Sewanee was chosen as the site for the parent schools of St. Andrew’s-Sewanee.
Collectively, the predecessors of St. Andrew’s-Sewanee provided more than 250 years of education to Sewanee, to the South, and to the nation. We are honored and committed to protecting and nurturing that legacy on the mountain.
St. Andrew's-Sewanee History Timeline
Our Campus
Named one of the eight most beautiful high schools in the South by Southern Living magazine, SAS is in a class by itself. The beauty and majesty of our campus and the mountain it sits upon cannot be captured in photos. You're going to have to come visit!
The Mountain (as we call it) is set on the edge of the Cumberland Plateau between Nashville and Chattanooga. Our school's 550-acre campus includes fields, forests, bluffs, caves, and waterfalls. The Spanish colonial architecture gives you the feeling that you've slipped away to another world.
At an elevation of 2,100 feet, the views are lovely, and the changing seasons offer endless variety— fall color, spring wildflowers, sparkling snowfalls, and the occasional eerie fog.
Our scenic campus has cliffs to scale, lakes to swim, ponds to study, and miles of trails for running, mountain biking, and hiking. Our magnificent setting enriches the life of the community. We are what we are, in large part, because of where we are.