The Oakwood School

Posted: August 22, 2026

We chose to withdraw our child due to the poor academics in the Upper School. There is a lack of discipline and teachers are nice but unprofessional. Certain students seem to do whatever they want, and I was horrified at the lack of rigor my 8th grader had in most of their classes. I will note that the students were very kind to one another.

Posted: August 22, 2026

Posted: August 22, 2026

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Posted: January 26, 2026

This school is not what it appears to be. Many students are struggling academically, yet only select students are placed into tutoring programs, while others continue to fall behind without adequate support. Student behavior, particularly in grades three through six, is extremely challenging and often disrupts learning. The teachers are making genuine efforts to help, but their ability to do so is limited by the lack of resources and support.

Posted: January 26, 2026

Posted: January 26, 2026

Posted: January 26, 2026

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Posted: February 21, 2023

We love The Oakwood School. Our son transferred into the school in the 9th grade and was immediately welcomed by the whole community. We have enjoyed how he has been challenged not only to do more in the classroom, but also in clubs, sports and volunteering. There are a wide array of AP classes and college preparatory classes that are offered. The STEAM lab has been a great addition in the ability to offer technological skills and advancement. We also appreciate how the teachers know their students so well, taking a personal interest in their success and knowing their gifts to best help them succeed. We also enjoy seeing how all grade levels in the upper school participate together for clubs, theatre, sports and extra curricular activities. Oakwood has a family feel as a community and values each individual. We couldn’t imagine a better school and environment for our high school sophomore.

Posted: February 21, 2023

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Posted: February 21, 2023

Posted: December 18, 2022

Posted: December 18, 2022

Posted: December 18, 2022

Posted: December 18, 2022

We went to this school for 2.5 months. We relocated from up north and I would say depending on your experience it is an average school compared to northern state schools. When compared to local schools in NC especially public schools they look stellar not because they are doing anything extraordinary but because the comparison is so bad. We left because group discipline is rampant throughout the school. They do not punish individual students they punish the whole class for the sake of a few that misbehave. If you bring this to their attention they will tell you are they told us "you are not a fit" interestingly only after we complained. Then we "miscategorized the teachers" because I guess forced group apologies (which the kids had to do even though they did not participate in bad behavior) is somehow in their teaching them something valuable - it teaches you to lie, ignore your feelings and be unauthenticated to who you are. So after we left my child kept in touch with her classmates since everyone agrees with my daughter (except the head of school, and some of the teachers). I have had a few parents reach out to me who were very surprised and upset this goes on. I have had three kids tell my daughter they are not allowed to mention her name in school. WOW ! Now it's a completely totalitarian system. Again the kids have no reason to lie about what harm are they creating by mentioning my daughter's name and she isn't there anymore. Anyways don't be fooled by the image it's not what you think it is. Your children will have their voices suppressed. You will be outcasted if you stand for truth, are authenticate, and expect your children to have a stellar education. Stay in line, be a puppet, and quiet your voice you'll love it and fit right in!

Posted: December 18, 2022

Posted: December 18, 2022

Posted: December 18, 2022

Posted: December 18, 2022

Posted: December 12, 2022

My kids came to Oakwood from an elite private school in another state and they are learning more at Oakwood and are much happier. The students are held accountable but their mistakes are treated like learning opportunities. I am impressed with the leadership, the teachers, and the community at Oakwood. Everyone is welcoming and helpful. Highly recommend!

Posted: December 12, 2022

Posted: December 12, 2022

Posted: December 12, 2022

Posted: December 12, 2022

Posted: December 12, 2022

Posted: December 12, 2022

Posted: December 12, 2022

Posted: November 11, 2022

My daughter started at The Oakwood school in 5th grade and remained there until the start of 9th grade. Over the years the class size dropped every year until the start of 9th grade, at that point there was a mass exit from Oakwood to the other local public and private schools. Her class size dropped to single digits. The school lost several key teachers and did not replace them, the headmaster and board chose to do nothing to attempt to retain a large enough student body to have meaningful discussions and a critical mass. We were assured things would be okay but yet they weren't. Oakwood would not refund any portion of our tuition when we changed schools nor would they all our tuition to be considered a donation, even though we did not attend any part of the 9th grade. I would not recommend attending. There are better opportunities in the area. Keep looking.

Posted: November 11, 2022

Posted: July 19, 2020

Both my children attended starting in Kindergarten and graduated. They went to their college/university of choice. I would make this investment again if I had more children.

Posted: July 19, 2020

Posted: July 19, 2020

Posted: July 19, 2020

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Posted: September 11, 2016

There is homework and it varies by grade. The upper school is an all AP curriculum, the middle school prepared him well for this work, and still my son has time for his sports and hobbies.

Posted: September 11, 2016

Oakwood's focus on building strength of character is evident in more than their mission statement. We've seen repeated examples of the leadership and teachers concentrating on developing these traits in our son. I find them to be a trusted ally in raising our son and educating him beyond academics.

Posted: September 11, 2016

My son has been enrolled at The Oakwood School for 6 years and our experience has been nothing short of spectacular. We've had him enrolled in both public and private schools in the past, but once we found Oakwood, it was clear that this was the school to help him reach his potential. By far, Oakwood offers the best education our money can buy.

Posted: July 15, 2015

Like anywhere, there are plusses and minuses, but in short, this is simply the best option in the region if you absolutely HAVE to live in Greenville (which we do). The Head of School is overtly liberal (like most academics), so you should be prepared for all the typical liberal propaganda. The Liberal Agenda is live and well here and will be presented to your kids. (We teach ours to keep their mouths shut on controversial topics - money, religion and especially politics... to keep them out of conflict and trouble).
Academic-wise, it's "okay" ... not great, but only okay. Again, understand this is the best in the area, sad to say. We are talking about Greenville, in "Pitt" county (yes, it's the pitts here). We supplement with private tutoring in the summers, so we can expect them to gain admittance to top colleges. Do NOT however, think that the school adequately does the job when you see high-end college acceptances on the website. If you simply pay the bill and send your kid here, expect admittance to ECU and the like, maybe NC State, but don't think Duke or Chapel Hill unless you work with your kids outside of school. That's just how things are around here. Sigh.
As long as you keep perspective that this is "as good as it gets" in this region, then it's a fine school. Parrott Academy also used to be better, but has declined in recent years. Honestly, both are comparable these days, and should make a choice more dependent on where you live and what is most convenient. We are in between, but found Oakwood to be a better choice for us, for a variety of reasons, but really you can't go wrong either way, as long as you supplement your children's education. Hope that helps!

Posted: January 4, 2014

This school has many positives such as security, a personal touch from the teachers and principal and cutting edge technology. Your faith is not shunned upon. however, this school is heavy on Greek and Roman myths. It is a great college prep school and character building school. The school is dedicated to the whole person.

Posted: January 2, 2014

I have two children at The Oakwood School and am very happy with their experiences. The teachers make an effort to get to know their students and help them reach their full potentials. Every year the program offerings, campus, staff and extracurriculars are improving and growing. Character development and learning to love learning are emphasized as well as community service. No school is perfect but this is the best option for us.

Posted: November 3, 2013

The Oakwood School appealed to us for three primary reasons: the faculty and staff are engaged and excited about their work; the parent community is involved and inclusive; and most importantly, the students are obviously happy and eager learners. We looked for a school that provided academic excellence in a nurturing environment and we found that in Oakwood. My daughter loves to go to school each day and that makes it worth every penny. We believe fostering a love for learning is a priceless investment.

Posted: August 8, 2013

The Oakwood School is very safe overall. Each student receives a laptop in the 4th grade. This is good and bad, it helps the students learn how to use technology and to access all of their notebooks on the laptop. This is a very elite school, I personally have been going to this school for 8 years. The middle school is very poor, the lower school is okay. The high school is very good. I am leaving The Oakwood School, because everyone is in small knit clicks and teachers favor children. The parents and teachers treat it like a country club.

Posted: April 8, 2011

My honest thoughts on The Oakwood School is that overall, it is a great environment and is a very involved community. I can leave my laptop or my expensive instrument anywhere on the campus without hesitation and not worry about it being stolen. However, there are some major downfalls. For example, the math curriculum has rarely been up to par with other schools (esp. in lower-middle school). A lot of the academics aren't quite what you'd expect from such an expensive independent school. Also, quite a few of the teachers aren't qualified teachers and have no experience in the subject. This in my opinion is very inappropriate of such an expensive and higher class school, albeit several of the teachers are extremely good and know what they're doing. However, even it being higher class, I find my peers not to be snobby in a serious manor nor the staff or administrators to be rude. Overall this is a very good school, yet it has some minor and major downfalls. If you want a very safe environment and a very comfortable environment, then look no further. Yet, if you want a top of the line academic-focused school, I would look elsewhere, but do not take TOS out of consideration.

Posted: August 1, 2010

When you search for Greenville-area private schools, Oakwood consistently pops up as the best (great internet marketing!) choice. Moving to Greenville, we then placed our children at Oakwood for a few years, but quickly became disappointed. Our older son was fully a year ahead of the rest of the class, and we found Oakwood teachers generally pander to the lowest-common-denominator, rather than challenging students across the class. When confronted with this, the teachers and administration (overlap) gloss over reality and "paint a pretty picture" about how wonderful the school is. Whether conscious denial or not, I've never seen such deluded self-promotion. After further investigation and by reputation, we moved all three of our children to Parrott Academy last year and are thrilled with the difference in our children's education - as are they. We could have saved a great deal of time & money, had we found Parrott sooner.