Unlike most Prep Schools which started at the 7th or 9th grades, Barnard was K-12. Barnard was an unusual combination of a formal, classic English-style curriculum, with the ambiance, interaction, and demeanor of progressive education. It was also unusual in that by the 1950s the religious composition of the school was about one-third each of Protestant, Catholic and Jewish. Barnard was a small school with only 25-40 students in each grade. Individual instructors typically had only 10-15 students in each classroom. The school newspaper was the Purple B. The yearbook was the Barnard Bric.