Under the guidance of the Gurneyite Friends, a group of schools operating under the original 1711 Charter consolidated as a private all-boys college preparatory school in 1875. Overseers hired Richard Mott Jones, a dynamic education reformer, as headmaster and purchased a residence at 12th and Market Streets into a school house. From that location, Penn Charter grew quickly and gained a national reputation for excellence. Latin was again an important subject; students with interests in music, art, literature and science expressed those interests in extracurricular activities, including a mandolin club, debating society and creating writing.