Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Barnesville, Ohio, the school "challenges students to grow, celebrates intellectual vigor, provokes questions of conscience, and nurtures skills for living in community.

Sustainability is an ongoing theme in the life of the school, whose 350-acre (1.4 km2) campus includes a certified organic farm that provides food, work, and recreational opportunities for students and staff.

Olney Friends School offers a challenging, individualized, college preparatory curriculum with students taking academic course work in math, science and humanities throughout their time, as well as at least two years of Spanish.

In March 1910, Olney's main building was gutted by a fire that started in its belfry burned to the ground, leaving only the outer brick walls and the front porch.

Although the building had housed the classrooms, the student living quarters and the dining area, the class of 1910 remained through the year to graduate on time thanks to local families who opened their homes.

In 1998 Ohio Yearly Meeting decided to end its governance of the school due to low enrollment and increasing financial burden.

When the transition was completed a board of trustees began operating the institution as an independent Quaker school no longer under the care of a Friends Meeting.

In late June 2004 an agreement for the purchase of the main campus property from Ohio Yearly Meeting was successfully negotiated, while the farm land continuing to be leased.

[vague] Today, Olney Friends School's 35-40 students come from diverse international, religious, social and economic backgrounds.