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Lynchburg, Virginia, USA Co-Ed, Episcopal
VES’ mission remains true to when the school was founded more than a century ago—to know each student well and guide every child in their growth Toward Full Stature.
Our school is a safe place in which students and faculty learn to live together with purpose and accountability, delivering an exceptional experience offering the best teachers, innovative academic and co-curricular programs, and a vibrant, personalized learning environment. In our four-year, progressive Student and Residential Life Program, VES faculty and outside experts address the challenges teenagers face today, leveraging the latest science about the adolescent brain. Through this program and others—academics, character and spiritual development, advisory, athletics, the arts, and service learning—students engage in real conversations, acquire practical tools and learn how to live happy, healthy, productive lives. And when they graduate, students have the competencies and confidence to go out and take on the world.
Our success is reflected in both the great kids growing Toward Full Stature in our community and our 97% retention rate—one of the highest retention rates of boarding schools in the nation; the national average for attrition at boarding schools is 10.5%. VES has held steady at only 3% attrition over the past three years.
The VES College Counseling program is cited by families as among the best. With a focus on helping students find their very best fit for college, our counselors support, educate and provide the necessary tools to help students and parents successfully navigate the complex college admissions process. VES graduates attend many of the world’s finest colleges and universities, including Stanford, UCLA, Cornell, Yale, Princeton, Columbia University, MIT, Wellesley, NYU, the U.S. Naval Academy, UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke, the College of William & Mary, Wake Forest, Harvey Mudd and Georgia Tech.
Nestled on 160 acres in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, we take advantage of our spectacular location—minutes from a thriving downtown with music, arts, maker spaces, an extensive trail system, mountains, rivers and lakes, the nation’s only year-round ski slopes and much more!
400 VES RoadLynchburg, Virginia, USA 24503 (434) 385-3607
Director of Admissions: Justine Button Admissions Phone:(434) 385-3607Fax:434-385-3603 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ves.org
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Summary: Through our academic program, students will pursue STEM disciplines, explore diverse perspectives in the humanities, enjoy artistic endeavors, and build their fluency in other languages and cultures. VES courses are designed to develop curious, innovative thinkers and producers, who:• create, transform and apply knowledge and come to see the disciplines as powerful lenses to understand the world.• ask compelling questions and think critically.• bring people together to collaborate in solving multifaceted problems.• express their ideas with confidence and clarity.Thoughtful and deliberate planning of coursework ensures that students are well-prepared for their future. Students work closely with their advisor and, when appropriate, our college counselors to develop a clear path and specific course selections that excite and challenge them as they strive Toward Full Stature.
Department Director: Mimi Csatlos
Average Class Size: 11
Full Time Teachers: 40
Teachers Holding Advanced Degrees: 68.00%
Student/Teacher Ratio: 5:1
Summer Programs Offered: Offered
Academic Schedule: Semester
Number of Advanced Placement Courses Offered: 16
Summary: VES is a safe and powerful environment in which students and faculty learn to live together with purpose and accountability. It's also a community where we participate in deeper learning that extends throughout and far beyond the academic day. VES’ goal: happy, healthy young adults striving toward their highest level of personal achievement. Through the full breadth of our programs—academics, student and residential life, character and spiritual development, faculty advisory, athletics, the arts, and service learning—VES students acquire the core competencies essential to succeed in today’s world. VES strives to deliver a world-class student and residential life program that serves the needs of our teenagers. Our program success is reflected in both the great kids growing Toward Full Stature in our community and our 97% retention rate—one of the highest retention rates of boarding schools in the nation; the national average for attrition at boarding schools is 10.5%. VES has held steady at only 3% attrition over the past three years. Students and their parents often talk about how VES's Student and Residential Life program is a transformational experience.Our Student Life Program—a four-year development program—is unique among boarding schools in our region. Leveraging the latest science about the teenage brain, we have real conversations, provide practical tools and teach students how to live healthy and productive lives. Student learn age- and developmentally appropriate information about the four biggest challenges teens face today: Health & Wellness, Substance Abuse, Technology Use and Management, and Stress. We have designed our day, our policies and our programs to address these issues, giving students the knowledge and skills to make smart decisions, sleep and eat well, develop positive relationships and empathy, incorporate exercise, use technology well and manage it appropriately, and develop valuable tools to manage stress.In addition, students in every grade participate in service learning and giving back in the community, take on leadership roles across the school, and learn to understand and value diverse perspectives.
Department Director: Chris Button
Number of Dorms: 6
Average Students Per Dorm: 28
No. of Girls Dorms: 3
No. of Boys Dorms: 3
Dorm Amenities:
Dress Code: Formal
Summary: Campus life encompasses more than classrooms and playing fields. When class is over, faculty and students spend time together participating in a sport, the arts, a special interest club, a community service project, or a myriad of other offerings that allow students to pursue a particular interest or passion. On the weekends, trips are regularly planned to hike, ski, rock climb, shop, see a movie or enjoy a meal out. On campus, we have dances and talent shows, play paintball, screen movies, shoot hoops, bake cookies and more. Our school’s small size makes impromptu activities possible too. An advisor might make a late-night run to the local diner for famous Cheezy Westerns. A teacher takes students to Vector Space for a maker space activity. Our art teacher takes a group of students to First Fridays or one of the many performances in town. Equally exciting is our informal campus life which does not fit so easily on a brochure: those student-initiated gatherings are perhaps the greatest emblems of our students’ happiness. It is these moments that transform the school from something other than just a place of learning. The baseball field becomes an arena for Frisbee, a dorm room becomes a pizzeria on Friday night, or a snowfall offers spontaneous creativity. Some lazy Saturday in December, on a lark and with a pair of scissors, a student takes greenery from the hedges outside his dorm and literally decks its halls with boughs of holly. Our school is always in a state of metamorphosis: life-changing.
Facilities
Clubs and Organizations
Summary: ARTSOpportunities abound for every student to participate in the fine arts at VES. Enjoy music? Join the Glee Club, Vocal Ensemble or Instrumental / Jazz Ensemble, or take classes in music history and theory. Interested in drama? Participate in plays or the musical, and learn about the technical and performance aspects of theater. Artists of all mediums can find an outlet in our art classes, and display their work in the King Center gallery or in the community. Students also may take their talents overseas to Spoleto, Italy, participating in the Spoleto Study Abroad Program, a month-long intensive fine arts workshop. At VES, discovering, nurturing and showcasing student talent is paramount. Studio and performing artists on campus are featured at all major campus events. Studio artists enter local and regional art competitions, and performing artists perform on campus as well as regionally, and even internationally, when possible. ATHLETICSWe train hard. We play hard. We value teamwork, sportsmanship, our unique team traditions and the fierce challenge of a long-standing rivalry. We offer three semesters of sports, and with 26 teams across 15 sports, students have the opportunity to participate regardless of skill level. We are as proud of our junior varsity players who work up to varsity as we are of our varsity players who go on to play in college. We celebrate the shot putter who sets a new state record as well as swimmers in their first race. Whether it is a state championship or a personal best, we compete with skill, integrity and the VES spirit.Our coaches, most of whom are classroom teachers, are highly trained, know our students well and share a passion for coaching and a dedication to developing leadership skills and nurturing every player’s talent.VES athletes have the privilege of competing in highly competitive conferences that allow for high-caliber play, as well as the opportunity to progress into state-level tournaments.
Arts Department Director: Debbie Burton
Athletics Department Director: Bob Leake
Summary: One hundred percent of VES students are admitted to accredited four-year colleges and universities, and 75% of our students enroll in one of their top-choice colleges. VES graduates are accepted into some of the country's most selective schools, but most importantly, we help them select their best-fit schools that are well-aligned with their personal and professional interests. The College Counseling team plays a crucial role in each student's journey Toward Full Stature. Our three college counselors support, nurture, educate and provide the necessary tools to help students and parents successfully navigate the increasingly complex college admissions process. THE VES DIFFERENCE: A FOUR-YEAR COLLEGE COUNSELING PROCESS.Even our youngest students are engaged in relevant topics in the realm of college admissions. The knowledge they gain helps them make academic and extracurricular decisions that keep doors open as they grow and discover their best options beyond our campus.Expert Help from Start to Finish. Our experienced, knowledgeable college counselors:- Help students recognize their individual talents, interests and challenges, and guide them to schools that best fit their needs. - Strive to be accessible to students—and parents—all throughout their VES experience, not just in their junior and senior years.- Invest significant time on students’ admissions essays and all aspects of their applications and celebrate the conclusion of the process when they hit the “submit” button on their applications.- Demystify the college admissions process and strive to minimize our students’ stress by providing them with both relevant information and excellent support.- Engage VES faculty, who write compelling letters of recommendation thanks to their strong connection with each student.- Help prepare students for success as they transition to college through VES' top-notch Student Life curriculum
Percentage of Graduates Who Attend College: 100.00%
Colleges attended in the past 5 years by our graduates:
Middle Percentile of SAT Scores
Hardy Cross Dillard (Class of 1919) U.S. Judge of the International Court of Justice at The Hague, former Dean of The University of Virginia School of Law, appointed to special court of arbitration by Queen Elizabeth
Paul Taylor (Class of 1949) One of the world’s foremost modern dance choreographers, received the National Merit of Arts Award from President Clinton and the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship “Genius Award.”
Paul Fulton, Jr. (Class of 1953) Chairman or the Board, Bassett Furniture Industries; former President of Sara Lee Corporation; and former Dean of The University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. Founded Higher Education Works.
Stephen Cowper (Class of 1956) Attorney, news correspondent, college professor, marine research diver and sixth governor of Alaska
William B. Harrison, Jr. (Class of 1962) Former CEO of Chase Manhattan and Chairman/CEO of JPMorgan Chase
Lee M. Thomas (Class of 1962) Former Chairman and CEO of Rayonier Corp., former President and COO of Georgia-Pacific and administrator of The Environmental Protection Agency under President Ronald Reagan
Erskine Bowles (Class of 1963) Former White House Chief of Staff to President Clinton, co-chair of the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform under President Obama, and 10th Chancellor of the University of North Carolina
Dr. D. Holmes Morton (Class of 1969) Founder of the Clinic for Special Children in Strasburg, PA, 2006 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship “Genius Grant” recipient, recipient of the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism and one of Time magazine’s “Heroes of Medicine” for his work in genetic illnesses
William “Tuck” Tucker (Class of 1979) Supervising storyboard director of award-winning animated series “SpongeBob Squarepants” and writer, artist, and director who worked with Filmation, Walt Disney, and Nickelodeon Studios
Vivian Howard (Class of 1996) Award–winning chef and star of PBS series “A Chef’s Life,” for which she earned a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Culinary Program. An early proponent of the “farm-to-table” movement, Vivian is a successful restaurateur with three establishments in North Carolina and a cookbook author, whose "Deep Run Roots: Stories and Recipes from My Corner of the South" has won four IACP Awards, including Cookbook of the Year and The Julia Child First Book Award. In 2017, she joined CBS Sunday Morning as the show’s food contributor.
VES scores strong across academics, student-teacher relationships, athletics, student life, etc. You will work hard, be intrigued, know your teachers well, have fun, and the community is hard to beat!
-Zach Baugher, Class of 2016, Valedictorian, Jefferson Scholar at UVA, VES Advanced Studies Scholar, Vocal Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble
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