Christchurch School is a private

college-preparatory A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to state school, public, Independent school, private independent or parochial school, parochial schools primaril ...

coed boarding school in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, founded in 1921 by the Episcopal Church Diocese of Virginia. Near the colonial port town of

Urbanna, Virginia Urbanna is a town in Middlesex County, Virginia, United States. Urbanna means “City of Anne” and was named in honor of England's Queen Anne. The population was 476 at the 2010 census. Geography Urbanna is located at (37.637796, −76 ...

and located on a 125-acre waterfront campus on the Rappahannock River near the Chesapeake Bay, the school enrolls approximately 225 students, boarding and day, grades 9-12. Day students number approximately 45% of the student body, and are generally evenly divided among boys and girls. The majority of domestic boarding students come from Virginia, D.C., Maryland, and North Carolina. However, in recent years students have come other states including Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina, Texas, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Illinois. Christchurch also attracts international students from countries including China, the Bahamas, Vietnam, Korea, Germany, Turkey, Ghana, Guatemala, and Mexico.

Academics

Christchurch offers a college prep program. In addition, a Learning Skills program offers appropriate support so that all students can succeed academically. Over seventy-five percent of the faculty lives on campus. Faculty serve as coaches, advisors, and dorm parents. Admission to Christchurch School is based upon the candidate's application, recommendations, questionnaires, transcripts, and a personal interview. Christchurch is a member of the

National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boar ...

, the

National Association of Episcopal Schools The National Association of Episcopal Schools (NAES) is a membership organization of approximately 1200 pre-collegiate schools and early childhood education programs in the United States. Membership is restricted to schools owned, operated, or sp ...

, and the Virginia Association of Independent Sch

Great Journeys Begin at the River

The 125-acre campus on the banks of the

Rappahannock River The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the entir ...

and in the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

Watershed, offers opportunity for a hands-on curriculum "Great Journeys Begin at the River" with students making discoveries and connections both inside and outside the classroom. The river is two miles wide at the Christchurch campus. The Rappahannock River and the Chesapeake Bay watershed offer a living classroom for marine science and an out-of-door co-curricular experience, with opportunities for sailing, crew, research projects, class trips, adventuring, team-building, and leadership.

Athletics

Lacrosse

2010 State Champions

Football

Christchurch's Varsity Football Team won the Division II state championship in 2011 and 2017.

Basketball

Christchurch School's Varsity Men's Basketball Team won the Prep League Championship in 1994 and the VISAA Division II state championship in 2013.

Sailing

The school has its own sailing fleet, onsite boathouse, and sailing venue. It competes in the Virginia Interscholastic Sailing Association (VISA) league of the Mid-Atlantic Scholastic Sailing Association district, one of seven districts in the

Interscholastic Sailing Association The Interscholastic Sailing Association also known as ISSA is the organization that serves as the governing authority for all sailing competition between both public and private secondary schools throughout the United States. The organization's he ...

. The team is nationally ranked, and won the Atlantic Coast Championship in both 2016 and 2017, and won the ISSA Team Racing National Championship in May 2019.

Notable alumni

William Styron William Clark Styron Jr. (June 11, 1925 – November 1, 2006) was an American novelist and essayist who won major literary awards for his work. Styron was best known for his novels, including: * '' Lie Down in Darkness'' (1951), his acclaimed fi ...

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning author *

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

, '41 film critic for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' *

Lewis Burwell Puller Jr. Lewis Burwell Puller Jr. (August 18, 1945 – May 11, 1994) was an attorney and a United States Marine Corps officer who was severely wounded in the Vietnam War. He won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for his autobiography ...

, First Lieutenant in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of "Fortunate Son",

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

hero, attorney, earned the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

, two Purple Hearts, the

Navy Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

and the

Vietnam Cross of Gallantry The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross also known as the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross or Vietnam Cross of Gallantry ( vi, Anh-Dũng Bội-Tinh) is a military decoration of the former Government of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam). The medal ...

* Bill Brill '48 - ACC Sportswriting Hall of Fame * John Craine, Jr. '64 - President,

SUNY Maritime College State University of New York Maritime College (SUNY Maritime College) is a public maritime college in the Bronx, New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Founded in 1874, the SUNY Maritime College was the fir ...

, Vice Admiral (USN Ret) * Charles Barlowe '79 - National Institute of Health MERIT Award, Chair and Professor of Biochemistry, Dartmouth Medical College Department of Biochemistry * Andrew Rice '92 - former Oklahoma State Senator (D), US Senate candidate * Devin Robinson '14 - former starter for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

, played for the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

, and currently plays for the Toronto Raptors. Helped lead Christchurch to a basketball state championship in 2013.

Notes

External links

School website
* {{authority control Boarding schools in Virginia Educational institutions established in 1921 Private high schools in Virginia Schools in Middlesex County, Virginia 1921 establishments in Virginia Episcopal schools in the United States