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1 / 25#25. Atlee High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hanover County Public Schools, VA
- Enrollment: 1,526 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Best high schools in the Richmond metro area
According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 15.5 million students attend public high school every year, and more than 3.76 million are expected to graduate in 2025. However, those students have a wide variety of experiences over the course of their high school careers.
To start, issues surrounding equal educational access persist throughout the United States. A January 2025 report published in Frontiers found that disparities across socioeconomic status, race, gender, and geography can lead to negative outcomes and the perpetuation of systemic barriers.
Outside of these issues, students also pursue many different paths within high school. Roughly 8.3 million high schoolers attend educational programs to prepare for careers in fields like transportation, landscaping, and culinary arts. Meanwhile, nearly 2.5 million are in dual enrollment programs that offer high school and college credit for the same course, allowing students to get a jump on higher education degrees.
Dual enrollment programs are particularly useful considering that more than 3 in 5 (61%) high school graduates head to college, per a 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Unfortunately, high school doesn't always guarantee college success. In 2024, the average SAT score declined for the third straight year, and nearly 2 in 5 (39%) test-takers met or exceeded the test's college readiness benchmarks. ACT scores are also on the decline year over year, down to 19.4 out of 36, and just 3 in 10 students met at least three of the ACT's college readiness benchmarks.
With that said, attending a quality high school will typically help prepare students for their next steps in life, whether that's college, technical school, or going straight into the workforce. Stacker compiled a list of the best high schools in the Richmond metro area using data from Niche, which uses seven weighted factors for its rankings. Most of the score is based on academics, but other factors include culture and diversity; sports; clubs and activities; resources; and surveys of parents, teachers, and students.
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2 / 25#24. Lynnhaven School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Henrico, VA
- Enrollment: 34 (4:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
3 / 25#23. Douglas S. Freeman High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Henrico County Public Schools, VA
- Enrollment: 1,860 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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4 / 25#22. Richmond Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Richmond, VA
- Enrollment: 140 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
5 / 25#21. Hanover High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hanover County Public Schools, VA
- Enrollment: 1,427 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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6 / 25#20. The Blessed Sacrament Huguenot School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Powhatan, VA
- Enrollment: 368 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
7 / 25#19. Clover Hill High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Chesterfield County Public Schools, VA
- Enrollment: 1,775 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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8 / 25#18. Landmark Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Richmond, VA
- Enrollment: 121 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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9 / 25#17. Benedictine College Preparatory
- School type: Private School
- Location: Richmond, VA
- Enrollment: 298 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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10 / 25#16. Mills E. Godwin High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Henrico County Public Schools, VA
- Enrollment: 1,773 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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11 / 25#15. Cosby High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Chesterfield County Public Schools, VA
- Enrollment: 2,385 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
12 / 25#14. The Carmel School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Ruther Glen, VA
- Enrollment: 250 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
13 / 25#13. Midlothian High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Chesterfield County Public Schools, VA
- Enrollment: 2,041 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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14 / 25#12. Veritas School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Richmond, VA
- Enrollment: 678 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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15 / 25#11. Glen Allen High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Henrico County Public Schools, VA
- Enrollment: 2,006 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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16 / 25#10. Saint Gertrude High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Richmond, VA
- Enrollment: 173 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Roman Kosolapov // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. Millwood School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Midlothian, VA
- Enrollment: 245 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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18 / 25#8. Trinity Episcopal School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Richmond, VA
- Enrollment: 513 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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19 / 25#7. Richmond Community High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Richmond Public Schools, VA
- Enrollment: 200 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
20 / 25#6. St. Catherine's School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Richmond, VA
- Enrollment: 955 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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21 / 25#5. Deep Run High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Henrico County Public Schools, VA
- Enrollment: 2,027 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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22 / 25#4. The Steward School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Richmond, VA
- Enrollment: 718 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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23 / 25#3. Open High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Richmond Public Schools, VA
- Enrollment: 183 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
24 / 25#2. Collegiate School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Richmond, VA
- Enrollment: 1,689 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
25 / 25#1. St. Christopher's School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Richmond, VA
- Enrollment: 938 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
This story features data reporting by Rob Powell, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 97 metros.
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