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Christchurch School is a college-preparatory boarding school in Christchurch, Virginia, founded in 1921 by the Episcopal Church Diocese of Virginia. Near the colonial port town of Urbanna, Virginia 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 from states further away, 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.
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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 Episcopal Schools, and the Virginia Association of Independent Sch
Great Journeys Begin at the River
The 125-acre campus on the banks of the Rappahannock River and in the Chesapeake Bay 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.
Aquaculture
The school has an oyster restoration/aquaculture program, run by the students and headed by faculty member, Will Smiley. Financed by a student-run recycling program called Cans for Oysters, students organize the collection of cans and other aluminum waste so that it can be cashed in and spent on the oyster farm. The oysters filter water naturally, helping to restore the waters of the Rappahannock River. An adult oyster can filter and clean up to 50 gallons of water a day. In 2015 Christchurch School partnered with other local schools, non-profits, and businesses and acquired a $50,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to plant baby oysters in Urbanna Creek near Christchurch in order to clean the water of Urbanna Creek.
Global Education
Now in its third year, Global Education offers spring break and summer travel opportunities for Christchurch students, families, and friends. Travel to India and Senegal in the 2014-2015 school year was led by Aaron Alter, Director of Global Education. The Global Education Education travel experience focuses on developing and applying real-world skills, connecting the classroom with the international world, and enabling students to have intense personal travel experiences with their peers within an academic context.
Football
In 2011 Christchurch's Varsity Football Team won the Division II state championship. Christchurch School's Varsity Men's Basketball Team won the Division II state championship over Virginia Episcopal School in 2013.
Varsity 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.
Christchurch won the 2015 Visa state championships in both Team Racing and Fleet Racing.