The Chatham Hall Experience

Chatham Hall embodies the qualities that parents search for in a boarding high school. They have an incredibly talented staff who teach in small class settings. They promote character, honor, and spirituality, and they give the girls the tools they need to be successful in their future endeavors.

The primary challenge the school faces is its location. Time and time again, if a potential student decides to attend high school elsewhere, it is due to the fact that Chatham, VA, is a small town in a rural area. NewCity was given the challenge of combating the location issue, and we did - by not apologizing for it. Instead we chose to let the faculty, alumnae, parents and especially the students describe their experiences with Chatham Hall. They told us about their decision to attend Chatham, and what it's like going to school there. We heard about all the ways that the Chatham Hall experience prepares young women for long and successful careers from the alumnae. They described how emphasis on academic rigor, sportsmanship, honor and character prepared them not just for college, but for life.

The town of Chatham is indeed small, but it is not isolated. The school does a fantastic job of bringing the world to Chatham. From humanitarian trips to South Africa and immersion trips to France and Spain, to meeting visiting leaders like Benazir Bhutto, with whom the girls dine and converse in intimate settings, the students are given unique opportunities to experience the world beyond the borders of Chatham, VA.

In our interviews, several people mentioned that Chatham is a small town, but no one ever said they felt like they were "missing out" on anything thanks to the experiences they enjoyed, the culture they were exposed to, and the freedom they were given to explore life's many opportunities.