Valwood School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory day school

Day school

A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...

 located four miles (6 km) outside of Valdosta, Georgia

Valdosta, Georgia

Valdosta is the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, United States. It is the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of 54,518. The Valdosta metropolitan area, according to the 2010 estimate, has a population of 139,588...

. The school offers programs from pre-kindergarten

Pre-Kindergarten

Pre-kindergarten refers to the first formal academic classroom-based learning environment that a child customarily attends in the United States. It begins between the ages of 3-5 depending on the length of the program...

 through high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

. Approximately 365 students are currently enrolled.

History

Valwood School first conducted classes in September, 1969 in the old Central Elementary School building in Valdosta. At first, classes were only offered for grades 1-10, kindergarten

Kindergarten

A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

 and eleventh grade programs were added in 1970. The first full graduation exercise was held in June, 1972, and the school moved to Gornto Road in the fall of that year. A preschool program was added in 1982. Various improvements to the physical plant were completed over the years, including a gym

Gym

The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...

nasium/cafeteria

Cafeteria

A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...

 complex in 1973 and an athletic

Sport

A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...

 field in 1989. In 2000 the school received a gift of 45 acres (182,108.7 m²) of pecan

Pecan

The pecan , Carya illinoinensis, is a species of hickory, native to south-central North America, in Mexico from Coahuila south to Jalisco and Veracruz, in the United States from southern Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, and Indiana east to western Kentucky, southwestern Ohio, North Carolina, South...

grove from the Howard Dasher Company as a relocation site. The school opened its new campus at the location, two miles (3 km) north of Valdosta on Old US Hwy 41, on August 26, 2002.

Accreditation & Memberships

• The National Association of Independent Schools
• The Southern Association of Independent Schools
• The Southern Association for College Admission Counseling

Athletics

Valwood is a member of the Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) and currently competes in region IAA.
The Valiant's football team were the GISA Class A State Champions in 1985, 1986, and 1999. The men's tennis team has won four state titles (1992, 2000, 2001, 2002) and the women's team has won three (2001, 2002, 2003).

External links

• Valwood School official website