Roanoke Guide

Schools and Education

Hollins University, in County, is the most prestigious educational institution in the area. Founded in 1842, it was chartered as Virginia’s first women’s college. To this day, the undergraduate program remains a open only to women, though male students are welcomed into the graduate level programs of study. With a total of about one students, Hollins is known for its riding program and its writing program, turning out many expert equestriennes and the highest number of Pulitzer Prize winning authors, per capita, of any institution in the country.

Virginia Western Community College and several nursing schools are also located in .

The public educational system in the city is dedicated to maintaining relatively small, neighborhood based elementary schools which feed into six traditional high schools and one technical academy.

There are several private primary schools and two private schools that offer secondary level education. Both of these, Catholic School and North Cross School have programs that extend from pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade.