Welcome

About 7HS

Welcome

Seven Hills School celebrates and cultivates the energy young adolescent boys bring to a learning environment.

Our Mission

Seven Hills School cultivates a keen intellect and emotional strength in middle-school boys. We emphasize hands-on learning, critical thinking, and guided exploration. By design, we are different.

Our Approach

Researchers have consistently and conclusively demonstrated that boys develop critical thinking and collaborative learning skills most effectively in learning environments that include opportunities for movement and full sensory instruction. Boys also need a safe, supportive environment in which to explore their emerging identities.

Seven Hills is a model school on the leading edge of a national movement to change the conventional approach to teaching boys. The traditional approach often legislates against the very aspects of a boy’s development that Seven Hills embraces as pivotal to successful instruction. The Seven Hills faculty teaches with the boy in mind and actively explores enhanced learning for boys in these middle school years.

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Our Name

"There’s an old saying that Richmond, like Rome, is a city built on seven hills."

In 1937, a city councilman proposed an ordinance that would designate those seven hills as Church Hill, Union Hill, City Council Hill, Navy Hill, French Garden Hill, Shockoe Hill, and Gambles Hill. But other council members had other hills they wanted to be on the list, like Libby Hill, Fulton Hill, Oregon Hill, Forest Hill, Hollywood Hill, and Chimborazo Hill. A consensus was never reached, but the idea of the seven hills stuck.

Learn more about the seven hills of Richmond.

The 7 Hills Difference

Designed for Boys

Everything at Seven Hills is designed with the middle school boy at the center, from our classrooms to our curriculum. Plus, our faculty love teaching middle school boys and are experts in doing so.

Class Size

Seven Hills is committed to a small class size with an average class size of 13 and a max of 16. In recent years, the school’s enrollment has been about 70-80 boys. The small size of the school fosters a tight-knit community in which each boy benefits from the attention of the entire faculty. Our smaller class sizes allow boys to learn at their own pace and receive more small group and one-on-one instruction. Our design is to have a single Bridge class, and two classes each in grades six through eight.

Faculty

In simplest terms: Seven Hills teachers and staff members understand boys. Our highly-qualified faculty and staff are selected based on this special characteristic. They understand – so are not surprised by – how boys think, reason, interact, learn, solve problems, behave, and form relationships. The respect between teacher and student, and among the students, is truly inspiring. Respect for others and one’s self are constantly and consistently modeled for the boys at this school. Because of the small class sizes and daily time spent together outside of class, teachers are able to interact with each boy in a meaningful way on a consistent basis. These relationships are integral to learning.

Meet Our Faculty and Staff

Community

One of the many benefits of our small size is that every boy is known. He is known not only by the teachers who instruct him directly, but also by those who play basketball with him at morning break. He is known not only by the students in his grade, but also by the older and younger boys who cheer his name as he competes in a House Competition.

Bridge Program

The Bridge Program serves as a transition year or "bridge" between elementary and middle school. Boys who have completed either fourth or fifth grade enter this accelerated program and learn primarily under the care and guidance of the Bridge Director, Jay Parker. The Bridge cohort is intentionally small and tight-knit, which allows students to adjust to both the rigors of middle school and to the culture of Seven Hills while feeling safe and supported.

Learn more about the Bridge Program.

Experiential Learning

We know that most boys learn best by doing, so we integrate hands-on, experiential lessons as often as possible.

Learn more about some of our signature experiential learning programs.

Our Faculty

At Seven Hills School, faculty and students work side by side in an engaging, supportive environment where curiosity, connection, and hands-on learning help every boy grow.

Meet our Faculty and Staff