Northumberland High School, located in the county seat of Heathsville, contains grades 9 through 12, and is the only senior high in Northumberland County.  The high school was established in 1952 when four high schools in the county were consolidated.

                Northumberland is one of the oldest counties in the Commonwealth of Virginia with two hundred and twenty-three square miles lying in the Coastal Plain.  It is bounded on the North by the Potomac River, on the East by the Chesapeake Bay, on the South by Lancaster and Richmond Counties, and on the West by Westmoreland County.  The population of approximately 11,000 residents depends largely on farming and on the water for its income.

                The high school, with an enrollment of approximately 450 students, offers a varied vocational program and a complete academic program.  In addition to vocational courses offered at the site, the Northern Neck Regional Technical Center in Warsaw supplements the vocational offerings.  Courses available at the center are Collision Repair, Auto Mechanics, Carpentry, Occupational Foods, Cosmetology, Information Systems, Industrial Maintenance/ HVAC/ Electrical, Nurses Aid, Masonry, Welding, and Computer Aided Drafting.  Students also have the opportunity to enroll in dual credit courses at Rappahannock Community College, Warsaw.

The course offerings available at the high school are:

ENGLISH                    SOCIAL                       MATH                         SCIENCE

English 9-11                    STUDIES                     Algebra                                  Earth Science

AP English 12                       World Geography                Algebra I, Part I & II            Biology 

Dual Credit English 12         World History                      Algebra II                              Chemistry             

Drama I - IV                           U. S. History                         Geometry                               Physics                 

Photojournalism I - IV         Dual Credit US History       Math Analysis                     Advanced Biology

Journalism I & II                   A.P. History                          Dual Credit Statistics          

                                U. S. Government A.P. Calculus                       

                                                A.P. Government

                                                Dual Credit Government

                                                Western Civilization   

MUSIC                                 ART                     PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Advanced Band                           Art I-IV                     Health & P. E. 9

Percussion                                       Photography/Crafts      Health & P. E. 10

Chorus                                                                                        Advanced P. E. Conditioning

Marching Band

FOREIGN                    BUSINESS                   AGRICULTURE          DRIVER EDUCATION

LANGUAGE                Accounting                           Agriculture I-IV                    Behind the Wheel

French I-IV                            Business & Marketing        Agriculture Co-op                Classroom

Spanish I-III                          Keyboarding                                                                        

Dual Credit Spanish IV        Office Administration       WORK & FAMILY     MILITARY SCIENCE

Japanese I-III                        Word Processing             STUDIES                     ROTC I-IV                        

Latin I-III                                                            Home Economics I-IV      

CHESAPEAKE BAY REGIONAL GOVERNOR’S SCHOOL

The Governor’s School provides high-ability students with a rigorous curriculum through enrichment, exploratory, investigative, and career awareness experiences.  Through the integration of math, science, technology, and research, woven with marine and environmental sciences, students have the opportunity to foster an appreciation and respect for environmental issues.  Courses taken include: College Level Chemistry, Physics, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, and Environmental and Marine Science I & II.

 Achievement Data:              Mean SAT score for graduating class of 2004:               961

Grading Scale:                     A = 94 - 100                          GPA’s based on:                  A = 4

                                                B = 86 - 93                                                                            B = 3

                                                C = 78-85                                                                              C = 2

                                                D = 70-77                                                                              D = 1

                                                F = 69 and below                                                                  F  = 0

 
Advanced Placement Courses/Weighted Grades: Dual Credit, Governor’s School and AP courses are weighted in computations of student grade point averages.  Weighting is on a 5.0