When families start a home search in Herndon, they usually expect the school conversation to revolve around Herndon High or South Lakes. Both are well-known locally and come up quickly. What does not come up as quickly — but matters just as much for buyers in certain pockets of Herndon — is Chantilly High School.
Chantilly High is located on Stringfellow Road in Chantilly, about six miles south of the Town of Herndon. For most Herndon buyers it is not even on the radar. But if you are looking at homes near Oak Hill Elementary School, which sits in Herndon at the 20171 zip code along Kinross Circle and the surrounding neighborhood, there is a real possibility that Chantilly High is your assigned high school. The Oak Hill-to-Chantilly path is one of the least obvious boundary connections in this part of Fairfax County, and it is one that catches relocating families off guard more often than any of the other pyramids in the area.
The good news is that Chantilly High is a very strong school. Here is what you need to know.
Chantilly High School at a Glance
- Formal name: Chantilly High School
- Common name: Chantilly High or CHS; mascot is the Chargers
- District: Fairfax County Public Schools
- Grades: 9–12
- Address: 4201 Stringfellow Rd, Chantilly, VA 20151
- Principal: Dr. Amy Goodloe
- Main phone: 703-222-8100
- Website: chantillyhs.fcps.edu
- Pyramid: Chantilly High Pyramid
- Enrollment: approximately 2,945 students (2024–25)
- Student-teacher ratio: 13:1
- Accreditation: Fully Accredited, 2025–26 (Virginia Department of Education)
As always, confirm your specific address with the FCPS School Locator before drawing any conclusions from a zip code or mailing address. The 20171 zip code covers addresses that feed to Chantilly, Westfield, and Oakton depending on the exact street.
The Oak Hill Connection: Why Some Herndon Families Are in the Chantilly Pyramid
Oak Hill Elementary School, located at 3210 Kinross Circle in Herndon, is an FCPS school with a Herndon address that feeds into the Chantilly pyramid. Students from Oak Hill proceed to either Carson Middle School or Franklin Middle School depending on their specific assignment, and then on to Chantilly High School.
This is the connection that most Herndon buyers miss. The elementary school sits in Herndon, the mailing address is Herndon, and it feels like Herndon — but the high school at the end of the pyramid is in Chantilly, not Herndon. For families who care about which high school they are zoned for, knowing this before looking at homes in that part of the 20171 zip code is the difference between a smooth purchase and a late-stage surprise. The FCPS locator is the only reliable source. Agent guesses and neighborhood assumptions are not substitutes.
Rankings and Academic Profile
Chantilly High sits comfortably in the upper tier of Virginia public high schools. Niche gives it an overall grade of A and ranks it #36 among public high schools in Virginia. GreatSchools rates it 8 out of 10 and has awarded it two College Success Awards recognizing how well the school prepares students for postsecondary education.
From the Virginia School Quality Profile, math pass rates come in at 85% and reading at 91%, both substantially above state averages. The average SAT is approximately 1,330 and the average ACT is 30. For postsecondary outcomes, VDOE data shows 85.6% of the graduating class enrolled in a postsecondary program within 16 months of graduation, one of the higher rates in FCPS.
AP Program and Gold Distinction
Chantilly earned Gold Distinction on the 2024 AP School Honor Roll, the College Board's highest recognition tier. Gold Distinction goes to schools that demonstrate the highest levels of access and achievement across their AP programs — getting students into AP courses and producing strong exam results. Roughly 63% of Chantilly seniors participated in at least one AP exam, a very high participation rate for a school this size.
The school also offers 22 dual-enrollment courses with credit partners that include James Madison University, Northern Virginia Community College, Shenandoah University, and articulated credits with George Mason University's Volgenau School of Engineering. In a recent year, 203 Chantilly students earned 601 college credits through dual enrollment alone. That is a meaningful head start on a college transcript before a student ever sets foot on a college campus.
The Governor's STEM Academy
One of Chantilly's most distinctive features is the Chantilly Governor's STEM Academy, a Virginia Department of Education-designated program housed on the Chantilly campus. The Academy offers specialized career and technical education in fields like cybersecurity, cloud computing, robotics, engineering math, auto technology, pharmacy tech, and veterinary science.
Students gain access to professional certifications, industry credentials, internship opportunities, and articulated college credit alongside their regular high school coursework. The program draws from across FCPS, not just the Chantilly pyramid, which means Chantilly-zoned students have a built-in advantage in accessing it. For families with students interested in technology, engineering, or applied sciences, having a Governor's STEM Academy on the same campus is a genuine differentiator. Few comprehensive public high schools in the region can offer both a Gold Distinction AP program and a dedicated STEM academy under one roof.
College Planning and Student Support
Chantilly puts deliberate resources into college readiness beyond AP access. The school runs SAT preparation programming and structured college-planning support to help students navigate applications, financial aid, and postsecondary decision-making. Peer mentoring programs and wellness initiatives round out the student support framework. The dual-enrollment partnership network and the postsecondary enrollment rate both reflect a school culture that takes college preparation seriously at every level.
Purple Star School
Chantilly holds the Purple Star School designation from the Virginia Department of Education, recognizing the school's support for military-connected students and families. The Chantilly corridor has a significant military and government-contractor presence, and the designation reflects systems the school has built to support transitions for those families. For non-military families it signals a welcoming culture with infrastructure in place for students arriving mid-year or from out of state.
Performing Arts and Student Life
Chantilly has a substantial performing arts program. Music offerings include band, color guard, drum line, choir, orchestra, and a strings ensemble, along with the Tri-M Music Honor Society. The Theatre Department, founded in 1974, has a long track record of strong productions. Dance is well-represented with hip hop, Stomp and Shake, and Bhangra clubs adding to an already broad arts culture. The school's student newspaper, The Purple Tide, is a genuine journalism program that has been producing student reporting and editorial content for years.
With more than 100 after-school programs and clubs, students at Chantilly have real choices in how they spend their time. The range covers academic teams, cultural organizations, community service, and special interest groups.
Athletics
Chantilly fields varsity teams as the Chargers across a full range of sports: football, basketball, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, softball, field hockey, cross country, track and field, volleyball, swimming, wrestling, gymnastics, golf, tennis, cheerleading, dance, and sports medicine. The athletic program has a dedicated booster community and competes at a high level within the FCPS Northern Region.
What the Chantilly Location Means Day to Day
For families in the Oak Hill area of Herndon, the commute to Chantilly High runs south on Route 28 and then to Stringfellow Road, typically 10 to 20 minutes depending on traffic. After-school activities and practices can mean that commute happens multiple times a day, so it is worth accounting for in your planning.
The school's location near the Route 28 and Route 50 interchange is actually convenient for families who work in the Dulles corridor, Chantilly, or at nearby government and contractor campuses. For those families the school's location may align naturally with existing daily patterns rather than adding an entirely new direction to the day.
Contact Information
- Address: 4201 Stringfellow Rd, Chantilly, VA 20151
- Phone: 703-222-8100
- Website: chantillyhs.fcps.edu
- Principal: Dr. Amy Goodloe
- FCPS School Locator: fcps.edu boundary locator
The Bottom Line
Chantilly High School is one of the strongest comprehensive public high schools in Northern Virginia. Its AP Gold Distinction, Governor's STEM Academy, dual-enrollment partnerships, 85% postsecondary enrollment rate, and broad performing arts program make it a school that would stand out in any region.
For families buying near Oak Hill Elementary in Herndon, finding out that Chantilly is the assigned high school is often a positive discovery once the initial surprise wears off. The pyramid connection is not intuitive, but the school itself is excellent. The main practical consideration is the commute and the reality that your family's school community will be rooted in Chantilly rather than Herndon.
Kathy and I know the Oak Hill area well and can tell you exactly which streets fall in the Chantilly pyramid versus Westfield or Oakton. If you are searching homes in that part of Herndon and want to understand the pyramid before you make an offer, reach out and we can walk through it with you.
