St Anne's-Belfield School

Posted: March 30, 2026

Read all of the other one star reviews of this place. I couldn’t agree more. In all my years here, I didn’t learn a single thing. All of the clubs are useless, along with the teachers. There is no diversity and there is a clear divide between the minority kids and the white Americans. The school is very cliquey and hard to find friends as it is very small. So many classmates throughout high school left to go to public school because of how much they hated it here. Do your research and don’t send your kid here. It is a waste of time and money!

Posted: March 30, 2026

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Posted: April 17, 2017

- a student
I go to STAB now and it's wonderful everybody is nice and caring

Posted: November 18, 2016

When I sent my daughter to STAB, she was so happy and charming. But she got depressed and school dismissed her when she was sick. I hate STAB more than everything.

Posted: November 18, 2016

When another girl blamed my daughter for half an hour in public spaces, no where she could get help

Posted: November 18, 2016

On the contrary, the school dismissed my daughter when she was sick

Posted: November 18, 2016

No opportunity for everyone, maybe some one has

Posted: November 18, 2016

When my daughter came at grade 9, she was so happy and self-confident, but now, she is mental sick, because treated wrongly by dorm parents

Posted: November 18, 2016

They made my daughter depressed because she was too disappointed to the teachers

Posted: November 18, 2016

Some teachers don't use veracross
System at all

Posted: August 12, 2014

I went to STAB through middle school and hated it. The teachers were good, but you can get a wonderful education elsewhere without the attitude of the students, families, and administration. I lost so much confidence at STAB and have only recently gained it back. Do not send your child there. I repeat: Do Not Send Your Child There. Unless you want to see your kids' social skills and self-worth crumble before you.

Posted: April 11, 2014

I have been at STAB for 1 year, and I really want to leave! I hate the kids, they are all SUPER RICH SNOBS! they are so mean to me and have made me want to leave. I hate STAB!

Posted: March 11, 2014

This is more country club than school. The social pressures on both kids and parents are hard. Money, not character or achievement or effort, dictates social standing. There are the "in crowd" and the "rest" (and this applies to both parents and kids), and woe betide if you are not "in". The lip service paid to cultural diversity is just political correctness. There is a specific profile for kids (and parents) who succeed here, and anyone outside that feels a nagging sense of pressure to conform. The self-congratulatory atmosphere is distasteful. The facilities are beautiful, but there is a sense of entitlement here (in both the parents and the kids) that I think sets students up for difficulties later in life.

Posted: February 3, 2014

I have had 4 children at STAB. When they first started attending 16 years ago, this was a charming southern school. The headmaster was gracious, and transparent about the schools finances. Some of the buildings were old, but were well kept up. The teachers were excellent. In the last five years, administration of the school has been taken over by a young headmaster from California, and a hedge fund manager from Texas. Both have worked very hard and very successfully to improve the physical plant and raise money. However, the school has lost its charm and now feels like a corporation selling educational services from new bright-and-shiny facilities. Tuition and fees are skyrocketing. School uniforms were suddenly required for no apparent reason, and so is a mandatory costly school lunch program that neither the students nor parents want, a policy implemented weeks after a new cafeteria was built. STAB is way behind public schools on technology. Having a parental voice is donation dependent. That said, my boys have a reasonable education, but it's not a high end prep school. Few STAB grads go to Ivy League or Stanford or MIT. I am glad my last child is a senior. Bye.

Posted: January 28, 2014

STAB is an amazing school all around. The sense of community at this school is so wonderful, and the student body is all so nice. The teachers are very good at what they do, and the students really bond with them and you feel like they are actually your friends. Which they are. The academics are challenging, but that is how I like it. They have a wide range of arts programs which you can choose, and I am currently in photography, 3d art, and creative writing. STAB is such an amazing school, and I have gone here for over five years. I love it so much, and I am so happy I go here. The sports are also wonderful, and there are so many options, including exemptions for sports you already play. They also provide snacks, and DELICIOUS lunches. I am gluten and dairy free, and they make me my own special lunch every day which is so nice. Overall, STAB is wonderful, and you will make lifelong friends. Everything is wonderful. The teachers, the students, the campus, the food, the arts, the sports, the classes, EVERYTHING! You should definitely visit and hopefully come join our school. -An 8th grader

Posted: October 17, 2013

Our eldest son went to "STAB". A good education is possible there, but there is very little flexibility despite being a private school. Many teachers are straight out of college and teach out of their expertise. Most AP classes are offered only every other year. The tone is vaguely Christian, but really not religious at all. The students are highly affluent, and my son joked that the one phrase you never hear is "I wish I had one of those". Sports are dominant, to the point that classes for all are cancelled for the benefit of the traveling team. I would not have done it in retrospect.

Posted: June 2, 2013

Some outstanding teachers (though not somehow as many as you'd expect), some really talented students, and some really nice students. Many of the parents are open-minded, welcoming, & intelligent, but there's a silly social-climbing attitude among some families that rubs off on some of the kids (St. Barth, Farmington, etc etc). Two kids at St. Anne's, it was right for one and less right for the other; the academics and arts just aren't good enough compared to the outstanding public options to put up with the unpleasant values that do occasionally seem to pervade the school. Fundraising is a real emphasis -- sometimes seemed like there was a quid pro quo for families who gave the most. It's too bad -- this small core of ugliness keeps STAB second-rate.

Posted: March 27, 2013

STAB is super super and super great school! I'm in love with STAB;) Class of 2015

Posted: March 23, 2012

Having had one child complete Middle School at STAB and one halfway through, I feel I can comment on the quality of education received by my children at STAB during the past 5 years. We are extremely pleased with the curriculum and the quality of the teachers at the Middle School. They are bright, caring, enthusiastic and have taught my children how to think critically and outside the box. Coming from the Albemarle County public school system, we were very disappointed with enormous class size, overworked/unenthusiastic teachers (certainly not all but many) , lack of foreign language and arts options and particularly, the SOL-based curriculum that emphasizes rote memorization and allows little room for creativity. In contrast, we have been thrilled with all aspects of STAB. The student body is quite diverse and socially, my children have thrived and have many friends of different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. It is a place where you can take two languages in middle school, be a jock AND an artist, musician or thespian. And no, we are not rich or connected. We value our children's education more than anything and feel this is the best option despite the hefty price tag.

Posted: January 12, 2012

Sadly, the car analogy and many other analogies already set forth are on point. The curriculum needs a major overhaul. There is an effort underway to further educate present faculty, but the understanding of what it takes to make a great school is just off the mark. The biggest problem is frankly that that a few parents influence and control much of what goes on; and, the school administration operates in fear of offending/angering these parents. Student discipline is lacking; and, the resulting social atmosphere is toxic. Though the facilities are great, more energy needs to go into understanding and supporting students and promoting independent thought and responsibility while assuring the fundamentals of a good education are still the focus of the curriculum.

Posted: December 16, 2011

If this school were a car, it would have the body of an expensive luxury SUV (think Hummer or BMW X5) and the engine of an underpowered lemon (think 1985 Yugo). The school recently completed an impressive $45 million capital campaign, so its facilities are first-rate. But, as the saying goes, Don t judge a dated text book by its cover. Courses are often rooted in rote memorization and tedium, the curriculum needs a complete overhaul (e.g., still doesn t offer a single computer science class), and the social dynamic can be brutal. With its resources, the school could be exceptional. But for bright, inquisitive, and respectful kids, STAB is a bit like getting a ride in sixteen-year-old s new BMW to go see the movie Mean Girls.

Posted: December 7, 2011

The reviews that appear below are obviously coming from disenfranchised individuals who are no longer members of the school community. St. Anne's-Belfield is and will always be an exceptional school full of caring teachers, responsive administrators, and remarkable students. The caliber of its facilities is outmatched only by the quality of education it offers. i could not imagine my children anywhere else.

Posted: November 13, 2011

Though there are some good things here, there are so many negative things that cause more problems as your child moves into higher grade levels. Unfortunately, I agree completely with the prior three reviews. It is sad that so much money and effort goes into this school. It should do better, but I see the efforts to improve doing the opposite.

Posted: June 9, 2011

If you don't fit the mold, STAB middle school is an especially hostile place. It was for our child -- it will take some time to heal the damage.

Posted: April 12, 2011

I am the parent of two students at STAB. The problems have only grown worse as my children have moved into middle school. The cliqueish-ness is crazy, for both boys and girls. My children are both good athletes and good students. There is, however, a real divide between the jocks and the nerds and it seems impossible to be a scholar-athlete. People will classify a certain year as being a "good class" or a "bad class". This largely depends on how many b--tchy mothers are in a particular grade. They have more to do with setting up the cliques than the kids do. The school makes half-hearted attempts at improving "inclusivity" and "civility", but given that at lot of the problem is the parents themselves, it is an exercise in futility. The school kow-tows to the more affluent parents and is loathe to discipline their children. Many parents at STAB seem to view it as another club membership, and don't question what goes on in the classroom. Many of the courses in the middle school particularly are extremely boring, and I've seen my children lose interest in almost everything. It's truly a deadening experience academically and a cruel experience socially. Uniforms next year = bye-bye!

Posted: December 4, 2010

I am a student at St. Anne's Belfield and I have attended since preschool. Despite rumors of STAB being "snobby", "rich", and "exclusive", anyone who goes there will happiy tell you they are all lies. Not only does STAB have excellent academic standards, they value the aspects of community, leadership, and moral. From my experience, I have found that the teachers are fantastic if you give them the chance. In Middle and Elementary school, the teachers were highly attentive to the students, but I found in High School they begin to drift away so that the student will become idependent and self motivating. Accordingly, if a parent enrolls their child at the high school level and expects "special attention", don't rely on it. This is a school for the bright, curious, artistic, confident, athelitic, diligent, passionate, comassionate students in wonderful Charlottesville. I am positive that when the time comes, I will be more than prepared for college due to the high standards and commitment of that my school has given me. I cannot recommend this school enough to anyone who is enrolling or not.

Posted: April 26, 2010

Attending STAB was the worst decision I ever made. The teachers and the kids are snobby and incredibly mean. They behave viciously at sporting events and are extremely rude. The academics are decent, but not worth sacrificing your mental and emotional health for.

Posted: April 11, 2010

STAB is great!!! Im in the computer lab as we speak

Posted: April 8, 2010

My daughter has progressed quite well at STAB, especially incomparison to her prior school. She has grown by leaps and bounds, and had no trouble making friends. I think that many parents feel that they can drop their child at the front door and not really have to worry about doing much more work beyond that, but school is just as much the parent's job as the teacher's. I have had nothing but positive experiences in my daughter's time here, and will be enrolling my son when the time comes!

Posted: September 25, 2007

Posted: March 18, 2007