Briar Woods High School

22525 Belmont Ridge Road

Ashburn, VA 20148

School District

Loudoun County Public Schools
Grade

9-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:14
Type

public

School Map for Loudoun County Public Schools

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on January 12, 2025

I have a son with an IEP. We moved here from another school district. My son had always been in general education. The special education dean pushed me to place him in self contained classes before ever reading his IEP or meeting him. We pushed to have him continue in general education, but they did not provide him services as a result leading to a state complaint (we prevailed). The special education dean is condescending and pretends to be oblivious even though she is not. The school is diverse, but that also leads to some hyper-competitiveness and an obsession with grades and SAT scores. Students feel pressured to keep up with their peers who are studying 12 hours a day. There is not great school-life balance.
Submitted by parent on November 25, 2024

So much better than the middle school in this school zone, what a horror that was! Briar woods focuses too much on sports, in my opinion. Too many emails about fundraisers, games, try outs and trophies. And if your kid wants to try out, they need to begin skilling in that sport in 6th grade. As well, the range of courses is somewhat limited to your standard academia, nothing more. Compared to McClean, which offers astronomy?? electrical engineering and just about anything even a college would offer. My kids enjoy the school, their friendships and the staff is treating my students as responsible young adults. My kids are taking AP courses and will be prepared for college. I like the fact that the higher level English actually introduced college essay writing into their curriculum. That's logical.
Submitted by parent on June 16, 2024

Briar Woods has provided a very good education for all our children. We couldn’t be happier with the education they each received as well as the preparation they received to go beyond high school. Top notch teachers and admin.
Submitted by parent on June 02, 2022

Excellent school and teachers. Very high achieving school and students.
Submitted by teacher on January 01, 2019

One of the best high schools in the entire country.
Submitted by parent on March 07, 2018

After experiences in school districts all over the country, I am very impressed with this school.
Submitted by parent on July 17, 2015

BWHS is a large academically challenging school and has lots to offer students. As a parent, I saw the need for my kids to be connected to a club/team to help them find their way. I highly recommend the Band as a way to connect. The director is truly a wonderful leader who respects students and makes BWHS feel more like home.
Submitted by parent on May 27, 2015

My son is very happy at Briar Woods. Students are very supportive to each others, have amble of extracurricular and social activities. Not to mention sports programs are fantastic. The academics are equally great. Most of the teachers are very proactive, well educated, and keep the parent in the loop on what is happening in class.
Submitted by student on September 28, 2014

Briar Woods is the universe. This school has the best academics and athletics. I am so proud to be a Falcon and will always be able to honor that. I wouldn't want to graduate from anywhere else. The reputation this school has made is fabulous. No other high school can compete with this school in any way. Briar Woods was the best, is the best, and will always remain the best. I have given my soul to this school and remember it everyday of my life. I am one of the luckiest people of whom currently go to Briar Woods. Keep the spirit and the excellence up Falcons!!!! Bleed Navy Blue and Orange!!!!!
Submitted by parent on September 02, 2014

Briar Woods is unfortunately a huge disappointment. The kids are quite disrespectful, using phones in class non-stop, swearing, ignoring the teachers, overall very poor behavior. The teachers are out of touch and one teacher uses foul language in class frequently. Cannot in good faith recommend this school.
Submitted by student on December 09, 2013

I moved here from last year and I have found this school to be extremely sub-par. The school itself is nice aesthetically speaking but the academics is poor. AP classes are not set out to challenge you but just to give you rigorous work. They seem to take more pride in sports and clubs than academics, which in my opinion should not be a school's top priority. The teachers are unresponsive, even when I'm seeking extra help and the students have no real sense of motivation to do work. It is frustrating for me because I would have expected the "#1 school" in the "#1 county" to show that they're truly deserving of that title. Unfortunately, I can say that they do not. In fact, every school in Loudoun is terrible. I would recommend moving to Fairfax County where schools like McLean and Oakton offer far superior academics and teacher.
Submitted by parent on October 01, 2013

We moved from Europe and we are so happy that we found this school. Thx
Submitted by teacher on June 12, 2012

I am a former teacher at this school. While I enjoyed my students overall,and had some outstanding well motivated ones, I encountered a huge sense of "entitlement" among parents and students here, more than anywhere I've worked previously. This was regularly reflected in parent/student attitudes about grades throughout the year. Some parents were extremely demanding and refused to accept the fact their child might not get an A or a B - and some tried intimidating/bullying me regarding grades given, or making comments/complaints about their perceptions of being "too hard" a grader. In my opinion there is rampant grade inflation at this school which seems to be the definite expected norm to adapt to, and is fostered by both student/parent and administrative expectations and attitudes. I didn't have behavior issues with students here, but found it discouraging to adapt to this school's overall culture and climate, and lack of administrative support in some respects, even though my students overall were hardworking and respectful, and my immediate colleagues were overall helpful during the year.
Submitted by student on January 10, 2012

Briar Woods is a great school. There dreama, academics and sports are good! how is stonebridge better?
Submitted by student on July 14, 2011

I graduated from BW this year and it was the best 4 years of my life. I was on the cheerleading team my freshmen and sophomore year and I did drama freshmen through senior year as well as being a hockey manager. Although some teachers aren't the best, my overall experience at Briar Woods was amazing! It was great to be a part of a class that created traditions as well as having my senior year be the football, cheerleading, and softball state champs year. I wouldn't trade my experience as a falcon for anything. Forever Briar Woods <3
Submitted by other on May 03, 2011

I am a Briar Woods alumni. Sure, some of the classes were easy but it was a new school establishing itself, it won't be perfect. I took more than 5 AP classes and felt sufficiently challenged. The AP French class I took was far more challenging than the 300 level French i tested into in college! Loved the art department and the rest of the staff. Everyone was supportive and it was the best three years of high school. I attended Stone Bridge my freshman year and hated it. I felt lost in the crowd and you only got recognition if you were an all star. Sorry, but Briar Woods was way better.
Submitted by student on March 29, 2011

I graduated from this school a few years ago. I spent only my senior year at it and it was the worst school year I've ever experienced. No one tried to make friends with me and I spent the school year eating lunch by myself. The academics were not at all challenging and the lectures were off topic, mostly involving movie watching. I was even harassed by teachers which the principal did nothing about. The students were disrespectful and some even used profanities towards the teachers. The school is unorganized. My name never appeared in the year book nor did a picture of me. No matter how many times I asked they did not issue me a student ID. I'm glad I only had to spend one year there. Thank you Briar Woods for making my senior year unforgettable.
Submitted by parent on March 10, 2011

We love everything about this school! The principal, teachers and coaches are caring and professional. The school environment is very positive and safe. If you suggest that other schools are "better" it should be based on first hand experience. My personal, first hand experience tells me that Briar Woods has the same high standards and quality as other Loudoun County High schools with a very proud and enthusiastic student body.
Submitted by parent on February 26, 2011

Terrible teachers. Regret our decision to move here and would highly recommend avoiding this school. Students are much better off and definitely more prepared at schools like Stonebridge.
Submitted by student on December 21, 2010

I attend a school consistently ranked in the top 25 universities as listed by US Weekly and know several other former Falcons who attend my college. In general, I found that overall we tend to struggle more academically because we don't know how to study. Briar Woods seems to rubber stamp an A on everything due to a weak grading system plagued with obscenely weighted courses. My graduating class had over 50 students with above a 4.0. There is little challenge presented and relatively little is expected. The math department likes to teach students not how to do math, but how to tell their calculators to do math. This practice crippled many of us who went on to take calculus when we realized we didn't actually learn algebra. Decent school, but there is massive room for improvement.