All boys. All boarding. Grades 9-12.
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Advice From the Senior Prefect
The prefect board — made up of eighteen members of the senior class — oversees the school's honor system and daily life on dorm. This year’s senior prefect, elected by the members of the board, is Peter Moore of Arlington, Virginia. Peter is the prefect on Middle Taylor, a third-form (freshman) dorm. He is a member of the editorial board of The Talon, Woodberry’s literary-arts magazine, and the varsity football, swimming, and lacrosse teams.
Here’s an excerpt of Peter’s advice to new boys on opening day.
Welcome to Woodberry. I am truly excited to get to know more of you as the year progresses, and I hope you all are excited to get to know each other. Every one of you has something to contribute here, and you will affect the community more than you think. You were all accepted for a reason, and I congratulate you all.
The honor system is a challenge. It challenges you to always make the hard right over the easy wrong. If you haven’t heard that phrase, get used to it. It comes up a lot. By embracing the hard choice, you give up the easy way out, and it forces you to become a better version of yourself. Since you are here, you have accepted this challenge, and whether you realize it or not, the challenge of Woodberry will develop your grit, perseverance, and, most of all, your character.
A challenge, by nature, is not easy. Woodberry is not an easy place, but you need to understand that you are never alone. We are not expecting you to be all put together and to be able to tackle everything right off the bat. I like to think of myself as pretty well put together, but I know I did not start that way. I remember getting confused with the schedule the second week of classes and going to lunch instead of math. I showed up 35 minutes late with a full stomach. I remember staying in my room, where it was comfortable, instead of putting myself out there.
You are not adults, and nobody expects you to be, but a lot of fun memories will come out of the inexperience that comes with being a new boy. I remember two separate occasions of freshman year on upper Turner when sports on dorm resulted in the water fountain becoming detached from the wall. What I am trying to say is that people are going to expect a lot from you, and you may not have the skills to do everything yourself. All you need to be able to do is ask others. Everybody here wants you to succeed, and are more than willing to help. People here are friendly. Teachers will take time out of their days to help you understand the material in their classes. Advisors will always point you in the right direction and want to see that you are cared for. And most of all, your classmates will be the strongest support structure you will ever have.
Since you all are here this fall, you have time to get to know the kids on your hall very well and get to know your roommate early. And if we play our cards right, and have a bit of luck, we can return to an almost normal Woodberry, one that I hope you learn to love. The transition to Woodberry is hard, and the pandemic has only compounded the difficulty, but, as I said, you are all here because you are up for the challenge. Woodberry is hard, but it is a hard thing worth doing. Thank you.
Woodberry Forest School is an exceptional private school community for high school boys in grades nine through twelve. It is one of the top boarding schools in the United States and one of the only all-boys, all-boarding schools in the country.
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Woodberry Forest admits students of any race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, and national or ethnic origin to all of the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other school-administered programs. The school is authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant students.