About WCDS
Wakefield Country Day School (WCDS) is a Preschool through 12th-grade independent school located in serene Huntly, Virginia. We pride ourselves on providing not just a rigorous college-preparatory education with a 100% college acceptance rate, but an education that builds character and prepares students with a toolkit for life.
Our curriculum is rooted both in the classical tradition and the cutting-edge, focusing on the 21st-century educational values of writing, public speaking, critical thinking, STEM, and foreign language fluency. All WCDS scholars participate in athletics, fine and performing arts, and their education culminates in a year-long senior thesis project. Additionally, teachers place a strong emphasis on ethical responsibility, inclusivity, honorable conduct, and leadership within our community and beyond.
We are accredited by the Virginia Independent Schools Association (VISA) and ranked #15 in the entire State of Virginia by Niche in 2025 for Best Private Schools (K-12). We are consistently ranked as one of the top private schools in the state by Virginia Living Magazine.
Latest News
WCDS Faculty Receive Round 2 of COVID-19 Vaccine
With Governor Northam’s announcement K-12 teachers were included in the 1B group of essential workers, all WCDS Faculty were able to receive both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Having received the first dose in mid-January, WCDS organized its second vaccination within a three-hour window while keeping our school in session. “Staying open with some 25 […]
WCDS Steps up for Food Pantry
WCDS student Yancy Argueta helps to unload the 1,000-pounds of donated food. Courtesy of Peter McMahon, WCDS 2021, Yearbook Editor-in-Chief The Rappahannock Food Pantry is one of the many organizations the Wakefield Country Day School Leo Club partners with throughout the year. Collecting almost 1,000 pounds of food again this year, Leo Club President Owen Schuster helped […]
WCDS Talent Show ‘Under the Stars’
Some annual traditions are worth contorting yourself for and the Annual WCDS Talent Show is clearly one of them. Each year students in preschool through high school are invited to showcase their talents in one of the most beloved evenings on the school calendar. The marquee fundraiser for the biannual 7th & 8th grade British […]
WCDS hones athletes’ skills amid COVID
Nothing stops the drive of an athlete to outdo their last best-performance. This sentiment is shared by the players on Wakefield Country Day School sports teams, even during this wholly unorthodox year. When schools were shuttered in the spring, WCDS coaches continued meeting with their players via Zoom to continue to hone players’ skills, keep […]
Meet Taylor Stynes
Welcome Ms. Stynes You may have spotted Ms. Stynes on the front lawn reading a book to our youngest students under a tree at the end of the day. Ms. Stynes joined WCDS with experience ranging from Headstart in Culpeper to The Goddard School in Gainesville, as well as the Langley Children’s Center in McLean. […]
Performing on the “Big Stage” for the First Time…
Preschool, Prekindergarten, and Kindergarten students dressed in full Halloween attire for the traditional early education fall performance! For many students, this was their first time on the big main stage at Wakefield, and they were outstanding! Throughout the week leading up to the big day, students practiced on the main stage to get comfortable with […]
Welcome Ms. Pardo
Welcome to WCDS, Ms. Pardo! Ms. Adela Pardo joined WCDS this Fall and teaches Spanish to Middle and Upper School students. Her education spans from Mexico City, where she studied Education for two years at Universidad Panamericana before transferring to Christendom College in Front Royal, to complete her Liberal Arts degree. She brings a […]
Ms. Herman’s Hive
Ms. Herman’s Hive At the beginning of the school year, Ms. Herman sat down with the 5th-grade students to talk about a new extension to science class, Outdoor Education. The conversation gravitated towards different ways we can help the environment, and how humans have affected the planet and ecosystems by using products such as single-use […]
Welcome Mary Kruck
Mrs. Mary Kruck began her career teaching Middle School English and French at New Market Middle School. After earning her Master’s Degree at George Mason University, she spent a decade as a Professor at GMU, then transitioned to private schools including Highland and Middleburg Academy. Mrs. Kruck is currently teaching AP Language, British Literature, and […]
Wakefield Country Day Honors Graduates
On a cool Saturday morning in late June, 17 high-school seniors became WCDS Alumni in the 41st Graduation Ceremony at Wakefield Country Day School in Huntly. Together, with their families, the senior class listened to the commencement speech delivered by Allison Russo, a 2006 Graduate of WCDS. Growing up in Rappahannock, Russo attended the University […]
WCDS Honors Its First Responders
Wakefield Country Day School would like to honor our WCDS family members — alumni and parents — who are out there battling on the front-line during this unprecedented COVID19 global pandemic. “On April 19, we transferred our first nursing-home patient to Winchester Hospital. The patient was coughing and had a fever; she tested positive for the […]