John Handley High, 425 Handley Blvd.: grades 9 to 12, 1,322 students in fall 2025, fully accredited, rated Distinguished. Office: 540-662-3471.

Last checked Oct. 20, 2026. Sources: John Handley High, Winchester Public Schools, the Virginia Department of Education’s School Quality Profile, the federal NCES school directory and the VHSL alignment.

John Handley High School serves ninth through 12th grade at 425 Handley Blvd. for Winchester Public Schools (WPS). It is the division’s only high school, so every student who lives in the city is zoned for it. It had 1,322 students in fall 2025, the state’s count shows. Its teams are the Judges.

Who to call
Address 425 Handley Blvd., Winchester, VA 22601
Phone 540-662-3471
Grades 9 to 12
School day 8:25 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
Website jhhs.wps.k12.va.us
Division Winchester Public Schools

Principal

Principal Susan Braithwaite, according to the school’s website, which says she has led the school since serving as interim principal from June 2022 and was an assistant principal there from 2017. Her office line is 540-662-3471, ext. 41001.

Enrollment and teachers

  • State count: 1,322 students in fall 2025, compared with 1,361 in fall 2024 and 1,355 in fall 2023, according to the School Quality Profile. Fall 2025 broke down as 348 in ninth grade, 331 in 10th grade, 313 in 11th grade and 330 in 12th grade.
  • Federal count: 1,355 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 65 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That works out to about 21 students per teacher.

State report card

Virginia rates schools two ways. Accreditation means a school “submitted all required evidence to the Department of Education as prescribed in the Standards of Accreditation,” in the words of the state profile. The School Performance and Support Framework gives each school a score and one of four performance levels: Distinguished, Meets Expectations, Approaching Expectations and Needs Intensive Support.

  • Accreditation: Fully Accredited, the state’s designation for the 2025-26 school year.
  • Framework score: 99.36, performance level Distinguished, in the state’s division summary. It is the only Winchester school at that level.
  • On-time graduation: 98%. Of 347 students in the 2025-26 cohort, 339 graduated on time; 172 earned an advanced diploma and 159 a standard diploma, and three dropped out.

Standards of Learning pass rates (share of tested students who passed, all tests in the subject):

Subject 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26
English reading 80% 76% 82%
Math 83% 77% 83%
Science 70% 59% 68%

In 2025-26, 353 students enrolled in an Advanced Placement course, 450 took dual enrollment classes and 14 attended a Governor’s School, the profile shows. The full profile also reports attendance, student groups, teacher data and spending.

Attendance zone and feeder schools

Winchester Public Schools has one school at each level after elementary, so the whole city is the Handley zone. All four elementary schools feed Daniel Morgan Intermediate for fifth and sixth grade, then Daniel Morgan Middle for seventh and eighth grade, then Handley, according to the division’s list of schools.

The zone stops at the city line. Homes with a Winchester mailing address in ZIP codes 22602 and 22603 are in Frederick County, which runs its own schools. To confirm an address, use WebQuery and choose the grade. Families close to the school can check the division’s walk zone maps.

Calendar and bell times

From the division’s 2026-27 calendar, adopted by the School Board on Dec. 9, 2024:

  • Tuesday, Nov. 3: teacher professional development day
  • Nov. 25-27: fall break
  • Friday, Dec. 18: end of the first semester, holiday early release
  • Dec. 21 to Jan. 1: winter break; Monday, Jan. 4, is a teacher professional development day
  • Monday, Jan. 18: division holiday
  • March 26 and March 29 to April 2: spring break
  • Thursday, April 29: Apple Blossom early release; Friday, April 30, is a division holiday
  • Friday, May 28: last day of school, early release

The calendar sets Handley’s hours at 8:25 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. The school’s own page lists parent drop-off from 8:05 a.m., the tardy bell at 8:25 a.m. and pickup at 3:15 p.m. Closings and delays are posted on the division’s closings page and the master calendar.

Sports and activities

Handley plays in Class 4, Region D, Northwestern District, according to the VHSL alignment. The district’s other schools are Brentsville District, Fauquier, James Wood, Kettle Run, Liberty (Bealeton), Manassas Park, Meridian, Millbrook, Sherando, Skyline and Warren County.

The division’s high school athletics page lists:

  • Fall: cheerleading, boys and girls cross country, football, golf and volleyball
  • Winter: boys and girls basketball, cheerleading, forensics, indoor track, scholastic bowl, boys and girls swim and dive, and wrestling
  • Spring: baseball, debate, boys and girls soccer, softball, boys and girls tennis, and boys and girls outdoor track

The same page says Handley has won 50 state championships and 84 region championships since it was founded in 1923. Schedules are on HandleyPride.org, and many games stream on the NFHS Network.

Programs: the school’s about page names Advanced Placement and dual enrollment courses, several world languages, and theater, chorus, band and visual arts. Career courses run through the Emil & Grace Shihadeh Innovation Center, which the principal’s page names alongside the high school. Students can also apply to the regional Mountain Vista Governor’s School.

Follow the season on our Friday night football page and the high school scoreboard.

More on Winchester schools

Frequently asked questions

What grades does John Handley High serve?

Ninth through 12th grade. It is the only high school in Winchester Public Schools, and every city address is zoned for it. It had 1,322 students in fall 2025, the state’s count shows.

How is John Handley High rated by the state?

It is fully accredited for 2025-26. On Virginia’s School Performance and Support Framework it scored 99.36 and is rated Distinguished, according to the state’s School Quality Profiles.

What time does John Handley High start?

The school day runs from 8:25 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., according to the division’s 2026-27 calendar.

What is John Handley High’s graduation rate?

98%. Of 347 students in the 2025-26 cohort, 339 graduated on time, according to the state’s School Quality Profile.

What district does Handley play in?

Handley plays in Class 4, Region D, Northwestern District of the Virginia High School League.