Best Public Schools in Hayes, VA

Hayes, Virginia is served by two public elementary schools—Abingdon Elementary and Achilles Elementary—both covering grades PK–5 within the highly regarded Gloucester County Public Schools, a district ranked 16th out of 131 in Virginia.

Both schools are solid, above-average options, but they have different strengths. Achilles Elementary is the stronger overall academic performer, with a two-year SOL proficiency average of 78.7% compared to Abingdon’s 76.5%. The gap is most noticeable in core subjects: Achilles leads by roughly five percentage points in both math (84.1% vs. 78.8%) and reading (77.6% vs. 72.7%). Achilles also boasts an exceptional 4th-grade math program, with 96.4% of students proficient in 2025–26—far above both the district and state. Meanwhile, Abingdon Elementary stands out in science and Virginia Studies, averaging 80.9% in 5th-grade science and 76.7% in Virginia Studies, compared to 77.4% and 66.9% at Achilles. Despite these subject-level differences, the two schools are ranked nearly identically this year: Abingdon places 419th and Achilles 422nd in Virginia, both at the 62nd percentile with three stars.

Demographically, the schools are very similar—both have about 66% free/reduced lunch eligibility and slightly better-than-average attendance, with chronic absenteeism at 11.1% for Abingdon and 12.7% for Achilles, both below district and state levels. That makes Achilles’ stronger math and reading results especially notable, especially since it also spends less per student ($10,650 vs. $11,558) and has slightly larger classes. One area worth watching is 3rd grade, where Abingdon’s reading proficiency fell to just 56.1%, far below the state average, though its 4th-grade reading jumped to 87.3%. Overall, both schools outperform the state in most subjects, but they trail their own high-performing district. Families in Hayes can choose between Achilles for math and reading strength or Abingdon for science and social studies, with confidence that both schools provide a strong, above-average education in a top-ranked Virginia district.