Prince Edward County High

Prince Edward County High (PECHS) is a public high school in Farmville, Virginia, serving 502 students in grades 9–12 as part of Prince Edward County Public Schools. The school currently ranks in the bottom 6th percentile of Virginia high schools for 2025–2026, down from the 20th percentile the previous year. PECHS serves a very high-poverty student population, with essentially all students eligible for free or reduced lunch.

When compared with nearby schools, PECHS trails in several important areas. Buckingham County High and Cumberland High both rank higher statewide (25th and 16th percentiles respectively), and both graduate roughly 95% of students compared to PECHS's 89.5%. PECHS also has a higher dropout rate (4.0% versus 1.1% at Buckingham and 2.0% at Cumberland) and a less favorable student–teacher ratio (17.9 students per teacher versus 15.0 at Buckingham and 11.7 at Cumberland). However, attendance is a relative bright spot: with a 22.4% chronic absenteeism rate, PECHS actually beats both neighboring schools in getting students to class regularly.

Despite its low overall ranking, PECHS has genuine strengths and encouraging trends. The graduation rate has climbed from 74.1% in 2020–2021 to 89.5% in 2024–2025, while the dropout rate has fallen dramatically from 13.9% to 4.0% — now below the state average. The school also exceeds state averages in several history and social studies subjects, including World History II (52.8% proficient versus 35.5% statewide). The biggest areas of concern are mathematics and writing, where proficiency gaps are large — for example, only 45.5% of 9th graders passed the Geometry SOL compared to 85.9% statewide. Subgroup data shows that nearly every demographic group performs below statewide norms, indicating broad, school-wide challenges rather than struggles with one specific population. Overall, PECHS is a school making real progress on retention and attendance, but with significant work ahead in academics.