Collegiate School celebrates centennial anniversary in 2015

The West End school was originally founded in 1915 in Downtown Richmond as The Collegiate School for Girls.

January 14, 2015; 9:15 AM • by Trevor Dickerson

The Collegiate School has officially kicked off a year-long celebration of the school’s 100th anniversary Friday, January 9th with a pep rally for K-12 students, teachers and staff in the school’s Seal Athletic Center.

s, at 103 N. Mooreland Road, near the football field.
Students decked out in Collegiate green and gold recited the school chants, performed songs and ushered in the year of celebration with comments from school administrators and student leaders.

Collegiate was founded by Richmond resident Helen Baker back in 1915 and opened in Downtown Richmond as The Collegiate School for Girls. Now co-ed, Collegiate School is located off River Road in the West End.

Baker forged new ground by being one of the first women in the region to graduate from college–Richmond College, now the University of Richmond–and made it her mission to help other women embrace and pursue formal education.

The first year’s enrollment included 75 girls, but within several years the student body grew to 250, as other local girls’ schools merged with Collegiate. The school became co-ed in the 1980s.

Other special centennial celebration events will take place throughout the year, according to staff.

Read more about Collegiate’s storied 100-year history here.

Photo: Collegiate School