FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va.—For the first time in two decades, St. Paul VI Catholic High School has a waitlist. And it had not long ago moved to a larger campus that expanded the school’s capacity by 20 percent, or 200 students.
Paul VI, as locals call it, has enjoyed double-digit growth for the past two years: 12 percent in the school year 2020-2021 and 13 percent in 2021-2022. With the current student count at 1,090, the school is anticipating another 8 to 9 percent increase in the school year 2022, according to Billy Atwell, chief communications officer of the Diocese of Arlington.
In the summer of 2020, Paul VI moved its campus from Fairfax to Chantilly, a city about 10 miles west and much closer to the neighboring Loudoun County. Before the move, enrollment from Fairfax County was a clear majority at 64 percent during the 2019– 2020 school year, according to Ginny Colwell, head of school at Paul VI. Since then, the proportion of students from Loudoun grew steadily from 27 to 47 percent.
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