Langley High School

If you are new to the area and are not rich or white, you will get bullied . Academics are way overrated. Teachers are even more overrated. School consists of rich white kids who think popularity is everything. Ridiculous. The worst school you can think of. I don't recommend this school to anyone. Go to South Lakes.
—Submitted by a student

One of the best things that was done at Langley was to decouple the AP history/english courses. Allows someone that has NOT been on the honors/ap track their whole student life to try an AP class without taking both. Fairfax county resources should not just be focused on the upper echelon of kids. The counselors all suggest to limit the number of AP classes. But in true Langley Spirit, other parents of the elite are pushing to stop this and require coupling the AP English and AP History classes, maintaining their exclusive status for their kids. No other high schools do this. It just never changes here. The condescending attitude of the parents is tough to take.
—Submitted by a parent

I am part of the 2015 class. Langley has been a lousy experience for me. Maybe Langley has excellent teachers for the top AP courses, which is a huge part of this school, but for the regular kids the teachers don't care about you. One of my current science courses is taught by a different teacher during his lunch break, after we had a substitute for 6 weeks. No one seems to care. We aren't the AP courses, which then they would have cared. We are supposed to learn from our science book on our own. But we take time away from the other AP classes so the teachers seem to resent us. The counselors don't help you unless you are the top kids.
—Submitted by a student

Excellent -- the teachers are true educators who actually care about the students and their development. The school offers a very challenging and diverse selection of courses. There are many activities for the students - academic, athletic and service. The school leadership is truly committed to making the environment safe and productive and fun for the students. Parents are supportive of the school and the efforts that the students and administrators make. What a great place.
—Submitted by a parent

We have 2 kids at Langley and our kids hate Langley and have been asking us to move. We are thinking about having them attend another school for next year. Friends of ours have used the International Baccalaureate program at reston to get their daughter out of Langley due to the cliques. Others have gone to Bishop O'C after going freshman year here. Langley is driven by status and wealth. Largely driven by the parents of the families that live in this Great Falls area. The wealth, going to Europe for summer trips, going to Colorado for spring break, going to Caymans for winter break is just over the top. It really is a distorted environment. As example, take a drive by the parking lot some day, these are the kids cars, or drive thru the neighborhoods with the multi million dollar houses. And the kids have social cliques just as any high school, but at Langley the kids are hugely aware of wealth and status and push it with clothes, cars, vacations etc.. There are very few families with 2 working parents and struggling to save for college. It distorts the importance of money in life.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a part of the class of 2015 for this school and I have had more good and great teachers than bad ones. I admit every school has its good and bad teachers, students, and such. But Langley High School is seriously underrated. I mean, sure, we are known for certain snobs, we are known for having huge gaps between student performance. And while I do complain some times about certain teachers and peers, I realize that my college applications and my future is all decided by me. That is why unlike most of the student reviewers here, I am actually appreciative of the learning environment here. I am actually one of the lesser-class people when it comes to the fact that Langley is a "rich people's school" but I don't feel any sort of inferiority or pressure yet I'm not terribly anti-social. It's amazing how people have pointed out certain ethnic groups and blamed others for their own losses. I have done well and I have not done so well at times but once you know how to manage, you can do well here with the benefit of attending one of the historically highest ranked schools in the nation.
—Submitted by a student

I think that Langley is a very diverse school and can be viewed different ways based on how a student decides to take it on. Sure there are annoying kids and some bad teachers that can get on your nerves, but overall it is a very safe environment (physically) and there are plenty of courses available and many good teachers. The courses are typically challenging, but not to the point at which it is impossible to get an A. Also many kids are very wealthy, but that really does not have a large effect on everything else (other than the sweet cars in the student parking lot). There are many good opportunities that students can take advantage of, which is not always seen in other schools.
—Submitted by a student

Langley is an awful environment for most normal families. This school is filled with the rich. The environment will screw with your kid's minds. It is not a normal world and the bullying / mean factor is over the top. What makes it worse is the administration doesn't care about you unless you are in the AP classes and A students. You are the outsider if you are not the smart kid. I really want to leave and go to a different school, one in which having a 125 IQ is ok and not deficient, one where a house with only 4 bedrooms and 2 floors is ok, and not laughed at. It sucks it really does.
—Submitted by a student

I am a Langley Senior, Clas of 2013. Take it from me, Langley can be the last place you may want to be. Positives: -Extremely hard classes offered- AP's honors... -Great boys lacrosse team -A few good teachers -Great English teachers...depending on who you get -Nice new (posh) turf field Negatives: -The school has mold. Yes, that is very true. -The school is full of egoistical white rich kids who don't accept different people. -Very (too hard) classes at times -Most teachers don't care for students that are not straight-A students -Most teachers refuse to work with non-A students -If you are special ed of any kind, you will be: 1) Bullied by the administration and students 2) Treated like a complete moron by the administration, teachers, students, ect. 3) Give the worst education possible and so much more! If you are gay: I'd go elsewhere for schooling. (Or don't let the homophobic comments by other students get to you & don't come out) Burn out rate: I heard this myth that high school is fun, but i don't think thats true. My Gwad, burn out rate is very high. Just look at all the stress! Another positive: College will be very easy.. But what will I do with all that time?!
—Submitted by a student

I am going to agree with the June 6th poster. This is a weak administration. My child has a math teacher who is barely understandable and on top of that, can't teach. The administration blames it on the child, even if the child has a straight A average. In addition, when the online reviews of these teachers are pointed out, again, the administration blames it on the students. And when that doesn't work, they blame it on the parents. It's really disgraceful. I will be placing my child in private school; I feel badly for the parents who cannot.
—Submitted by a parent

Honestly, the people who went to Langley and said it's awful have no idea what type of learning environment they could have been a part of. I went from a different school system to Fairfax County Schools and would not be where I am today if it wasn't for being put into a difficult academic environment with a steep learning curve. Langley teaches you to deal with hard work and new challenges. The teachers are also excellent, very helpful, and caring if you just get to know them, regardless of whether you're in an AP class or not. As for the social life, blame the parents, not the high school. The parents of the Great Falls/McLean area should strive to give their kids some perspective, rather than shelter them. If you're a student at Langley and you want to be part of the snobby clique, then go for it; however, there are plenty of other social groups to become involved with. As long as you have a good head on your shoulders and some perspective, then the other kids won't bother you as much. It's high school. There are cliques and times become difficult. It often takes a level of personal maturity to deal with those issues, and no high school is the exception.

Langley used to be one of the bst schools in the nation. Now, 2012, the current administration is running the school into the ground. Questionable hires and poor leadership is what is causing the best teachers to leave/retire, as well as the drop in the school rankings and spirit. Instead of taking a survey on the effectiveness of teachers we should be taking a vote of conficence on admin.

I graduated from Langley in 1987 and the recent comments are strikingly similar to my personal experiences when I attended Langley over twenty years ago. Now that I am raising two kids of my own, I use Langley as a benchmark for what to seek/not seek in my own childrens' experience. If your child comes from a very wealthy family and is academically driven, Langley's culture and academic offerings would probably be a good fit. However, if your child is academically average and an otherwise "average kid," it will be hard for your child to flourish. He or she will sit on the social periphery and get written off by the teachers. This is a niche school for socially elite, academically gifted students.
—Submitted by a parent

The quality of the teaching at Langley is below average. Most teachers are not creative and they don t really care. There are many bright students here who can teach themselves from the text. The majorities of teachers here do not inspire a love of learning in the students or give students real confidence in their abilities and encouragement to achieve. This is not meant to degrade the teachers. The system is a bureaucracy and it s broken. The reason the SAT scores are above average is because many of the parents are highly educated, able to tutor their kids or are paying lots of money for tutors and SAT prep. There is an extremely high amount of drug use and drinking. If you think this is a good school then it because you have not been exposed to what a true quality education is. If you have an average student and send them here they will remain very average and not realize their full potential. Great schools take average students and inspire them. This school does not.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a graduated from Langley High School over 15 years ago. I was reading the recent reviews and it is sad to say that nothing has changed from when I attended the school. I hated everything about the school. Yes, I received a good education but looking back and not having good memories of high school is sad. It is sad what wealth can do to people. I was looking at a school district for my own kids as I my family will be relocating there from the northeast and after reading these reviews I am going to put more focus on finding a top-notch private school.

The school is great academically, but difficult socially if you're not in the "popular" clique. While the teachers are great and like seeing the students excel and prepare for college, the students themselves have no idea what reality is. Most kids here are rich, and have been spoiled their entire lives. People here seem to be materialistic and quick to judge. The transition from Texas schools to Langley hasn't been the smoothest for me. The competition for such good grades, meeting so many new people and making friends, and adjusting to the new environment has hurt my grades. However, I hope to make my next years at Langley more enjoyable than my first year.
—Submitted by a student

Great. The academics are good. That'll get you in, but what about interaction skills in college? No one here knows how to communicate like a normal being, let alone their constant judging of other people. NORMAL people don't analyze others that much....who has time? What really ruined it for me and a lot of others is the social life here. Take it or leave it, everyone who says the social life here sucks, is 100% right. To sum it all up, some people here need a REALITY check and know that when they go off to college, it's not all about your image and popularity or what clothes you have, or most importantly, WHO YOU HANG OUT WITH. No one cares, not now, not ever. Please, get a life other than Langley. I wish I went to McLean, thank goodness I'm out of Langley. Oh, and the teachers are exactly like the kids. It's pathetic in all honesty.
—Submitted by a student

Clearly the best public high school in the region and one of the best in the country. Despite the "brain-drain" effect of Thomas Jefferson Magnet High School in Fairfax County, Langley has survived as an incredible comprehensive public high school offering the best in academics, international diversity, athletics, and extracurricular opportunities.

This school offers good academic classes (Honors, AP) but the social part of this school is absolutely horrible! its all based upon how much money you have, and what clothes you wear. If you dont have gucci purses, and prada shoes you will be labeled a poor loser. Which is really sad. This school needs a student attitude makeover.
—Submitted by a student

(1)As a former LHS student, I am shocked at some of the negative responses from other Langley graduates, students and parents. Some of the comments on this board are completely fabricated or exaggerated. Yes, there are cliques. Yes, the workload is difficult. Yes, high school kids will experiment with drinking. These are inevitable activities that happen in high schools all across America. The cliques are particularly not as bad as everyone is describing on here. There is definitely an 'in-crowd', but as long as you even attempt to get involved you can find your niche. I think it is ridiculous that students transfer rather than work through their social troubles. They are taking the easy way out instead of learning how to improve their communication and social skills. I was involved with cheerleading, student government, and multiple other activities and clubs; regardless of the diversity between them, I was able to find friends in and be accepted by each of these groups.
—Submitted by a student