Linton Hall School -- today

I've written a lot in this blog about my experiences during the 1960s.

Today’s Linton Hall School is far different from the boys’ military boarding school that LHMS alumni knew. Now coeducational, and neither military nor boarding, and admits children as young as Pre-Kindergarden through its "little Sprouts" program.
Linton Hall appears to be a far better place for its students. Having had only limited contact with current students and recent alumni, I am not in a position to draw too many conclusions, but it appears to have eliminated the negative aspects of its past while keeping its strengths, primarily academics and outdoor activities in what remains of its formerly vast landholdings, the major part of which were sold many years ago to developers. It appears that a lot of credit for the positive changes should be given to Mrs. Liz Poole, the current principal.

The outside of the school building and its immediate surroundings look quite similar to the school I remember from years ago. Window units for air conditioning have been added to the dorms (one of which is now used as a library, which is equipped with colorful and comfortable bean bag chairs) and the windows in the classroom wing have been replaced. The pool, tennis court and canteen are still there, as is the windbreaker wall behind which some of us hid when we were forced to march in the cold. The arsenal, however, is gone, as are the cannons near Linton Hall Road. The former parade field is now being used as a playing field.

What has undergone radical change is the surrounding area. Linton Hall Road is now lined with houses and townhouses. Across from Linton Hall and near the Commandant and Bill’s former homes, which have since been sold to new owners, there is now a strip shopping center with a Safeway supermarket and other stores. At the intersection of Linton Hall Road and Route 29, where there was once just an Esso gas station and a diner, there is now a huge shopping mall. As the population of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area has expanded, many people now live in the Bristow, Haymarket and Manassas areas, and traffic reports on the radio routinely mention those places. Traffic between that area and D.C. during rush hour is typically horrible.

I would like to hear from current students and recent alumni (anyone who attended the school after it stopped being an all-boys, military, boarding school.)

I'm especially interested in your thoughts about whether rules are reasonable, fairly enforced, and whether punishments for breaking rules are appropriate. Feel free to comment about other aspects, too. And please give examples to support your views.

It would be helpful if you could also say for what grades you attended Linton Hall School, and how LHS compares to other schools you've attended.

Of course, parents and teachers are welcome to comment too; please mention this fact when posting.

Please do not use names -- yours or anybody else's.

I look forward to hearing from you!

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Copyright 2012 by "Linton Hall Cadet."
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This blog is not affiliated with Linton Hall Military School and all opinions are those of the author.
Comments are always welcome; please do not use your name or names of others.