A. Linwood Holton Governor's School
Virginia's First Virtual Governor's School
One Partnership Circle - PO Box 1987 Abingdon, VA 24212
Telephone: 276-619-4326      Fax: 276-619-4309     e-mail: holton@hgs.k12.va.us


ANNOUNCEMENTS

 
 
 
 
 

Registration is Now Open

To register for a HGS class one must complete the ALHGS Admission Application (PDF here) and indicate on the form the class(es) you would like to take during the 2025-2026 academic year. (Students attending James Monroe High School must register for classes using this form.) The application/registration form also serves as an admission application document. Admission to the Governor's School is granted on a year-by-year basis.

To avoid being placed on a waiting list for a class, students are strongly encouraged to apply/register as soon as possible during the spring semester for fall start classes as HGS classes fill quickly.

We look forward to seeing you in class at the start of the Fall 2025 semester!

FAQs

I took a Governor's School class last year. Do I still have to go through the admission process again?

Yes. Admission to the school is only valid for one academic year. Returning students must re-apply to be able to register for coming classes.

I completed the application form and registered for classes. I have yet to hear from anyone about the status of my application. Can I call or email HGS to find out the status of my application?

NO. Students should direct any questions/concerns about HGS admission to their school's guidance counselor. If contacted, HGS will not provide application/admission statue information to a student.

How do I know if I qualify for admission to HGS?

Admission criteria are available here. Each school division has their own selection process based on these criteria. Please direct any questions to your school guidance counselor.

I have completed the application and registered for fall classes using the application. Do I email or mail the completed document to the Governor's School Abingdon office?

No. Applications/registration submitted directly to the Governor's School offices by an applicant cannot be accepted. Talk to your guidance counselor if you wish to register for an HGS class.
 
 
 
 

WELCOME to the home of the HGS Bulletin Board. The HGS Bulletin Board is the place where you can find student scholarship opportunities, unique educational opportunities, student competition announcements, and much more.

Dental Health Summer Institute

The Virginia Community College System and Old Dominion University are offering a free dental sciences camp. This virtual event has an in-person lab meeting at Mountain Empire Community College. It is completely free to participants, and a lab kit will be provided to students by Delta Dental. The program is designed to give rising 10th, 11th, and 12th graders a look into these academic programs and career field (i.e., dentists, hygienists, and assistants). A program flyer is available here. Application deadline is March 7, 2025. The application for the program is available here.
Posted 2-03-25 End 03-07-25

Women in STEM

The Radford University Artis College of Science and Technology Summer Bridge Program: WOMEN IN STEM serves rising sophomore, junior, and senior high school students by facilitating a week of exploration in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) from Virginia and other states. The Summer Bridge Program is not limited to female participants and any rising sophomore, junior, and senior high school student interested in Women in STEM is invited to apply. A program flyer is available here. Additional information, including application instructions as well as fees, accommodations, and transportation information, may be obtained by visiting the program's website.
Posted 12-05-24 End 06-30-25

2025 Summer Residential Governor’s Schools and World Language Academies

The VDOE is pleased to announce that the 2025 Governor’s Summer Residential Program will include seven Summer Residential Governor’s Schools (SRGS) and five Governor’s World Language Academies (GWLA). The SRGS offer gifted and/or advanced high school students opportunities for intensive study in academics, the visual and performing arts, and mentorships. The GWLA offers full-immersion academies for French, German, and Spanish; a partial-immersion academy for Japanese; and a Latin Academy. Students do not need to be identified as gifted to be nominated for one of the GWLA.

The SRGS and GWLA are available to students enrolled in public schools, accredited private schools, as well as home schooled students. The availability of these programs is contingent upon the provision of state funds by the 2025 General Assembly.

Applications, information, and administrative handbooks for the 2025 SRGS and GWLA will be available digitally on the VDOE website October 11, 2024. For details, visit the Summer Residential Governor's Schools web page and Governor's World Language Academies web page.
Posted 10-15-24 End 06-10-25

Virginia Space Grant Consortium Opportunities

Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC) provides several FREE and highly engaging Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) learning opportunities for Virginia students. The applications for three online programs begin closing October 26, 2024

  • Virginia Space Coast Scholars (VSCS) is an interactive online STEM learning experience for 10th grade students highlighted by a seven (7) day residential summer academy at NASA Wallops Flight Facility focusing on the current missions at Wallops.
  • Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars (VASTS) is an interactive online STEM learning experience for 11th and 12th grade students, highlighted by a seven (7) day residential summer academy at NASA Langley Research Center focusing on human spaceflight. Students can earn up to five free dual enrollment college credits. Flyer (PDF) here.
  • The Virginia Earth System Science Scholars (VESSS) is an interactive online STEM learning experience for 11th and 12th grade students, highlighted by a seven (7) day residential summer academy at NASA Langley Research Center, focusing on the Earth’s responses to climate changes, weather, and natural hazards. Students can earn up to five free dual enrollment college credits.
Posted 10-02-24 End 10-27-24

2025 BBB Student of Integrity Scholarship

The deadlines for the Better Business Bureau Serving Western VA's 22nd Annual BBB Student of Integrity Scholarship Program are quickly approaching. The application deadline for the essay-based BBB Student of Integrity Essay Scholarship, which offers a $1500 award for college costs, is January 31st, 2025. Details are available here.
Posted 10-02-23 End 01-31-24

UVA Lingletes Program Challenge

The UVA Lingletes Program, which is underway, is a student engaged linguistics program allowing high school students in grades 11-12 to learn linguistics concepts with the help of UVA undergraduate students through virtual, after-school activities. Started by Professor Janay Crabtree in 2022, the program aims to introduce high school students to linguistics concepts in an understandable way, using problem sets based on many languages across the world. At the end of the program, students will have the opportunity to compete in the Lingletes' Linguistic challenge, working together and independently for the champion title.

The Lingletes program has started, however they are accepting students up through next week. Interested students should complete the registration form (PDF) and email the completed form to Professor Janay Crabtree at jc9ne@virginia.edu as soon as possible. General program information is available HERE


Posted 09-17-24 End 10-17-24

William & Mary K-12 Learner Programs

William & Mary offers several programs throughout the year for high-ability students: Saturday/Sunday Enrichment Programs, Focusing on the Future, and many others. A brochure listing programs and dates for fall 2024 and all of 2025 is available HERE (PDF). Additional information can be found at the programs' web site HERE.
Posted 09-06-24 End 08-31-25

Summer Enrichment Experience

The Summer Enrichment Experience (SEE) program is designed to promote science and medicine to area high school students. Rising high school sophomores through rising high school seniors (10th – 12th grade) who have a strong interest in healthcare fields are encouraged to participate in the SEE program. A flyer is available HERE (PDF). Additional information, applications, etc. can be found at the program's web site HERE.
Posted 04-12-23 End 05-31-23

SVAM 2024 Scholarship

The Southwest Virginia Alliance for Manufacturing (SVAM), Inc. is offering scholarship funding to eligible graduating high school students who wish to pursue post-secondary education for a career in a manufacturing-related field. Students will be eligible for up to $2,000 in scholarship funds. Additional information, applications, etc. can be found at the program's web site HERE. Applications are due no later than March 29, 2024.
Posted 09-05-24 End 03-29-24

Prepare for College In Virginia

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia provides resources for parents and students to help them with preparing for higher education: Student Resources.
Posted 09-05-24 End 05-31-25

MIT Beaver Works Institute

MIT Beaver Works Institute is a four-week program at MIT that challenges high school students to tackle high-tech projects. Watch for future offerings and course announcements here.
Posted 02-12-20
 
 
 
 

HGS Virtual School Browser Requirements

The software used by the Governor's School makes use of the latest web standards supported by the major browsers: Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Thus, the HGS Virtual School (Canvas) and the HGS Virtual Classroom (Jigsaw) no longer support the Internet Explorer web browser. Students should not use the Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge browser to access the HSG web site, HGS Virtual School, and/or HGS Virtual Classroom.

Soon students may not be able to access the HGS Virtual School/Classroom unless they are using the latest version of Chrome and/or Firefox. As new versions of Firefox and Chrome are released, students are obligated to keep their browsers up-to-date to have access to the school's sites.

You do not know what browser version you are using? Instructions on how to check and update Firefox are available here. Instructions on how to check and update Chrome are available here.

The above noted browser requirements are currently enforced.
 
 
Governor's School Introduces A New Video Series


Considering a Governor's School class but would like to know more before you take the leap? To provide more information about classes for prospective Governor's School students, the first series of information videos are now available. The videos are interviews with class instructors as well as current and former students. By viewing the videos, prospective students will learn about the class format, course content, and students' experiences. Series videos will continue to be posted throughout the year. Follow the links below to the web pages on which the currently available videos are posted.

Advanced Multimedia Applications
Engineering Methods & Computer Programming
All History Department Courses:
Appalachian History, Western Civilization, and World Civilization

So grab a Governor's School admission application, a box of popcorn, and prepare to learn about a great opportunity.
 
 


Tour Your [Future] College Campus

Ready to begin your college planning? If so, check out eCampusTours for a virtual tour of hundreds of different colleges.  This web site offers virtual tours of buildings and grounds for over a thousand different college campuses.