South Lakes High, 11400 South Lakes Drive, Reston: grades 9-12, 2,221 students in September 2026, 95% on-time graduation, IB. Office: 703-715-4500.
Last checked Oct. 20, 2026. Sources: South Lakes High School, the FCPS school profile, the Virginia Department of Education’s School Quality Profile, the federal NCES school directory and the VHSL alignment.
South Lakes High School is the public high school inside Reston, and the one most Reston addresses are zoned for. Of the roughly 24,200 addresses inside Reston’s Census boundary in Fairfax County’s address file, about 81% fall in its zone on the county’s 2026-27 attendance maps. Most of the rest go to Herndon High. The school opened Sept. 5, 1978, with grades 7 to 10 in one building while what became Langston Hughes Middle was being built next door, according to the Hughes history page. Its teams are the Seahawks.
Who to call
- Main office: 703-715-4500, open 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Attendance: 703-715-4545
- Registrar: 703-715-4504
- Student activities and athletics: 703-715-4517
- Registering a new student: FCPS Student Registration, 703-204-6740
- Buses: FCPS Transportation Services, 703-446-2000
| Address | 11400 South Lakes Drive, Reston, VA 20191 |
| Grades | 9 to 12 |
| School day | 8:10 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. |
| Website | southlakeshs.fcps.edu |
| Division | Fairfax County Public Schools, Region 1, South Lakes High pyramid |
Principal
Principal Carlos Seward, according to the school’s administration page. Heather Thomas is director of student services and Andrew Duggan is director of student activities. Five assistant principals each handle a slice of the alphabet by student last name.
Enrollment and teachers
- FCPS count: 2,221 students in September of the 2026-27 school year, on the division’s school profile.
- State count: 2,441 students in fall 2025, against 2,450 in 2024 and 2,488 in 2023, in the School Quality Profile.
- Federal count: 2,473 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 219 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That works out to about 11 students per teacher.
State report card
Virginia rates each school two ways on its School Quality Profile. Accreditation shows whether the school meets the state’s Standards of Accreditation. The School Performance and Support Framework gives each school a score and one of four performance levels: Distinguished, Meets Expectations, Approaching Expectations or Needs Intensive Support.
- Accreditation, 2025-26: Fully Accredited
- Framework score: 91.76, rated Distinguished, in the FCPS division summary
- On-time graduation: 95%. Of 607 students in the class of 2026 cohort, 577 graduated on time, 309 of them with an advanced studies diploma. Twenty-three students (4%) dropped out.
Standards of Learning pass rates (share of tested students who passed):
| Subject | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| English reading | 85% | 88% | 87% |
| Math | 81% | 79% | 85% |
| Science | 71% | 74% | 78% |
The full profile breaks the results down by student group and also reports attendance, college enrollment, spending and teacher data.
Attendance zone
Enter an address in the FCPS boundary locator to see its assigned schools. On the county’s 2026-27 attendance area maps, about 87% of South Lakes’ zone, by land area, is the Langston Hughes Middle zone. The rest is the part of the Carson Middle zone around Fox Mill and Floris elementary schools, west of Reston. The elementary zones inside South Lakes’ are:
- Sunrise Valley Elementary, Lake Anne Elementary, Dogwood Elementary, Hunters Woods Elementary, Terraset Elementary and Forest Edge Elementary, all of them, through Hughes
- Part of Crossfield Elementary, through Hughes (most of Crossfield’s zone goes to Oakton High)
- Fox Mill Elementary, all of it, and part of Floris Elementary, through Carson
North Reston, around North Point Village Center and Lake Newport Road, is zoned for Aldrin and Armstrong elementary schools, Herndon Middle and Herndon High instead. FCPS’s comprehensive boundary review, approved by the School Board in January 2026, set the zones that took effect this 2026-27 school year, according to the FCPS boundary review page. The locator shows each address’s current assignment.
Calendar and bell times
From the FCPS 2026-27 school year calendar:
- Friday, Oct. 30: end of the first quarter, two-hour early release
- Monday, Nov. 2, and Tuesday, Nov. 3: student holidays (Nov. 3 is Election Day)
- Nov. 25-27: Thanksgiving break
- Dec. 21 to Jan. 3: winter break
- March 22-26: spring break
- Wednesday, June 16, 2027: last day of school, a two-hour day for high school students
South Lakes runs a blue day and green day block schedule. First period starts at 8:10 a.m. and the last period ends at 2:55 p.m., according to the school’s bell schedule page, which also lists every blue and green day for 2026-27 and the two-hour delay and early-release schedules.
Sports and activities
South Lakes plays in Class 6, Region D, Concorde District, according to the VHSL alignment. The district’s other schools are Centreville, Chantilly, James Madison, Oakton and Westfield.
The school’s athletics page lists varsity head coaches for baseball, boys and girls basketball, cheerleading, crew, cross country, dance, field hockey, football, girls flag football, golf, gymnastics, indoor and outdoor track and field, boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls soccer, softball, swim and dive, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls volleyball and wrestling, plus the VHSL activities esports, debate, forensics, scholastic bowl and theater one-act. Scores and schedules are on the Seahawks’ athletics site.
South Lakes is an International Baccalaureate school offering the Middle Years Programme, Diploma Programme and Career-related Programme, according to its 10 reasons page, which also names an Army JROTC program and AVID. Programs the FCPS profile lists include career and technical education, dual enrollment, the College Partnership Program, Pathway to the Baccalaureate and Teachers for Tomorrow.
Follow the Seahawks on our Friday night football page and the high school scoreboard.
More on Reston schools
- The FCPS school profile for South Lakes.
- Every public school in Reston, with zones and state ratings.
- Reston neighborhoods and the South Lakes neighborhood guide.
Frequently asked questions
What grades does South Lakes High School serve?
Grades 9 through 12. FCPS counted 2,221 students at the school in September 2026.
How is South Lakes High School rated by the state?
It is Fully Accredited for 2025-26. In Virginia’s School Performance and Support Framework it scored 91.76 and is rated Distinguished.
What is South Lakes High School’s graduation rate?
95%. Of 607 students in the class of 2026 cohort, 577 graduated on time, according to the state’s School Quality Profile.
Which middle schools feed South Lakes High School?
Langston Hughes Middle School, which covers most of the zone, and the part of Carson Middle School’s zone around Fox Mill and Floris elementary schools.
What time does South Lakes High School start?
First period starts at 8:10 a.m. and the school day ends at 2:55 p.m., according to the school’s bell schedule.
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