Admissions

Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies (MLWGS) is one of Virginia’s nineteen Academic Year Governor’s Schools and is currently one of three full-day programs administered by the Virginia Board of Education.  Established in 1991, the Governor’s School for Government and International Studies is the result of a partnership of school divisions created to improve educational opportunity for talented and gifted students.  Representatives from business, industry, and staff of the area schools worked together to develop the curriculum.  In 1998, the Regional School Board facilitated the development of a unique partnership to renovate the historic Maggie L. Walker High School building to become the permanent home of the school.  MLWGS operates today in this historic building located at 1000 N. Lombardy Street in downtown Richmond.

MLWGS serves students in the metropolitan area.  Participating school divisions include Charles City, Chesterfield, Colonial Heights, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, Hopewell, King and Queen, New Kent, Petersburg, Powhatan, Prince George, and the City of Richmond.  In 2024-2025 MLWGS serves 797 students from these fourteen divisions in central Virginia.

Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School is both culturally and economically diverse.  Its challenge and mission are to provide an exemplary education for a student body that is extremely academically talented.  MLWGS is one of America’s best public high schools (#12, Newsweek, 2014, Washington Post 4-12-2016 Top Performing Schools with Elite Students).