The Sisters of Notre Dame came to Virginia in 1965 to found a Catholic boarding school for girls. Now, more than 40 years later, the school they started, Notre Dame Academy in Middleburg, is a co-educational day school, best known for its powerhouse sports programs.

The girl’s basketball team finished its most recent season ranked No. 5 in the country and was the No. 1 squad in the D.C. area, according to The Washington Post. The men’s baseball team won the state title.

Notre Dame maintains its religious roots, even though much has changed from the sisters’ original vision. The school became co-ed in the early 90s as a response to demand from the community.

The sisters sold their stake in the school in 2000 to an independent Board of Trustees. More than 50 percent of the student body is Catholic and every student must take four years of theology.

Notre Dame’s religious roots carry over to the school’s community service requirement. Each student is required to perform 25 hours of approved community service each year and accumulate 100 hours before graduation.

“Many of [the students] go well beyond that and it isn’t even an issue,” said Paul Goff, director of alumni relations at Notre Dame Academy.

Goff said Notre Dame strives to build well-rounded adults. To get a diploma, each student must be accepted into a college or university.

Goff also pointed to the school’s six-week Personal Options Program conducted every winter. The program encourages students to pursue a self-directed area of study that can range from gourmet cooking to skiing to classic movies to the history of rock-n-roll.

Goff maintains that the Catholic-based education sets Notre Dame apart from the other college prep schools in the area. He says Notre Dame plans to stay small and keep the focus on the students.

”We’re a small school, we’ve stayed small and that’s the way it’s going to be,” Goff said. “The most important result is the student going through some tough academic situations.”