Get ready for the Young Knights!

A committee of students, staff, and parents recommended the Young Knights after reviewing feedback from our two community surveys held in the 2023-24 school year. Two main ideas they heard were:

• The benefits of building Black Knight pride starting in middle school and 
• The benefits of the middle school having its own identity. 

The middle school will begin using its new name and mascot in the fall of 2025.

About the Selection of the Mascot: Go Young Knights!
The mascot selection was driven by two community surveys, and then a committee of staff, students, and parents helped interpret results and make a final recommendation. The knight was the most popular choice on the surveys in part because people wanted to begin building Black Knight pride. However, there was also a large group of respondents who wanted the middle school to maintain an identity that was distinct from CHS’s. Some respondents also shared the idea of a mascot that could be a “junior” to the Black Knight, conveying the idea that students progress and mature as they become high schoolers. Finally, the committee liked the idea that, similar to how CHS fans cheer with the phrase “Go Black Knights!”, at the middle school, fans can cheer with “Go Young Knights!” 

About the Middle School Modernization
Construction began in June 2023 to modernize and expand the current Buford Middle School. The school will be renamed Charlottesville Middle School in Fall 2025, when seventh and eighth grade classes will move into the new wings (and when the construction crews turn their attention to modernizing the existing spaces). In Fall 2026, construction will be complete and sixth graders will join the school. At that time, fifth graders will return to learn in neighborhood elementaries. The modernized middle school will meet the educational, safety, environmental, and accessibility standards of today, upgrading facilities that have been largely unchanged since their construction in the 1960s. 

Construction is currently proceeding on time and on budget. For more information, visit our Middle School Modernization page.