High school

A high school (also secondary school, senior school, secondary college) is a school that provides adolescents with part or all of their secondary education. It may come after primary school or middle school and be followed by higher education or vocational training.

Terminology

The term "high school" originated in Scotland, with the world's oldest high school being Edinburgh's Royal High School from 1505. The Royal High School was used as a model for the first public high school in the United States, Boston Latin School founded in Boston, Massachusetts.

The precise stage of schooling provided by a high school differs from country to country, and may vary within the same jurisdiction. In all of New Zealand and Malaysia, along with most of Britain and parts of Australia, Bangladesh and Canada, high school means the same thing as secondary school, but instead of starting in 9th grade, these "secondary schools" begin at ages 11 or 12.

Country by country

Australia

In Australia, high school is a secondary school, from Year 7 or Year 8 through to Year 12, varying from state to state. High school immediately follows primary (elementary) school; therefore, a Year-7 Australian high-school student is sometimes as young as 12. In Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, the term "high school" generally refers to Years 7–10, whereas the term "College" is used for Years 11–12. In Victoria the term "secondary college" has largely replaced the term "high school" following the reforms of the Labor Government in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Some schools have retained the name "high school" (such as Melbourne High School) and many have now dropped the "secondary" and are simply known as "college".

Atlee High School

Atlee High School is a secondary school serving south-central Hanover County, receiving most students from Chickahominy Middle School. Atlee is a part of the Hanover County School District led by its Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Michael Gill. Vincent D'Agostino held the position of principal from 2002 to 2010, but then was named principal at The Hanover Center for Trades and Technology. Jennifer Cohodas held the position of principal from 2010-2014, but transitioned to Director of Accreditation and Accountability on July 1, 2014.

Dr. John Wheeler is now the principal.

Atlee High School opened in 1991 with an enrollment of nearly 2000 students. Over 1,700 students are currently enrolled. Atlee was named by Newsweek as one of the 1300 top public schools in the United States.

Atlee is an International Baccalaureate world school, certified for the Diploma Programme as school 1191 in January, 2000. In 2008, Atlee's newspaper, "The Shield", created an online edition of its paper on my.hsj.org. Other Atlee publications include their daily televised show, "Raider TV"; their yearbook, "The Legend", their yearly literary magazine, "Elements", and their newly created biweekly televised show, "Feature Friday". Atlee also hosts a FIRST robotics team as a combined part of its Technology Student Association branch, and has competed for their sixth year as team 1599. At the 2007 NASA/VCU Regional competition, Atlee placed 8th out of 66 teams.