Northern High School
117 Tom Wilkinson Road, Durham, NC, 27712-1432 - Map Map

School Overview:
Definition of Terms
Northern High School
School Level High school
Grades Offered Grades 9 - 12
County Durham County, NC
Students & Faculty
Total Students 1633 students
% Male / % Female 49%  /  51%
Total Classroom Teachers 119 teachers
Students by Grade
Grade 9 - 529 students
Grade 10 - 388 students
Grade 11 - 356 students
Grade 12 - 360 students
This School
(NC) School Average
Teacher : Student Ratio 1:14 1:16
Students by Ethnicity
This School
(NC) School Average
% American Indian n/a 1%
% Asian 2% 2%
% Hispanic 5% 5%
% Black 53% 31%
% White 41% 59%
Additional Student Information
This School
(NC) School Average
% Eligible for Free Lunch 25% 27%
% Eligible for Reduced Lunch 4% 6%
% Migrant Students Enrolled n/a n/a
School Performance:
(NC) Statewide Testing Performance
School Statewide Performance View Education Department Test Scores
School District:
School District Name Durham Public s School District
This School's Agency
(NC) District Average
Number of Schools Managed 46 12
Number of Students Managed 31,893 students 6,210 students
District Total Revenue $287,793,000 $47,973,000
District Expenditure $292,801,000 $45,994,000
District Revenue / Student $9,024 $7,725
District Expenditure / Student $9,181 $7,406
District Graduation Rates 73% 74%
In the News:
View all past news stories
School Notes:
  • Northern High School is a four-year high school located in the northern Durham, North Carolina. Northern's current principal is John Colclough. Approximately 1671 students are currently enrolled at Northern. Northern is one of Durham's seven public high schools. Students take 4 classes each day. Northern's mascot for their male teams is the Knights and for the female team the Ladies.
  • Northern High School offers Advanced Placement classes in English, American History, European History, Psychology, Statistics, Calculus AB and BC, Environmental Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Spanish, French, Latin, German, Studio Art, Music Theory (Independent Study), and US Government & Politics.
  • Northern High School employs 156 people including four assistant principals and seven teacher's assistants. Students in the 2005-2006 school year received an average SAT score of 983.
  • In 2007, Northern High School was ranked as the 928th best high school in America by Newsweek.
  • History
  • The citizens of Durham County approved a bond issue in 1952 to build a new high school in northern Durham County, consolidating Mangum High School and Bragtown High School. The land for the school was an airfield and apple orchard.
  • Until the early 1990s, Durham County had two public school systems: the Durham City Schools System and the Durham County Schools System.
  • On September 1, 1955 Northern High School opened with an enrollment of 502 students in grades 9–12. The students came from the feeder schools of Glenn, Hillandale, Mangum and Bragtown schools. The then new Northern High School had only 17 classrooms, a home economics department, a shop, a library, and a gymnasium.
  • For the most part in Durham integration occurred smoothly and with only one recorded incident of racial tension at Northern High School, which the Durham County School Board helped to mediate.
  • The principals of Durham County's high schools were all employed during legal segregation. The Durham community debated how successful the process of integration would be in Durham County. Many knew there would be problems at Southern High School, because the Southern High School mascot was the Rebel (later changed to the Spartans), and the high school used the rebel flag. The principal at Southern High School during this time was Sidney Ray. There was less concern about integration at Jordan High School because this high school had been attended by affluent families, both black and white.
  • In 1958 the following additions opened to students: auditorium, bandroom, and additional classrooms called "North Hall", N1-N10. This was followed in 1963 with the addition to "North Hall" classrooms, N11-N22.
  • In 1966 a cafeteria addition was completed and the high school had an enrollment of 852.
  • At that time, the high school consisted of the "North Hall", "East Hall" and "West Hall".
  • The three Durham County high schools and junior high schools were integrated in the fall of 1969 as the court order directed. Those schools were Southern High School, and Jordan High School, and Northern High School. The Durham County elementary schools were to be fully integrated by the fall of 1970.
  • In the 1980s new classroom stand alone wing was added called "South Hall" (Harrison Hall)
  • By the mid-1980s Northern High School was one of North Carolina's largest high schools with 2,300- 2,500 students and was, at this time, the largest high school in Durham County and Durham City. The school at this time only had grades 10, 11 and 12. Grade 9 was at this time located in the junior high schools along with grades 7 and 8. Durham County School System had not yet converted to the middle school format, containing grades 6, 7 and 8, as the Durham City School System had converted to a few years before. Northern High School's feeder junior high schools were Carrington Junior High School and Chewning Junior High School.
  • Northern High School's rival schools in size and sports during the 1980s were: Broughton High School, Enloe High School, Millbrook High School, Sanderson High School, Cary High School (in Wake County, North Carolina), Chapel Hill High School and Orange High School (all in Orange County, North Carolina, Grimsley High School and Page High School (in Guilford County, NC, South Mecklenburg High School (in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina), Hillside High School (in Durham, North Carolina) and the then smaller Person High School (in Person County, North Carolina). All competed in the 4-A size sports ranking.
  • In 1984 a new Vocational Wing was completed and in 1988 the First Phase of New Science Wing and Tennis Courts were completed. In 1993 the old Vocational Wing was renovated and new additions completed. In 1994 a new Arts Department Wing was completed and "North Hall" and "West Hall" were renovated along with a second phase of the New Science Wing was completed. There was also an addition to the Library and renovations on the existing space. In 1995 major additions were made to the cafeteria and the commons area and entire high school building complex was air-conditioned.
  • Northern High School still plays its football games at Durham County Stadium. The stadium was once also the home football field to what was then called Durham High School (now the Durham School of the Arts) and Hillside High School. The other public schools in Durham City and County had their own stadiums on campus. Northern High School today is the only high school who continues to use Durham County Stadium as its home field.
  • A new high school was built not far from Northern High School in 1991, called Riverside High School, which decreased Northern High School's enrollment to its current number of 1,600 plus. The school was built due to northern Durham County's growing population and the lack of space at Northern High School.
  • The demographics of Northern High School have changed over the years with those of Durham County.
  • Northern High School's biggest rival is currently Riverside High School.
  • In February 2008, after winning the PAC-6 Tournament and gaining the number 2 seed in the playoffs, the Northern High School Varsity Men's Basketball team had to forfeit all games of their 15-11 season due to an "attendance issue" that made a player ineligible. Reasons for the decision were not made public by the school nor the district, and the player's name was not released to the general public.
  • External links
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  • Add/edit information about this school (e.g., awards, news stories, notable alumni, fun facts)
 
School Zip Code:
About This Zip Code (27712)
School Zip (27712)
(NC) State Average
Population (Approximate) 17,760 people 7,780,958 people
% (age 25+) w/College Degree 49% 24%
Population Average Age 41 years old 35 years old
Average Household size 2.7 persons 2.4 persons
Median Household Income $65,400 $39,726
Avg. # of Rooms in Household 6.6 rooms 5.3 rooms
Median Age of Housing Structure 31 years old 32 years old
View Current Housing Listings View current housing listings in this area
Median Value of Housing Unit
Zipcode (27712)


Zillow Median Value of Housing Unit
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Zillow Median Value of Housing Unit
% Owning / % Renting 94% / 6% 66% / 34%
School Map:
1. Riverside High School - 1935 students - 2.9 mi. away - view location
2. Lakeview School - 83 students - 4.3 mi. away - view location
3. Carter Community Charter - 137 students - 5.4 mi. away - view location
4. Durham Sch Of The Arts - 1370 students - 6.4 mi. away - view location
5. Ann Atwater Community - 64 students - 6.5 mi. away - view location
View all schools in: Durham, Durham County, Zip 27712 
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Note: Data has been gathered from several government and commercial data sources. School data reflects 2006 statistics (most recent year available).

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