Henry Clay High School is an American

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

. Opened on Main Street in 1928, it was named in honor of the

Kentuckian Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

and United States

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...

. The Main Street location now houses the main offices of the Fayette County Public Schools system. The school was ranked in 2022 by '' U.S. News & World Report'' as #18 of schools in Kentucky and #1,705 nationally. The school's facility on Fontaine Road opened in 1970.

History

In 1834, the first four-room public school was built in Lexington. It was sponsored by a man named William Morton. Seventy years later, the first four-year high school in Lexington opened on the corner of Walnut and Short streets. This school was named Morton High School. In 1927, the

board of education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

granted permission for a new school to be built on East Main Street. On July 6, 1928, the board adopted the name Henry Clay High School, requested by the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

Demographics

The demographic breakdown by race/ethnicity of the 2,058 students enrolled for the 2021–2022 school year was:

Speech and debate team

The Henry Clay Speech and Debate team is currently lead by coach Ryan Ray. The Debate team has won the Kentucky State championship 13 times, in 1991, 1992, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Athletics

HCHS offers many varsity sports including: Archery was added as a varsity sport in the 2012/2013 school year HCHS also offers

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

ultimate Frisbee Ultimate, originally known as ultimate Frisbee, is a non-contact team sport played with a frisbee flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by AJ Gator in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate resembles many traditional sports in its ath ...

, boys'

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, and

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

only as club sports since they are not sanctioned sports with the

Kentucky High School Athletic Association The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) has been the governing body of the U.S. state of Kentucky high-school athletics since 1917. It is located in Lexington. Sports The organization sanctions competition in the following sports ...

, and the Blue Devil Marching Band in its own competitive arena. The HCHS Marching Band placed as Grand Champions in the Mid-states Band Association circuit for years 2005-2007, and reserved Grand Champions in 2008. In 2006, the ultimate Frisbee team, Grapes of Wrath, fought their way to a city championship, led by captain and team MVP, Steven Myers. The ultimate Frisbee team is currently enjoying a stellar 2008-2009 season which has included the City Championship and State Championship, as well as a top 10 national ranking by the UPA. Also the lacrosse team made it to the Division 2 State Championship in 2007 with an undefeated, 9-0 record. They lost to the Eastern Eagles in double overtime. In the 2012-2013 season, the Henry Clay men's lacrosse team posted an undefeated 18-0 record, defeating

Lexington Catholic High School Lexington Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic high school located in the Rosemill neighborhood in Lexington, Kentucky. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington. In 2007, it was named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. Histor ...

by a score of 10-4 to capture the Division 2 State Championship. During the 2012-2013 season the Henry Clay men's lacrosse team was ranked in the top ten nationally in goal defense and goal differential, while ranking eleventh nationally in goals scored.

Notable alumni

* *

References

External links

* {{authority control 1928 establishments in Kentucky educational institutions established in 1928 public high schools in Kentucky schools in Lexington, Kentucky