W.B. Saul High School, previously the Walter Biddle Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences, is a

magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

high school in

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Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. The school, a part of the

School District of Philadelphia The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) is the school district that includes all school district-operated public schools in Philadelphia. Established in 1818, it is the 8th largest school district in the nation, by enrollment, serving over 200 ...

, serves grades 9 through 12. Saul is a magnet school in the agricultural fields. Saul is the largest agricultural farm school in the United States.W.B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences
." Roxborough-Manayunk Patch. Retrieved on March 28, 2013. The school has the largest FFA (formerly Future Farmers of America) chapter in the State of Pennsylvania and one of the largest in the United States. Saul has two farmers as staff members.Graham, Kristen A.
At Saul High, talented crop of students
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Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

''. October 22, 2012. Retrieved on March 28, 2013.

History

The school opened in 1943 as the Wissahickon Farm School. Saul concentrated in traditional agricultural subjects for many years. Kristen A. Graham of ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' said in 2012 that "a recent focus has been on boosting academics, on inquiry-based learning that opens the door to a wider range of careers."

Campus

The campus is on the Wissahickon Valley in upper

, adjacent to

Fairmount Park Fairmount Park is the largest municipal park in Philadelphia and the historic name for a group of parks located throughout the city. Fairmount Park consists of two park sections named East Park and West Park, divided by the Schuylkill River, with ...

. The campus is located on both sides of Henry Avenue. One side houses the academic, agricultural, and physical education/health buildings as well as the greenhouses and small animal laboratory buildings. On that side those buildings are adjacent to the basketball court, open soccer field and school gym. The portion on the other side of Henry Avenue houses the school's field crop area, nursery, pasture area for livestock, and working farm. The working farm houses dairy, horses, sheep, and swine, as well as the school's meat science program.Our History
"
Archive
W. B. Saul High School. Retrieved on March 28, 2013.

Admissions

Kristen A. Graham of ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' said in 2012 that Saul "requires strong grades for admission". The school received 1,100 applications for the first year (freshman) class of the 2012-2013 school year, according to Tamera Conaway, the principal. In order to get in one must score a 75% or above on the PSSAs, have all A's and B's and no more than 15 absences.

Academics

As of 2015 64% of Saul graduates attend colleges and universities.

Demographics

As of fall 2015 the school had 546 students, including 182 first year students (freshmen). Kristen A. Graham of ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' said that the size of the first year class for that school year was larger than the usual size of a freshman class at Saul. During that year, 65.8% of students were African-American, 17.4% were White, and 13.9% were Hispanic. 40.1% were classified as economically disadvantaged. 9.5% require special education services. Graham characterized the Saul student body as "diverse".

References

External links

* * * Gralish, Tom (Staff photographer).

" (video) ''

''. Monday October 15, 2012. {{authority control High schools in Philadelphia School District of Philadelphia Public high schools in Pennsylvania Magnet schools in Pennsylvania Agricultural schools 1943 establishments in Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1943 Roxborough, Philadelphia