Princess Anne High School (PAHS) is one of 11 high schools in the Virginia Beach City Public School System. Opened in 1954, it is the oldest remaining

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 ...

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, United States. The school is named after the now extinct

Princess Anne County, Virginia County of Princess Anne is a former county in the British Colony of Virginia and the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, first incorporated in 1691. The county was merged into the city of Virginia Beach on January 1, 1963, ceasing to ...

(itself named after the British Royal, Queen Anne, titled at the time and prior to ascension, Princess of Denmark) which was annexed with the founding of

. Princess Anne High School is slated to be demolished following the construction of a replacement building. The construction is anticipated to begin in 2023 with the new building being open in 2028. The demolishing of the building will end its 74 year history.

History

Origins

The school was built during a period of rapid expansion of the then Princess Anne County. The cost of construction and equipment was $3,500,000, which included approximately $1,000,000 of federal funds. The school was first occupied in September 1954. Several schools had previously been built and remain in use today, however, they were converted to smaller middle or elementary schools in order to address ballooning class sizes. In 1963, Princess Anne County was incorporated into the newly formed City of Virginia Beach and thus PAHS became the oldest remaining high school in the system.

September 1, 1995 fire

Four days before the opening of school in September 1995, a fire destroyed approximately one-third of the building. The blaze began in the library, destroying numerous valuable records, among them the entire collection of PA yearbooks before 1995 and numerous printed and digital course materials collected by teachers throughout their careers. The exact cause of the fire has never been announced. Throughout both the 1995-1996 school year and the 1996-1997 fall semester, classes were held in a nearby vacant shopping mall known as "Celebration Station", which has since been demolished. Shuttle buses transported students between the temporary location and the remaining, intact portion of the school/portable classrooms on the main campus. Following the fire, a large portion of the school was entirely rebuilt. As a result, the PA library now maintains one of the most extensive and up-to-date media collections of any Virginia Beach high school. A new wing was also added for art classes and studios. The school reopened in January 1997, with the official re-dedication ceremony held on May 4, 1997.

Academics

The school is part of the Virginia Beach Public School System, which has a reputation of being the best in the Hampton Roads region. Princess Anne maintained its place as the highest ranked high school in Virginia Beach as well as the Hampton Roads region in the ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' listing of "America's Best High Schools", continuing to place in the list annually (#451 in 2012, #263 in 2011, #123 in 2010, #167 in 2008 and #213 in 2007). In 2012, ''The Washington Post'' released its list for "America's Most Challenging High Schools", and all eleven Virginia Beach City High Schools were in the top 1,900, but Princess Anne held the highest rank by a significant margin at #250. The only Virginia Beach high school

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

program is housed in PA, attracting gifted students from throughout Virginia Beach.https://www.vbschools.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_78010/File/About%20Us/Our%20Leadership/Our%20Departments/Budget/Budget%20Breakdown/CIP2020.pdf The school has excelled in the VHSL academic competitions, with numerous championships in forensics and debate. On

GreatSchools GreatSchools is an American national nonprofit organization that provides information about PK-12 schools and education. The website provides ratings and comparison tools based on student growth, college readiness, equity, and test scores for pu ...

, the school's overall rating is 7/10; college readiness being a 9/10; test scores a 7/10, and equity being a 4/10.

Special programs

In addition to serving regularly zoned students and the International Baccalaureate program, the school hosts the Virginia Beach center for students with moderate to severe disabilities (located within the "West Building") and used to host a citywide center for pregnant teenagers (The "PA Center"), which now is located in the Renaissance Academy. Princess Anne is also one of the few high schools in Virginia Beach with an

NJROTC The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military ...

program.

Athletics

Princess Anne has won 27 team VHSL State team sports championships and 19 State individual sports championships. 22 of the team titles have come since 1999. PA students participate in the following sports, in accordance with the

Virginia High School League The Virginia High School League (VHSL) is the principal sanctioning organization for interscholastic athletic competition among public high schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The VHSL first sponsored debate and also continues to sponsor sta ...

(VHSL): Princess Anne's golf team won the Virginia State High School Golf Championship in 1971 and 1972. The team was notable in that it included

Curtis Strange Curtis Northrup Strange (born January 30, 1955) is an American professional golfer and TV color commentator. He is the winner of consecutive U.S. Open titles and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. He spent ...

('73), Allan Strange ('73), Phil Stewart ('73) and Jay Williams ('72). All went on to become PGA golf professionals. Princess Anne's women's basketball team won the VHSL State Championship eight consecutive years (2014–21), which had never been previously accomplished. The team has won 12 championships, all since 2002. Princess Anne's men's volleyball team won the VHSL State Championship three consecutive years from 2013-2015. Princess Anne's women's volleyball team won the VHSL State Championship in 2018. Club sports including lacrosse and crew have recently been founded, since the Virginia Beach school system does not formally participate in them. Informal extramural competitions between other local clubs and varsity teams of private institutions are common. A long-standing club of athletic trainers allows students to voluntarily assist local team trainers and physicians.

School activities

* Anime Club * Art Club * Art National Honor Society * Asian Cultural Experience * Athletic Trainers * Band Column 1 * Breaking the Chain * Cavalier Circle for Kings Daughters * Cavalier Club * Chess Club * Chorus * Color Guard * Computer Club * Crew Club * Debate Team * Delta Epsilon Chi (DECA) * Drama * Drama Club * Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) * The Fabulous Marching Cavaliers (marching band) * Family, Career and Community Leaders of America * Fashion Club * Film Club * Finer Things Literature Club * Forensics Team * French Club * French National Honor Society * Freshman Class Council * Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) * Future Educators of America (FEA) * Gay/Straight Alliance * German Club *

German National Honor Society The German National Honor Society or Delta Phi Alpha () (german: Deutsche Ehrenverbindung), is the sole post-secondary national honorary society for German studies in the United States. According to the organization, the honor society seeks to "r ...

* Gifted Advisory Board * Global Outreach * Indoor drum line * Interact Club * International Baccalaureate Student Organization (IBSO) * Japanese Club * Jazz band * Junior Class Council *

Junior Engineering Technical Society Junior Engineering Technical Society (JETS) was a national non-profit organization dedicated to promoting engineering and technology careers to America's young people. JETS engaged students in various engineering education programs that were desi ...

(JETS) *

Key Club Key Club International, also called Key Club, is an international service organization for high school students. As a student-led organization, Key Club's goal is to encourage leadership through serving others. Key Club International is the hig ...

(Kiwanis) * Knitting Club * Lacrosse Club * Latin Club *

Latin National Honor Society Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

* Medical and Legal Society * Model United Nations * National Engineering Design Challenge (NEDC) *

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...

* Naval

Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military ...

(NJROTC) * Operation Smile * Optimist Club * Orchestra * The Page (student newspaper) * Partners Club * Photography/Print Club * Poetry Club * Relay for Life * Resources for Academic Achievement (REACH) * Rock Orchestra * Rocketry Club * Scholastic Bowl * Science Bowl * A Season for Nonviolence * Senior Class Council * Sophomore Class Council * Spanish Club *

Spanish National Honor Society Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

* STEM Robotics Club * Student Crime Solvers * Student Council Association * Students for Environmental Action (SEA) * Teen Readers * Teens in Prayer * Technology Student Association * Thespian Troupe 1762 * Weight Lifting Club * World of Work Club * Yearbook * Young Democrats * Young Libertarians *

Young Life Young Life is an evangelical Christian organization based in Colorado Springs, Colorado which focuses on young people in middle school, high school, and college. Week-long Summer camps are a major focus, and these have a definite evangelizing asp ...

* Young Republicans *Step *Dancing Cavalettes

Location and district

Princess Anne is centrally located within the city of Virginia Beach along Virginia Beach Blvd. The school is adjacent to the recently erected downtown area ("Town Center"). The two middle schools that feed into the student body include portions of Independence Middle School and Plaza Middle School. This includes portions of the Thoroughgood, Thalia, Pembroke, Lynnhaven, Princess Anne Plaza and Windsor Woods neighborhoods. Additionally, due to the International Baccalaureate programme, those under the

IB Middle Years Programme The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) is an educational programme for students between the ages of 11 to 16 around the world as part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) continuum. Middle Year Programme is intended to pr ...

automatically feed into Princess Anne, assuming they have completed the respective requirements. Also, a nearby gifted middle school, Kemps Landing Magnet School, tends to feed heavily into its International Baccalaureate programme.

Notable alumni

Tim Finchem Timothy W. Finchem (born April 19, 1947) is an American lawyer and retired golf administrator, who served as commissioner of golf's PGA Tour from 1994 to 2016. He served in the White House for two years during the administration of President Jimm ...

, (1965) -

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...

commissioner *

Daniel Hudson Daniel Claiborne Hudson (born March 9, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Hudson was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the fifth round of the 2008 MLB draft. He made h ...

, (2005) -

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher *

Cedric Humes Cedric Akeem Humes (born August 7, 1983 in Virginia Beach, Virginia) is an American football running back who was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the last round of the 2006 NFL Draft. Early life Humes is a notable alumnus of Princess An ...

, (2002) -

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

football running back; drafted by

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

in Round 7, 240th pick of

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with ad ...

* Todd Nathanson — (better known as Todd In the Shadows) Internet pop music reviewer *

Juice Newton Judith Kay "Juice" Newton (born February 18, 1952) is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categorieswinning once in 1983as well ...

- pop/country singer; attended Princess Anne High School but graduated from the new

First Colonial High School First Colonial High School is a high school in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It is a part of the Virginia Beach City Public Schools. Demographics The demographic breakdown of the 2,039 students enrolled in 2013-14 was: *Male - 48.7% *Female - 51.3% ...

) *

- two-time US Open golf champion (1988, 1989); member of the

World Golf Hall of Fame The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site honors both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 go ...

* Frank Wagner - Virginia Senator * Elizabeth Williams (2010) - basketball player,

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real ...

WNBA center *

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

(1992) - singer, songwriter, rapper, N*E*R*D frontman and producer in "The Neptunes" *

Tara Buckman Tara Buckman is an American retired television and film actress. Her active career was mainly confined to the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. Though never reaching feature status, Buckman was nonetheless a regular guest star on many television serie ...

(1974)-retired film and television actress

References

Virginia Beach schoolsSchool Report Card

External links

Official Princess Anne High School websiteFrappr Student Alumni location mapVHSL-ReferenceFMC websiteVB SCHOOL CAPITAL IMPORVEMENT PLAN
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1954 High schools in Virginia Beach, Virginia International Baccalaureate schools in Virginia Public high schools in Virginia 1954 establishments in Virginia History of Virginia Beach, Virginia