Cherokee High School opened in 1975 as the district's third high school. The school was known as simply Cherokee High School until the addition of the "South" building in 2001, at which time the original building was renamed as "Cherokee High School North." In 2018, with the retirement of the South principal, Leonard Iannelli, Cherokee eliminated the position, effectively merging the North and South building into one school.
Awards, recognition and rankings
The school was the 80th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology. The school had been ranked 157th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 134th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed. The magazine ranked the school 152nd in 2008 out of 316 schools. The school was ranked 131st in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state. Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 86th out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics and language arts literacy components of the High School Proficiency Assessment.
Athletics
The Cherokee High School Chiefs participate in the Olympic Conference, which consists of public and private high schools located in Burlington County and Camden County, and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. With 1,616 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019-20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,050 to 5,049 students in that grade range. The football team competes in the American Division of the 95-team West Jersey Football League superconference and was classified by the NJSIAA as South Jersey Group V for football for 2018-20. ;Basketball championships
Group IV champions: 2010, defeating Plainfield High School 52-38 for the program's first state title.
;Girls field hockey championships
State sectional titles: South Jersey Group IV - 1997
;Football championships
State champions: South Jersey Group III - 1981, 1982; South Jersey Group IV - 1985, 1990, 1993, 2005, 2009., 2010 ; South Jersey Group V - 2013, 2014
Undefeated Seasons: 1981, 1982, 1985, 2010
;Boys soccer
New Jersey Group IV state champion 2000, 2010 and 2011, South Jersey Group IV Champions, ranked 15th in nation by USA Today
2005 South Jersey Group IV Champions, 2015 SJ Group IV Runner up.
2009 Diamond Classic Tournament Champions
;Softball championships
State champion: Group III - 1980, 1983 ; Group IV - 1984, 1988, 1994, 1996, 2001 and 2003. The school's eight softball group championships are the most of any public school in the state.
Undefeated seasons: 2003
;Cross country
Meet of Champions: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2007
Group IV State Champions: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2007
South Jersey Group IV Sectional Champions: 1988, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2011, 2016