Great Valley High School


Great Valley High School is a comprehensive, college preparatory, public high school located in eastern Chester County.
It is located near Malvern, Pennsylvania. Located on the same campus as Great Valley Middle School, it is the only high school within the Great Valley School District.
The school serves students residing in the Great Valley School District in Grades 9-12 and enrolls about 1,150-1,175 students per year. The student to teacher ratio is approximately 14:1.
During the 2008 Democratic Primaries, President Barack Obama gave a speech in Great Valley's gymnasium.

Academics

Great Valley is consistently ranked among the top public high schools in Pennsylvania. The Washington Post ranked Great Valley High School among "America's Most Challenging High Schools", ranking 9th in the State Of Pennsylvania.
The U.S. News & World Report ranks the school 7th in the state and 613th nationally. Newsweek Magazine ranks the school at 169th in the country. The College Board listed the school on the AP® Honor Roll.
Students at Great Valley High School score in the top 1% in the state in Math and Science.
In 2012, Great Valley High School was ranked #1 in the state for student performance in Science.

Athletics Program

Great Valley High School is a member of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. Students are subject to guidelines and principles determined by this organization. More locally, Great Valley is a member of the Ches-Mont League and PIAA's District One region. It used to belong to the now defunct Southern Chester County League. Great Valley's largest athletic rival is the Unionville High School Indians. The high school offers athletics in all high school grades. In addition, it has an intramural program. The school has been to and won various state championships. The most recent girls state championship win was by the lacrosse team in 2002, 2005, and 2015. The most recent appearance was in 2006 when the boys soccer team lost in the championship game, but they did win states in 1989, 1990, and 1993. The boys tennis team appeared in the team state championships in 2008 but lost in the semifinals. The tennis team however won states in 2018 after beating Radnor High School. In 2010, the boys baseball team made their first trip to the state tournament, winning their first game before losing in the quarterfinals. The boys cross country team placed 11th, 8th, and 6th in the state championship meet. In 2011, the 4 × 400 m relay of Great Valley's storied track & field program came in first in the High School Boys Suburban ChesMont 4x400 event in the Penn Relays, with a time of 3:25.51

Notable events

President Barack Obama held a town hall meeting at Great Valley High School in the gymnasium during his 2008 election campaign. The meeting was open to the public and several students won the opportunity to sit in the meeting while the rest watched a live taping of it. Two Great Valley students were selected to sing The Star Spangled Banner before Obama and those who attended the meeting.
In 1969, 2 students stole a corpse from the cemetery and hung it on the flag pole. Both were arrested.

Notable alumni

A $36 million renovation was completed on the 1962 building in 2006. An addition was added to house the school's STEM classrooms as well as the construction of a new courtyard and lobby.
The renovation will allow the school district to serve the Great Valley region for years to come.