Trinity Collegiate School


Trinity-Byrnes Collegiate School, often referred to as TBCS, is an independent co-educational college-preparatory day school located in Darlington, South Carolina. The school is on a campus southwest of Florence and serves about 300 students in grades 6 through 12 from counties throughout the Pee Dee region of northeastern South Carolina. Trinity-Byrnes is the top college preparatory school in the Pee Dee area, with strong programs in academics, arts, and athletics.
The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools, AdvancED, and the South Carolina Independent School Association. The school's motto is "Loyalty, Honor, and Perseverance," reflecting the school's commitment to developing in its students a sense of personal integrity and moral responsibility. The school "emphasizes a personalized approach to education, a strong sense of community, and multiple opportunities for students to develop their talents and leadership skills" in order to educate well-rounded young people and prepare them for life ahead.

History

Trinity Collegiate School

Trinity Collegiate School was established in 1995 as a rigorous independent college-preparatory school. Despite serving only grades 7-9 at the time of its founding, Trinity Collegiate added one grade level per year and graduated its first class in 1999.

Merger

In 2012, Trinity Collegiate School and The Byrnes Schools began discussions about a possible merger. The leadership of both schools believed that by combining enrollment, the "new" school would provide better educational and extracurricular opportunities for students and make the new school one of the premier private institutions in the state.
The new school, now named Trinity-Byrnes Collegiate School, began its first year on August 20, 2012 at Trinity Collegiate School's Hoffmeyer Road campus. Most of the grade-eligible Byrnes students enrolled at Trinity-Byrnes, bringing Trinity-Byrnes's total enrollment to 195, and several Byrnes teachers and administrators joined the staff. For the 2012-2013 school year, the school had a 6th grade to ease the transition of Byrnes students to Trinity-Byrnes, but reverted to grades 7-12 for the 2013-2014 school year. As a result of the merger, the larger school was able to offer more Advanced Placement courses, a more well-rounded arts program, and a more extensive athletic program. In 2014 and 2017, two more academic buildings were completed to accommodate the school's growing enrollment. The buildings include classrooms, science labs, seminar rooms, and a new dining hall.
At the start of the 2019-2020 school year, enrollment surpassed 300 students in grades 7-12 for the first time in the school's history. For the 2020-2021 school year, Trinity-Byrnes permanently added a 6th grade after Florence and Darlington County school districts announced plans to change middle schools to grades 6-8.

Academics

Trinity-Byrnes is a college preparatory school that has a rigorous and flexible course schedule for each student. TBCS requires each student to take at least one of each of the core classes. Each student must also take at least one foreign language. The school offers Latin, French, and Spanish. 19 Advanced Placement courses are also offered.
English
English 7, English 1, English 2, English 3, English 4, American Literature, British Literature, Senior Literature and Composition, AP Literature, AP Language.
Mathematics
Math 7, Math 8, Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Pre-Calculus and AP Calculus, AP Statistics.
History/Social Studies
World Geography, United States and South Carolina History, World History, Modern European History, Economics, U.S. Government, Modern Middle East & European History, Global Studies, Comparative World Religions, Psychology, AP Comparative International Government, AP European History, AP US History
Science
Earth Science, Physical Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Forensic Science 1 and 2, Anatomy & Physiology, Marine Biology, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP Physics
Arts
TBCS emphasizes the fine arts. The school offers drama, art, and music as electives.
Technology
TBCS is moving towards more technology-related electives. They offer Robotics, iForce, CP Computer Science Concepts and Practices, and AP Computer Science Principles, Film Studies, Cinematography.
Others
Economics, AP Micro and Macro Economics.

Athletics

Trinity-Byrnes has one of the top athletic programs in SCISA. The school is in SCISA Class 2A. TBCS' athletic goal is to educate student-athletes who show sportsmanship and perseverance. TBCS offers 16 sports at the Varsity and Junior Varsity level. Every student is expected but not required to participate in at least one sport.