Virgil Grissom High School

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Virgil I. Grissom High School
Image:Grissom.JPG
Established	1969
Type	Public
Principal	Mr. B. T. Drake
Students	2000+ (2006-2007)
Grades	High school (9-12)
Location	Huntsville, AL USA
Accreditation	Southern Association of Secondary Schools
Colors	Orange, Brown, and White
Mascot	Tigers
Website	http://www.hsv.k12.al.us/schools/high/ghs/

Virgil I. Grissom High School is a public 9th through 12th grade high school in Huntsville, Alabama with approximately 2000 students. It is known academically as one of Alabama's finest public high schools. ^[1]

The high school's building is well-known for having no windows, save for a small one in room FF4 prior to the addition of a new science wing in 1997. This addition added about 5 windows to the school. The building still has no windows in the downstairs classrooms, to the dismay of some students. Grissom's building is divided into "pods", lettered A-H on the first floor and AA-HH on the second. The building itself follows a roughly octagonal format. Students jokingly refer to the school as "Grissom Penitentiary" because of the symmetric design.

Academically, the school has a tradition of success. Grissom's math teams and academic team are among the best in the state of Alabama, and they have also earned national recognition. Recently, Grissom produced 28 National Merit Semifinalists for 2007, the highest number in the state. ^[2] Also, Grissom's 2006 Science Olympiad team placed 3rd overall in Alabama. ^[3] Grissom's academic rigor results in relatively high SAT scores; their GPA average is similar to other schools in the area.

As of 2007, Grissom has football, boys/girls basketball, volleyball, baseball, cross country, track, golf, swim/dive, boys/girls soccer, boys/girls tennis, and cheerleading teams, as well as a regionally acclaimed marching and symphonic band. The school also has numerous social, academic, and athletic organizations, or clubs.

The school is named for astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom, and its mascot is affectionately called "Gus." Gus Grissom was nearly drowned during a space capsule retrieval in the Pacific Ocean when the hatches prematurely opened following explosive bolt actuation. He was killed in the Apollo 1 fire at Cape Kennedy on January 27, 1967.