Great Bridge High School

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Great Bridge High School

Established	1907
School type	public school
Principal	Clifton Randolph
Location	Chesapeake, Virginia
Enrollment	2,337
Athletic Conference	Southeastern District Eastern Region
Colors	Green, Gold
Nickname	Wildcats
Homepage	Official Site

Great Bridge High School is a public secondary school in Chesapeake, Virginia. It is part of Chesapeake City Public Schools and is located on 301 West Hanbury Road.

1 History
2 Demographics
3 Athletics and Extracurricular Activities
4 Controversy
5 References

[edit] History

Great Bridge opened in 1907, holding students from 1st through 11th grade. Another larger building opened in 1924 which also housed students from 1st through 11th grade. In 1954, Great Bridge moved to another new larger building which accommodated students in 6th through 12th grade. This building has now become the site of Great Bridge Middle School. In 1983, the current site of Great Bridge opened, which accommodates students in the 9th through 12th grade. In the year of 2007, it is the school's 100th anniversary.

Interestingly enough, Great Bridge was supposed to be named the Great Bridge Gators, but after a mix-up, the name was mistakenly put down as Wildcats, which has been the mascot ever since.

[edit] Demographics

In 2005-2006, Great Bridge High School was 75% White, 21% Black, 2% Hispanic, and 2% Asian

[edit] Athletics and Extracurricular Activities

The mascot is a wildcat and the sports teams currently play in the AAA Southeastern District of the AAA Eastern Region. Great Bridge has been particularly known for their wrestling team, which has won 18 of the last twenty AAA state titles including 9 straight AAA titles. This is the longest streak of consecutive state titles won by any Virginia high school in any sport and enrollment classification.

Great Bridge also has an acclaimed marching band which has participated in competitions such as the JMU Parade of Champions, and currently enrolls 203 members.

In 2005, the Great Bridge High School Theatre Company traveled to the Virginia Theatre Association and won first prize with the one act play, 'The Standard of the Man', written by Brian Wrestler, an alumni of Great Bridge High School. The next year, the theatre company performed a 'showcase' play called 'Rashomon', directed by William Russell Staggs.

[edit] Controversy

In March of 2007, the principal, Clifton Randolph was put on administrative leave after allegedly assaulting a parent^[1] . No student has ever been allowed to seek school sponsorship to start a Gay/Straight Alliance, suggesting homophobia in the administration and faculty.