| Orangeburg Preparatory Schools, Inc. | |
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Excellentia Educatione
Excellence in Education
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| Location | |
| Upper Campus: 2651 North Road, NW Lower Campus: 168 Prep Drive, NE Orangeburg, South Carolina, Orangeburg County, 29118 United States |
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| Information | |
| School type | Independent |
| Established | December 1984 |
| Opened | August 1986 |
| Oversight | Board of Directors |
| Head of school | Mrs. Kelley Bryant Mims '84 |
| Grades | PreK to 12 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Campus type | suburban |
| Athletics conference | South Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association |
| Mascot | Indians |
| Accreditation(s) | Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, South Carolina Independent Schools Association |
| Average SAT scores | 1599.73;[1] (2011) |
| Average ACT scores (2011) | 22.32;[2] |
| Publication | Tradition & Vision |
| Newspaper | Tribal Talk |
| Yearbook | 'The Indian' |
| Chairman | Bob Utsey |
| Vice Chairman | Bob McCurry |
| Secretary | Maree Williamson |
| Treasurer | Chip Summers |
| Website | http://www.orangeburgprep.com |
Orangeburg Preparatory Schools, Inc. is an independent, college-preparatory, coeducational day school enrolling students in preschool through twelfth grade. Orangeburg Preparatory Schools, Inc. admits students of any race, color, religion, national and ethnic origin to all rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid programs and athletic and other school-administered programs. Orangeburg Prep has two campuses: the Lower Campus, housing Preschool to 5th grade; and the Upper Campus, housing grades 6 to 12. OPS also operates a year-round day care center on the Lower Campus. In 2002, Kelley Bryant Mims became the first alumnus to serve as Head of School.
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Orangeburg Preparatory Schools, Inc., seeks to provide a quality education which prepares students to meet the academic demands of college and to lead productive and fulfilling lives in a complex world.
Admission to Orangeburg Preparatory Schools is competitive. OPS seeks students with good character, diverse interests, and a willingness to work in a challenging environment. A prospective student’s admission is based upon previous academic records, recommendations, an interview, and an entrance examination.
Orangeburg Preparatory Schools, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization as defined by the IRS. It is governed by a voluntary Board of Directors. The current members of the Board of Directors are Bob McCurry (Vice Chairman), Chip Summers (Treasurer), Meree Williamson (Secretary), Russell Blanchard, Gregg Frierson, Jimmy Guthrie, Richard Phillips, Michael Salley, Charles Thompson, Jr., and Leslie Robertson (ATP Representative).
In 1964, several local business leaders, led by local chemical manufacturer Dr. T. Elliott Wannamaker, established Wade Hampton Academy in an old house on Glover Street in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Within the next two years, the school relocated to a tract of land along the North Road, just outside the city limits of Orangeburg. Following the explosive growth in the school’s enrollment, Dr. Wannamaker led in the establishment of Orangeburg’s second independent school, Willington Academy (established in 1970), less than a mile from the Wade Hampton campus. Dr. Wannamaker’s son-in-law, Larry Plumb, who had served as Assistant Headmaster of Wade Hampton, became Willington’s Headmaster. During this period, Dr. Wannamaker also helped to establish the South Carolina Independent Schools Association, originally headquartered in Orangeburg, South Carolina, and served as the organization’s first president. Dr. Wannamaker also played a pivotal role in helping to establish independent schools throughout the southeastern United States during the 1960s and 1970s.
The two schools continued to grow throughout the 1970s and 80s and formed an intense rivalry, both academically and athletically. However, changes in the economy and a desire to expand the college-preparatory educational opportunities in the Orangeburg area led the Boards of Directors of both schools to announce that the two academies would merge to form Orangeburg Preparatory Schools, Inc. In a letter to parents and students of both schools, H. Ciremba Amick, Chairman of the Wade Hampton Academy Board of Directors, and Thomas B. Jackson, Jr., Chairman of the Willington Academy Board of Directors wrote:
| “ | During the past few years, there have been a considerable number of discussions among the parents of Wade Hampton and Willington Academies concerning a merger of the two schools. Many parents and friends of both institutions feel that such a consolidation would bring together the best of both schools.
After careful deliberation, the Boards of Directors make the following announcement: Wade Hampton Academy and Willington Academy will by one school beginning with the 1986-87 school year. The new school, to be named Orangeburg Preparatory Schools, Inc., will house four-year Kindergarten through fourth grade on the present Willington campus and grades five through twelve on the present Wade Hampton campus. |
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Wade Hampton Academy Headmaster Larry K. Watt was named Headmaster of the new school, with Willington Academy’s Head of School Ann O. Glover becoming Associate Headmaster and Director of the lower campus. Students, parents, and teachers formed various transition teams between the time of the merger announcement and the beginning of the next school year, and the students of both Wade Hampton and Willington Academies voted to select the Indian as the new school’s mascot and red and gray as the colors.
In August 1986, OPS opened with an enrollment of more than 1700 students, the largest enrollment ever at a South Carolina independent school, then or since.
Larry Watt left at the end of the first academic year to become Executive Secretary of the South Carolina Independent Schools Association, and in June 1988, Mrs. Glover, who had served as Interim Headmaster, following the abrupt resignation of Mr. Watt’s successor, was named Headmaster on a permanent basis. Mrs. Glover ably guided the school through various struggles and triumphs until her retirement in June 2000. She was responsible for leading the school through its initial accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1990, and played an enormous role in easing tensions that existed between parents, students, and teachers as a result of the merger in 1986.
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Orangeburg Prep, which is ranked Class AAA by the South Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association, fields 34 athletic teams for girls and boys of the middle and upper school in football, basketball, volleyball, wrestling, cheerleading, tennis, golf, track, baseball, softball, soccer, and cross country.
Facilities are excellent, including two gymnasiums, baseball and softball fields, tennis courts, and one of the finest football stadiums in the state. A full-time Athletic Director oversees all programs with the aid of a qualified coaching staff.
Current Varsity Coaches: