Where are South Carolina’s Top 10 high schools? Columbia has three on new list

South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics is the best high school in South Carolina, according to Stacker, a data analysis news organization.

Three of Stacker’s top 10 schools are located in the Columbia area. They are No. 4 Spring Hill High School in the Lexington-Richland 5 public school district, No. 5 Hammond School and No. 6 Heathwood Hall Episcopal School, both private schools.

Half the schools on Stacker’s South Carolina list were private schools. The organization used Niche’s extensive analysis of all high schools in the U.S. to compile the list.

Located in Hartsville, the Governor’s School for Science and Math was started on the campus of Coker College in 1988. Five years later, a permanent home was built that has been expanded twice since.

The school has 288 students who live on campus, a handful in a pilot virtual program, and others in individual classes taught virtually in certain high schools around the state.

Other than a meal plan, the school is free to students who can pass an extensive application process, including a seven-minute video submission showing how the student embraces the characteristics of a Govie, as students are known.

“We’re excited. It’s a great accomplishment,” said Kiersten Cole, the school’s spokesperson.

She said it aligns with the school’s mission of becoming a leader in STEM education. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Stacker listed the state’s other governor’s school, this one for the arts, as number seven. The South Carolina Governor’s School for Arts & Humanities, founded in 1999, is located in Greenville, at the edge of Falls Park in downtown Greenville on what once was the Furman University men’s campus.

The other students on the list were No. 2 Academic Magnet High School, a public school in Charleston County; No. 3 Christ Church Episcopal School, a private school in Greenville; No. 8. the private Porter-Gaud School; No. 9 private Spartanburg Day School; and No. 10 public Charleston School of the Arts..

This story was originally published November 11, 2021 at 12:54 PM.