The Woodlands takes pupils in grades 9 to 12, divided between the two campuses:
The Woodlands High School: grades 10–12
The Woodlands High School 9th Grade Campus (formerly Branch Crossing Junior High School): grade 9[3]
From 1976 until the opening of The Woodlands High School in 1996, McCullough High School served The Woodlands community. McCullough High School, named after J.L. McCullough, also housed seventh and eighth graders until Knox Junior High opened its doors in 1978. When The Woodlands High School opened on August 26, 1996, McCullough served The Woodlands community as a junior high school. From 2000 to 2005, McCullough was known as "The Woodlands High School McCullough Campus," housing freshmen and sophomores. Since 2005, with the opening ofThe Woodlands College Park High School, McCullough has once again served the community as a junior high school.
In the 2024-35 school year, The Woodlands High School had 4,444 students, including students at the 9th-grade campus.The ethnic distribution, based on enrollment, was:[1]
In 1997–98, The Woodlands High School was named aBlue Ribbon School by theUnited States Department of Education.[4]For each school year, theTexas Education Agency rates school performance using an A–F grading system based on statistical data. For 2024-2925, the school received a score of 92 out of 100, resulting in an A grade.[5] The school received a similar score of 95 the previous year.[6]
The Woodlands High School was ranked 295 inNewsweek’s 2011 list of the Best High Schools in the United States.[7] The school was ranked based on graduation rate, college matriculation rate, AP tests taken per graduate, average SAT/ACT scores, average AP scores, and AP courses offered. Newsweek has ranked the school among America's top 1,000 high schools on several occasions. Additionally, in its 2013 ranking of America's Best High Schools,U.S. News & World Report awarded a Gold Medal to The Woodlands High School. This means The Woodlands High School ranked among the top 500 schools nationally (out of 21,035 schools) using a College Readiness Index heavily weighted on success on Advanced Placement examinations.[8] The Woodlands High School has also been awarded theUniversity Interscholastic League Class 5A Lone Star Cup on five occasions (2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011).[9] This award is intended to honor the best overall academic and athletic program in the state of Texas, as determined by success atUIL-sanctioned activities.
The Woodlands High School has a relatively extensiveCollege BoardAdvanced Placement program that includes the following courses: art history, biology, calculus AB and BC, chemistry, Chinese language and culture, computer science A, English language and literature, environmental science, European history, French language, German language, human geography, Japanese language and culture, macroeconomics, music theory, physics C, psychology, Spanish language, statistics, studio art, U.S. history, U.S. government and politics, and world history.[10]
The Woodlands Highlanders compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, powerlifting, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling.
In 2006, The Woodlands baseball team finished the season with a 38–1 record and won the Texas UIL 5A State Championship. They were also named National Champions by Baseball America.[11] The 2006 team included future Major League PlayersKyle Drabek andPaul Goldschmidt.[12]
In 2011, The Woodlands softball team finished the season with a 44–1 record and won the Texas UIL 5A State Championship. They were also named National Champions by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association/USA Today[13] and ESPN/Rise.[14] The coaching staff was named NFCA National Coaching Staff of the year.[15]
Due to the similarity of its red "W" logo, theUniversity of Wisconsin threatened to bring legal action against TWHS, which agreed to phase out the logo.[16]
The Woodlands High School Band was honored by theJohn Philip Sousa Foundation with the Sudler Flag of Honor in 2003 in recognition for excellence in a concert setting.[30] The band was honored again by the John Philip Sousa Foundation in 2009 and 2018 with the Sudler Shield in recognition for excellence in marching band.[31] This makes The Woodlands High School one of only a handful of high schools internationally to have received both the Sudler Flag and the Sudler Shield.[32] In 2003 and 2012, The Woodlands High School's Wind Ensemble was invited to perform atThe Midwest Clinic.[33][34] In 2012, the Wind Ensemble was named a National Winner in The Foundation for Music Education's National Wind Band Honors Project.[35] Members of The Woodlands High School Band have placed in theTMEA All-State Bands and Orchestras every year since the school has opened.[36]
In 2006, the band received first place in the class AAABands of America Grand National Championships semi-finals.[37] In 2013, the band was named the Bands of America Grand National Champion, scoring a 96.8 and winning caption awards for Outstanding Music Performance and Outstanding General Effect.[38] The band has been a BOA Grand National finalist 12 times, the most out of any band from Texas. The band has been aUIL Marching Band state finalist 11 times between 2002 and 2024.[39]
The school offers more than 80 different clubs and organizations. Students have the opportunity to participate in band, choir, speech, debate, drama, drill team, orchestra, cheerleading, andUIL academic activities.[40]
In 2024, The Woodlands High School Winter Guard were theWinter Guard International Scholastic World Class champions.[41]
The Woodlands High School Theatre Department has succeeded in advancing to the state finals of theUIL one-act play contest six times, most recently in 2011, and won the state title in 2000.[42] The theatre department has also been invited to perform on the main stage of theInternational Thespian Festival four times. The department performed at Texas Thespian State Festival and International State Festival for the first time in December 2015 and June 2016 respectively with the musical,The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.[43] In 2003, the theatre department performed at theEdinburgh Festival Fringe.[44]
The Woodlands High School Highsteppers were Grand National Champions in 2005.[45]
Some school districts extend into other counties. Some school districts (Richards ISD andTomball ISD) serve sections of the county but do not operate high schools in it.
