Archbishop Wood Catholic High School | |
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Address | |
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655 York Road , , 18974 United States | |
Coordinates | 40°12′33″N75°5′56″W / 40.20917°N 75.09889°W |
Information | |
Type | Private, Coeducational |
Motto | Coronam Fidelitas Merebit (Faithfulness Merits the Crown) |
Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic |
Established | 1964 |
School district | Archdiocese of Philadelphia |
Superintendent | William Brannick |
President | Gary Zimmaro |
Principal | Katherine Nobles |
Chaplain | Rev. Henry Graebe |
Teaching staff | 50.9 (on an FTE basis) [1] |
Grades | 9–12 |
Enrollment | 839 [1] (2021–22) |
Average class size | 25 |
Student to teacher ratio | 16.5 [1] |
Campus size | 32 acres (130,000 m2) |
Color(s) | Black, Green and Gold |
Athletics conference | Philadelphia Catholic League |
Team name | Vikings |
Accreditation | Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools [2] |
Newspaper | The Viking Voice |
Tuition | $10,500 |
Affiliation | Archdiocese of Philadelphia |
Website | www.archwood.org |
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Archbishop Wood Catholic High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The school was founded in 1964 in Warminster Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It sits on thirty-two acre tract of land and maintains various athletic fields on its campus, as well as a daycare facility, and a home for retired diocesan priests. It is accredited by both the National Catholic Educational Association [3] and Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.
Construction began on the campus of Archbishop Wood High Schools in the spring of 1963. [4] It opened its doors to students in the fall of 1964, accepting freshman and sophomore transfers for the first years. [5] It was originally designated as two separate schools, identical in their structure and management, one of boys and girls respectively. Wood was given its named after Philadelphia's 19th-century Archbishop James Frederick Bryan Wood. [6] At its maximum capacity in 1978 it had 2456 students enrolled.
Archbishop Wood High School for boys was among a handful of schools that Buckminster Fuller gave speaking engagements at in 1975. [7]
As of 2016 the campus also includes a childcare center in the former convent which it runs as a joint venture with Nativity of Our Lord Parish, which it neighbors. [8]
Over 98% of Wood students take the SATs each year, with the average SAT score for its student body at 1200. [9] 75% of the graduating class attend a four-year college, while 19% attend a two-year college. The student-to-teacher ratio is 18:1 as of 2022. [10]
The school currently offers thirteen Advanced Placement courses available for college-level credit available to juniors and seniors. The school also offers its St. Thomas More Honors program to select students enrolled to assist in college preparation. [11]
Archbishop Wood has been a member of the Philadelphia Catholic League since its opening in 1964. It offers various athletics including: Football, Boys & Girls Soccer, Boys & Girls Cross-Country, Field Hockey, Wrestling, Boys & Girls Basketball, Volleyball, Boys & Girls Indoor Track, Bowling, Baseball, Softball, Boys & Girls Lacrosse, Boys & Girls Track, Boys & Girls Swimming, Tennis, Golf, and Club Hockey. Archbishop Wood also utilizes adjacent fields at Munro Park in Warminster and also at neighboring William Tennent High School. [12]
Since opening Wood has fielded various championship athletic teams. These Include:
Wood has also competed in the National High School Cheerleading Championship, finishing with a bronze medalist in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018. State Finalist 20117, 2018. 2010 (PCL), 2011 States Medium Varsity Division, 2012 National High School Cheerleading Championship Bid Recipient Medium Varsity Division, Ranked 5th in the Nation at NHSCC, 2013 PIAA State Finalist ranked No. 7, 2013 District 12 Medium Champion, 2013 National Finalist Top 12.
From its founding 1964 Wood was staffed by various Catholic religious houses who resided on the property itself. While the school was split by sex the boys' school was staffed by priests and the girls' school by nuns. Over the years various religious communities have run the administration of the school itself, including the Fathers of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CICM), [13] Vincentian Fathers (CM), [14] [15] Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales (OSFS), [16] Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM), Sisters of Saint Joseph (SSJ), [17] Religious Sisters of Mercy (RSM), [18] and the Religious of the Assumption (RA). [19] The Belgian Missionhurst Friars who originally staffed the boys' school in 1964 were transfers from Brussels [20] [21] and had previously been instrumental in the native resistance to the occupation of the country by Nazi Germany. The male religious orders left the school in 1991, the IHM sisters left the grounds in 2001. [22] Wood continues to have religious in its faculty proper, but is mainly staffed by laity.