Northwest Whitfield High School

Northwest Whitfield High School
Address
1651 Tunnel Hill-Varnell Rd Tunnel Hill , Georgia 30755 United States
Coordinates	34°52′38″N84°59′50″W / 34.877086°N 84.997336°W / 34.877086; -84.997336
Information
School type	Public, high school
Established	1975
School board	Whitfield County School District
Superintendent	Judy Gilreath [1]
Principal	Mandie Jones
Principal	Jennifer Eller
Principal	Laurie Grant
Principal	Rodney Shields
Staff	73.30 (FTE) [2]
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1,130 (2023-2024) [2]
Student to teacher ratio	15.42 [2]
Language	English
Color(s)	blue and orange
Mascot	Bruin
Website

Northwest Whitfield High School or Northwest High School (NHS) is a public high school located in unincorporated Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It has a Tunnel Hill postal address and is adjacent to, but not within, the city limits of Varnell. ^[3] It is a part of the Whitfield County School District. The school colors are royal blue and burnt orange, and the mascot is the Bruin. The school is in Class AAAA of the Georgia High School Association (GHSA).

History

Northwest Whitfield High School opened in the fall of 1975. It was created by a merger of North Whitfield High School and Westside High School. Southeast Whitfield High School was also opened in fall of 1975 as the Whitfield County School District merged its four high schools into two.

Businessman and later 45th President Donald Trump attended the 1991 homecoming football game. ^[4]

Academics

Students can take college prep, honors, and Advanced Placement classes.

Feeder schools

Two middle schools feed into Northwest Whitfield High School: New Hope Middle School and Westside Middle School. Before the opening of Coahulla Creek, North Whitfield Middle was also one of Northwest Whitfield's feeder schools. The recently built Coahulla Creek High School's feeder school is now North Whitfield Middle School.

Athletics

Northwest Whitfield fields 20 varsity-level teams (10 men's and 10 women's), and competes in Region 7AAAA.

Northwest Whitfield traditionally has three rivals: Southeast Whitfield High School, Dalton High School, and Murray County High School, and more recently newer Whitfield County school Coahulla Creek High School.

Men's sports:

• Archery
• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cross country
• Football
• Golf
• Soccer
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Track and field
• Wrestling
• Marching Band (If you play and Instrument or you could be a runner)
• Co-Ed: One Act Play & Literary Team

Women's sports:

• Archery
• Basketball
• Competition cheerleading
• Cross country
• Golf
• Soccer
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Track and field
• Volleyball
• Marching Band (If you play and Instrument or you could be a runner)
• Color guard
• Co-Ed: One Act Play & Literary Team

State Champions

• • Soccer: 2018 AAAA State Champions
  • Baseball: 1982 AAA State Champions
  • Softball:
    • 1987 AAA State Champions
    • 1993 AAA State Champions
    • 2012 AAAA State Champions
    • 2013 AAAA State Champions
  • Track and field:
    • 2006 and 2008 men's pole vault - Nate Woodason
    • 2009 men's pole vault - Jake Bridges
    • 2009 men's 1600 meters - AJ Meyer
    • 2009 women's 400 and 800 meters - Morgan Williams
  • Women's golf: 2009 AAAA State Champions
  • Literary Team:
    • State Champions Duo Interpretation 2019 & 2021
• State Runners-up
  • Men's Soccer: 2025 AAA State Runner-Up
  • Women's basketball: 1990 AAA State Runner-Up, 2010 AAAA State Runner-Up
  • One Act Play:
    • 2019 & 2021 AAAA State Runners-Up

• State runs
  • Men's soccer: 2012 Elite 8 (placed 8th in the state), 2013 Semi-Final (placed 3rd in the state playoffs.)
  • One Act Play:
    • 2022 & 2023 AAAA 3rd In State

Fine arts

Fine arts at Northwest consist of choral, band, art, and drama departments.

• The Band Department has the Sound of the Blazing Blue, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, and Concert Band, the largest being the Sound of the Blazing Blue with 200 members. The band director is Nathaniel Vanoy with his assistant directors Mrs. Christina Bryant and Mr Nick Walker
• Drumline Instructor: David Minter|Front Ensemble Instructor: Emily Branscom | Color Guard Instructor: Brittany Norton| ^[5]
• The Choral Department is Ladies of Northwest Ensemble, Northwest Singers, Ladies Trio and Men's Quartet (the last two groups compete as part of the GHSA Literary Meet). The choral director is Mrs. Tommary Ehlers.
• The Drama Department consists of One-Act play, Improv Comedy Team, Fine Arts Ambassador Program serving area feeder schools, Summer Programs, class plays, and a large spring musical. The director of the Drama Department is Josh Ruben, M. Ed.

The 2007 Sound of the Blazing Blue

Notable alumni

• Bayli Cruse - softball player
• Isaiah Mack - football player
• Marla Maples - actress and television personality
• Steve Prohm - basketball coach

References

1. "Judy Gilreath is new superintendent of Whitfield Co. Schools".
2. "Northwest Whitfield County High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
3. "Home". Northwest Whitfield High School. Retrieved June 21, 2021. 1651 Tunnel Hill-Varnell Road, Tunnel Hill, Ga 30755 - Compare to:
   
   • "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Tunnel Hill city, GA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved June 21, 2021.
   • "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Varnell city, GA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved June 21, 2021. - See pages 1 and 2
4. Oliver, Charles (February 27, 2016). "The day 'The Donald' came to town". The Daily Citizen. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
5. "HOME". blazing-blue. Retrieved September 19, 2023.

External links

• Northwest Whitfield High School