Bishop England High School


Bishop England High School is a diocesan Roman Catholic four-year high school in Charleston, South Carolina. Until 1998, the school was located on Calhoun Street in downtown Charleston. It is now located on Daniel Island in the city of Charleston. Before its move, Bishop England temporarily catered to a second through sixth grade class. With an enrollment of 730, it is the largest private high school in the state. The school was founded in 1915 and was named after John England, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston's first bishop.

History

On September 22, 1915, Catholic High School opened its doors as a department of the Cathedral School on Queen Street. The Reverend Msgr. Joseph L. O'Brien organized the school with the cooperation of the Reverend James J. May. At that time there were 74 students enrolled in four grade levels: seventh, ninth, tenth, and eleventh. That first faculty consisted of three diocesan priests and three Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy.
By the spring of 1916, a growing student enrollment made larger quarters imperative, and the school was moved to a building used by the Cenacle Sisters, an order of nuns, where it remained until 1919. The main building housed the senior high school, and an annex was converted into a biology lab and a seventh grade classroom. The school offered two courses of study: college preparatory and business.
With the Catholic community of Charleston increasing, a drive was initiated to raise $50,000 for a school building to replace the one being used. From 1919 to 1921, the school was housed in its third location at Gregorian Hall on George Street, and its old location was demolished and replaced. The funding drive was a huge success, and ground was broken on July 5, 1921 on the $60,000 building. The school was opened in its fourth building at 203 Calhoun Street on February 18, 1922. By 1940, 25 years after its inception, the school's enrollment had reached 318 students, and the faculty had nearly doubled.
In 1947, the school's first Rector Monsignor O'Brien retired after having served 32 years, and he was followed by former Bishop England student Rev. Msgr. John L. Manning.
The Catholic community of Charleston sponsored two expansion drives for the high school in the late 1940s; two new buildings were added to the campus. In 1947 the west wing was built, and in 1948 the east wing, which was the Father O'Brien gymnasium, was built. Additional land was acquired in 1957, and a two-story annex was constructed, providing eight new classrooms and additional office space.
In June 1959, the Rev. Fr. William J. Croghan, B.E. class of 1940, was appointed as the third rector of Bishop England. By 1960, the faculty had grown to 31 members, and 740 students were enrolled. Additional property was purchased in 1963 and in 1964 on Coming Street, Calhoun Street, and Pitt Street; this property provided classrooms, living quarters for teachers, a maintenance shop, facilities for the school nurse, and a schoolyard. The 1964 school year began with a new rector, the Rev. Robert J. Kelly, and enrollment grew to nearly 800 students. Because of overcrowding between 1966 and 1968, freshman classes were conducted in the old St. Patrick's School on St. Phillip Street.
Bishop England integrated in 1964; in 1968, it merged with Immaculate Conception High School. The student body numbered 850 students with 250 freshmen. The former Immaculate Conception School building on Coming Street became the Bishop England Freshman Building.
Nicholas J. Theos became principal in 1973. He established the BEHS endowment fund in 1985. In 1990, Rev. Msgr. Lawrence B. McInerny became the third B.E. graduate named as rector of the school.
In 1976, a former church building at 172 Calhoun Street was purchased from the College of Charleston. Occupancy took place in 1977 and housed the freshmen.
In 1993, four modular units were added to accommodate increasing enrollment and temporary additional elementary grades, providing four classrooms, a conference room, and a chapel where mass was celebrated. Enrollment in 1995 was 805, the largest of any private high school in the state. In September 1995, Bishop Thompson officially announced that the school was moving to Daniel Island and its current property would be sold to the College of Charleston. The college's Addlestone Library and Rivers Green replaced the Bishop England campus.
The Daniel Island Development Company, which partially was owned by the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, donated of land for the school. Construction began in 1996, and Bishop Thompson blessed the ground at the site of the new Bishop England High School in June 1997. In 1998, Mr. Theos retired after 25 years of service to Bishop England. Mr. David Held, who was serving as associate principal since 1997, then became the principal.
With the help of students, alumni, faculty, and volunteers, the school was moved to the campus on Daniel Island in the summer of 1998. In the fall of 2010, it was announced that Michael C. Bolchoz would assume the position of principal at Bishop England. Mr. Bolchoz is a member of the graduating class of 1983 from the same and previously served as assistant principal of the Cardinal Newman School in Columbia, SC. In 2011, the Bishop England athletic program won its 100th overall state championship, making the school's athletic program the most successful in South Carolina history. In the same year, the school's volleyball team broke the national record for overall state championships, currently with 24, along with the South Carolina record for consecutive state titles, with 14 in a row. The class of 2015 was the school's 100th graduating class.
On July 1, 2013, Patrick Finneran assumed the role of principal.

Academics

The school is respected in the Charleston area for its rigorous curriculum, and boasts SAT and ACT scores well above the national and state averages.
Bishop England is supported by several K-8 Catholic "feeder" schools in the Charleston area, including Blessed Sacrament School, Christ Our King, The Nativity School, Divine Redeemer, and Charleston Catholic. The large majority of graduates from these schools attend Bishop England.
Bishop England offers three levels of courses, including honors level courses for most subjects. Students are required to take four years of theology, mathematics, and English. Catholic mass and various prayer services are compulsory throughout the year, although a significant number of students are not Catholic. Students are required to earn credits in world language, social sciences, fine arts, technology, lab sciences, and physical education. Language instruction is offered in Spanish and French. Bishop England also offers 12 Advanced Placement courses:
Bishop England's pass rate for Advanced Placement examinations in 2011 was 90%, well above most schools in the tri-county area. Graduates entering college immediately after graduation consistently number 95% or higher. The school regularly sends graduates to in-state schools such as The University of South Carolina, Clemson University, The Citadel, and The College of Charleston, with a smaller number attending in-state private institutions such as Furman University and Wofford College.

Clubs and activities

Bishop England offers a variety of clubs and activities throughout the year. They include:
On average each year, 68% of the student body participates in athletics, and 89% participates in at least one on-campus extra-curricular activity.

Athletics

In a 2009 special edition, the Bishop England athletic program was named number one in the state of South Carolina, regardless of size, by Sports Illustrated, In 2013, MaxPreps ranked Bishop England's athletic program 5th in the nation in a combined rankings list of both public and private schools.
The volleyball program is particularly dominant, and currently holds the national record for state championships with 27 overall. The team has won every state title since 2000, and their championship win on November 4, 2017 gave the Battling Bishops a 17th consecutive title, also a national record. Bishop England's overall state title count in all sports currently stands at 143, the highest of any South Carolina school. The school has been awarded the SC Athletic Director's Cup for 17 consecutive years, given to the top athletic program in the state. In 2013, USA Today named Bishop England among the top 10 high school athletic programs in the U.S., writing that "the Bishops carry a tradition of dominance unmatched in the state of South Carolina and much of the Southeast."
BE is one of three private schools in the state that compete in the SCHSL instead of SCISA, along with Christ Church and St. Joseph's School, both located in Greenville. The Bishops compete in the AAA division. The Be a Bishop Backer Club, dubbed "the Triple B Club," funds a staff of on-campus medical trainers for BE athletes.
Bishop England is among the older educational institutions in the city of Charleston, and among the oldest private secondary institutions in the state. Generations of Charleston families have attended the school, making it a significant part of the city's history. Several traditions take place throughout the year. These include:

Academic

Politics

Portions of the film Dear John, starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried and based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, were filmed on the school's former campus in downtown Charleston.
Portions of the film The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, starring Jodie Foster, were filmed inside the buildings from the school's former location on Calhoun Street.
Portions of the film O, starring Mekhi Phifer, Julia Stiles, and Josh Hartnett, were filmed in the classrooms and gym at the school's former location on Calhoun Street.