Council Rock High School North
Council Rock High School North is a high school located in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. It is a part of the Council Rock School District. The school is located across from Newtown Middle School and Tyler State Park, and near Bucks County Community College. The current student population is 2500 for grades 9-12.
The school is three stories tall and is divided into an East wing and a West wing. Until 2006, there was no direct connection between the third floors on each wing, so students and staff had to use hallways on the first or second floor to cross between wings.
When originally constructed, the school was the only high school in the district and was known simply as "Council Rock High School". As the local population continued to grow, a new high school was built in Holland, Pennsylvania, which opened in the fall of 2002, and "North" was added to the original school's name. When the new school was opened, middle schools were re-districted as follows: Holland Middle School students attend Council Rock South, Newtown Middle School students and Richboro Middle School students attend Council Rock North.
The school colors are blue and silver, and the school sports teams are known as the Council Rock Indians. After the split in 2002, silver was given to North and gold given to South to distinguish them while still maintaining the two traditional colors of the original high school.
The school and the school district are named for Council Rock, a rock outcropping that forms a cliff in Tyler State Park. This rock was once a council rock for Lenape Indians living in the area. A large rock located near the school parking lot's main entrance on Rock Way is a reminder of this, and it is tradition for students of the school to paint the rock in anticipation of major events such as sporting events or proms.
Academics
Council Rock High School North academics are consistently ranked highly among other high schools in the Philadelphia area, Pennsylvania, and the United States. Council Rock High School North is ranked 51st within Pennsylvania and ranked 1,419 in the National Rankings. Council Rock High School North offers 19 Advanced Placement courses. The Advanced Placement participation rate at the school is 48%. Council Rock North is known as one of the top tier public schools in the Bucks County Region.Of the 2009 graduates, ten were named valedictorians, 17 were named National Merit Semi-Finalists, 20 were named National Merit Commended students, and all 17 semi-finalists attained finalist status. Council Rock High School North students are consistently offered admission to top tier universities.
About 91% of students pursue higher education, and the graduation rate is above 99.9%. The attendance rate is 95.0%. In the 2008-09 school year, 45 students were named Advanced Placement Scholars. SAT scores routinely exceed the national and state averages; Critical Reading, Writing and Math average scores were 550, 546 and 568, respectively. The difference, for all three sections combined, in national average SAT scores and Council Rock North student average SAT scores is 163 points.
Philadelphia Magazine recognized Council Rock High School North as one of the top schools in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area; Council Rock High Schools were the only high schools in Bucks County named to the "50 Best Schools List". Council Rock High School North ranked as the top public school in Bucks County in 2005, 2006, and 2008. Newsweek Magazine ranked Council Rock High School North as one of America's top schools in 2007. Mid-Atlantic Construction magazine recognized Council Rock North's renovations as the "Project of the Year" in the K-12 category.
Athletics
Council Rock High School North sports teams have won multiple local and state championships. Rivalries include sister school Council Rock South.- Baseball/Softball The 2007 and 2009 Baseball varsity team made it to the quarterfinals of the PA state tournament.
- Basketball The Men's Basketball team has won 12 Conference Championships. The 2010-11 team won a school record 27 games and finished the season ranked regionally by ESPN and USA Today.
- Bowling
- Cheerleading
- Cross Country: The 2008 women's team went undefeated. The Varsity team took 7th at the PIAA State Championships, and the Junior Varsity team was able to win both the league and district. The Varsity men's team took 6th at the PIAA State Championships. The men's Cross Country team has won 11 state titles.
- Football: The 2006 varsity football team had an undefeated regular season.
- Field Hockey
- Golf
- Ice hockey
- Lacrosse
- Soccer: Council Rock North Men's Soccer was ranked 3rd in the nation on espnrise.com during the 2009 season for over three weeks. In 2006, the Men's Varsity Soccer team won the PIAA championship.
- Softball
- Swimming: As of 2020, the women's team has been undefeated in the SOL Championships for 12 consecutive years, whereas the men's team has been undefeated for 4 years.
- Tennis: Men's and Women's
- Track
- Volleyball
- Wrestling
Student clubs
- AIDS Awareness
- American Red Cross Club
- Anime Club
- Art Forum
- Asian Student Association
- Bike and Hike Club
- Book Club
- Choral Groups
- Chemistry Club
- Chess Club
- Colorguard/Indoor Guard
- Cooking Club
- Debate Team
- Diversity Taskforce
- Doctor Who Club
- E3: Education Equals Empowerment
- Engineering and Robotics Club
- Environmental Action Club
- Fashion Club
- Future Business Leaders of America
- Future Doctors of America Club
- FCCLA
- Fellowship of Christian Athletes
- French Club
- French Honor Society
- Future Critics of America
- Future Doctors of America
- German Club
- GSA
- Graphic Arts Club
- Improv Club
- Instrumental Groups
- Interact Club
- Italian Club
- Jazz Band
- Jewish Student Union
- Key Club
- Kick Off Mentoring
- Kids on the Block
- Kids with Heart
- Latin Club
- Maple Syrup Appreciation Federation
- March of Dimes Club
- Marching band
- Mathletes
- Mock Investment Network
- Model UN
- Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society
- National Honor Society
- NEHS
- NorthVoice
- Orchestra
- Political Sciences Club
- Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society
- Rhythm of the Rock
- Rock Reverb
- Students Against Destructive Decisions
- School Store
- Science Club
- Science National Honor Society
- Sew Hooked on Helping
- Ski & Snowboard Club
- Sock 'n' Buskin
- Spanish Club
- Stage Technicians
- STAR
- Student Council
- Student Executive Board
- Robotics and Engineering Club
- The Indianite
- Tri-M Music Honor Society
- Ultimate Frisbee Club
- Veteran Service Club
- Video Game Club
- Yearbook
Notable alumni
- Brent Billingsley - Major League Baseball Player 1996-2005. Florida Marlins, Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, Philadelphia Phillies
- Brandon Cottom - professional football player
- Jillian Parry Fry - 2000 Miss Teen USA
- James C. Greenwood - former federal Congressman representing 8th District of Pennsylvania, which includes entire Council Rock School District
- Anthony Green - lead singer of popular band Circa Survive; also involved with many bands originating in Philadelphia area
- Paul Guenther - defensive coordinator of NFL's Oakland Raiders
- Shwa Losben - singer/songwriter
- Laura Owen - businesswoman and former Kansas Secretary of Commerce
- Gina Sicilia - singer/songwriter
- Dennis Woodside - COO of Dropbox
- Jay Wright - basketball head coach, Villanova