North Penn High School is a part of the North Penn School District and is located in Towamencin Township, Pennsylvania, about a mile outside of Lansdale borough, 25 miles northwest of Philadelphia, along Valley Forge Road. North Penn High School was created in 1955 as the result of a joint venture of seven school systems to educate students from three former high schools: Hatfield High School, Lansdale High School, and North Wales High School. The original North Penn High School building was an expansion of the building that had served as Lansdale High School since the 1930s. The former Hatfield and North Wales buildings were eventually converted to elementary schools. The North Wales building is still used for this purpose today. The Hatfield building, later renamed the E.B. Laudenslager Elementary School, was replaced by a newer building in 1971. The current North Penn High School was constructed in 1971 because of severe overcrowding at the original school. The former high school building, located on Penn Street in Lansdale, is now Penndale Middle School. North Penn High School is among the largest statewide, with student enrollment for the 2005-2006 school year at 3,423. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors are represented at the high school. Freshmen, although commonly the first year of high school, only occasionally attend certain classes, and are regularly enrolled in one of these three middle schools: Penndale Middle School, Pennbrook Middle School, and Pennfield Middle School. The middle schools enroll grades 7 - 9, while the elementary schools enroll grades K - 6.
Sports
In 2005, 2006, and 2007 Sports Illustrated distinguished North Penn as having the best athletic program in Pennsylvania, noting that the school has "won 45 state championships over the last 10 years" and "is a power in football and is also dominant in boys' swimming." The school is also prominent in boys' and girls' water polo, and boys' winter track, spring track, cross country, and more recently baseball.
