Barnwell High School is a public high school in Barnwell, South Carolina. It has about 625 students.[3] The Warhorse is the school's mascot.[4]
The student body is more than half African American and about a third white. The entire student body was categorized as economically disadvantaged.[3]
Prior to desegregation there was a Barnwell High School for African American students in Barnwell. It was succeeded by Butler High School.[5]
History
In 1915, a new Barnwell High School building was planned.[6] In 1916, a photo of Barnwell High School appeared in the state school inspector's bulletin.[7]
State law established the Barnwell High School District.[8] In 1968, discrimination against Barnwell High School's African American students was documented.[9] J. Chester Floyd was principal from 1969 to 1971.[10]
From 1942 to 1965, Harold Sewell served as a teacher, school principal, and football coach. In 1967, a resolution was introduced in the South Carolina Assembly commending the school for its basketball season.[11]
In 1998, Barnwell School District 45 trustees issued a proclamation in support of a U.S. Department of Energy plutonium disassembly plant project at a Savannah River site for the job opportunities it would offer.[12] A 2009 book on school reform notes that Barnwell High School emphasized project based leaning in its science curriculum.[13]
Barnwell High School has a football rivalry with Silver Bluff High School. Both teams have won state championships. Barnwell High School players have gone on to success in college and played professionally in the NFL.[15] In 2008, one of the school's football players died of heat stroke after a summer practice.[16]
The girls basketball team won a state championship in 1977.[17] The boys basketball team won two state championships with coach Clifford "Chip" Atkins.[18]
