Bluefield High School

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For another school, see Bluefield High School (Prince Edward Island).
Bluefield High School
Address
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
535 West Cumberland Road

Bluefield
,
West Virginia
24701
Coordinates37°14′55″N 81°13′04″W / 37.24867°N 81.21783°W / 37.24867; -81.21783Coordinates: 37°14′55″N 81°13′04″W / 37.24867°N 81.21783°W / 37.24867; -81.21783
Information
School typeAA
Motto"We Believe"
Founded1903
School boardMercer County Public Schools
SuperintendentDeborah Akers
School number5100
AdministratorSabrina Morrison
PrincipalMichael Collins
Staff38.00 (FTE)[1]
Grades9-12
Enrollment609 (2018-19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio16.03[1]
LanguageEnglish
Color(s)Maroon and white
MascotBeaver
Team nameBluefield Beavers
Websitehttp://bhs.merc.k12.wv.us/

Bluefield High School (BHS) is a public secondary school in Bluefield, West Virginia, United States. It is part of Mercer County Public Schools and is located at 535 West Cumberland Road. As of the 2018-2019 school year, enrollment was 609 students.

The school built a new library in 1998, which was later named after longtime librarian Mary Chmara.

History[]

Originally Beaver High School, named for the Beaver Pond District and the future mascot, the downtown high school was established in 1903, in the fast-developing Bluefield, West Virginia. Its first graduate was in 1907, Mary Aaron. The first class, composed of ten students, graduated in 1910. The current Bluefield High School was built on West Cumberland Road and opened to students in the fall of 1957. The former Beaver High School building would later serve as Central Junior High School for several decades. In 2003–2004, 100 years of Beaver Pride was celebrated. BHS, the home of the Beavers, is the oldest high school building in Mercer County.

Sports[]

  • Sports teams currently play in the WVSSAC at the AA level.

State championships[]

State championships[citation needed]
Sport Number of championships Year
Football 11 1959, 1962, 1965, 1967, 1975, 1984, 1997, 2004, 2007, 2009, and 2017
Bowling 1 1992
Golf 2 1996 and 1997
Boys basketball 4 1995, 1996, 2013, and 2014
Boys tennis 4 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2002
Girls tennis 1 2007 (first girls state championship won by a Mercer County school)
Wrestling 1 2007 (Brandon Eldridge was the first wrestling state champion in school history)
Total 24

Bluefield High School has won more state championships for all sports combined than any other AA school in West Virginia. The girls swim team was the 1999 runner-up in the state championship meet. In 2012, the boys soccer team was regional champions for the first time since 1985, where they made it to the state semifinals. From 1959 to 2017, the Bluefield High School football team had a winning percentage of .728.[2]

The classic Beaver/Graham football game is the biggest event each year for the two Bluefields. This game between cross-city rivals Bluefield High School and Graham High School is the area's largest sporting event. It is held at Mitchell Stadium, which is within West Virginia by a mere 500 feet, and is shared by both schools. In 1991, the two schools were featured on the ESPN show Scholastic Sports America for having one of the largest high school football rivalries on the East Coast. With average crowds of at least ten thousand, the game is the talk of the town year after year. The Beavers hold a winning record over Graham in the series, 62-24-2.

The Bluefield Beaver Band has won many awards under the direction of Nicholas Hinkle (2016–present), R. David Wilson (2011-2016), Bobby Jenks (2007-2011), and W. Melton Saunders (1980—2007). The band also received awards under Renee Mailhot from 1977-1979 at the Elon University and Logan band festivals.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c "BLUEFIELD HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
  2. ^ Hypes, Larry (March 19, 2021). "Beavers honored with new black Jordan football uniforms". Bluefield Daily Telegraph. Bluefield.

External links[]

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