North Charleston High, 1087 E. Montague Ave.: ninth grade through 12th grade, 829 students in 2024-25, rated Below Average on the state report card.

Last checked Oct. 12, 2026. Sources: the school’s website and administration page; Charleston County School District’s school lookup tool, 2026-27 academic calendar and 2026-27 bell schedule; the S.C. Department of Education’s 2024-25 report card data files; the federal NCES school directory; the South Carolina High School League’s 2026-28 reclassification; the Cougars’ athletics website.

North Charleston High is a Charleston County School District high school on East Montague Avenue and the zoned high school for much of the southern part of the city. It earned a Below Average overall rating, with 47 points, on South Carolina’s 2024-25 report card.

Who to call
Address 1087 E. Montague Ave., North Charleston, SC 29405
Phone 843-745-7140
Grades 9 to 12
District Charleston County School District
Mascot Cougars
School hours 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
State school ID 1001002

Principal

Principal Henry Darby, according to the school’s administration page.

Enrollment and teachers

  • State count: 829 students in the 2024-25 school year, according to the state’s report card data.
  • Federal count: 785 students in the 2023-24 school year, with 86 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about nine students per teacher.

State report card

South Carolina rates every public school each year as Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average or Unsatisfactory. An Excellent rating means “school performance substantially exceeds the criteria to ensure all students meet the Profile of the SC Graduate,” according to the state’s report card site. The overall rating is built from indicators such as academic achievement, preparing for success, student progress, English learners’ progress and school climate, with graduation rate and college and career readiness added for high schools.

2024-25 rating: Below Average, 47 points. On the state’s high school scale, Excellent 67 to 100, Good 60 to 66, Average 51 to 59, Below Average 40 to 50 and Unsatisfactory 39 and below.

Indicator 2024-25 rating
Academic achievement Unsatisfactory
Preparing for success Unsatisfactory
Graduation rate Average
College and career readiness Good
English learners’ progress Below Average
School climate Average
  • Four-year graduation rate: 79.1% in 2025, after 75.4% in 2024 and 74.2% in 2023 (district: 90.6% in 2025)
  • College or career ready: 74.9% of the 2025 graduating class (district: 84.8%)
  • End-of-course tests, share scoring A, B or C: English 39.8%, Algebra 26.3%, Biology 11.4% and U.S. History 11.1%
  • AP and dual enrollment: 0.5% of the 2025 graduating class met the state’s college-ready mark through AP exams and 17.3% through dual-enrollment courses

The full report card, with test results by group, teacher data, school safety and spending, is on the state’s SC School Report Cards site. The state publishes new ratings each fall.

Attendance zone

Check an address with the district’s school lookup tool. In the zone layers behind that tool, the North Charleston High zone takes in all or part of the Meeting Street Brentwood, Morningside Middle and Northwoods Middle middle school zones. We did not find a published feeder list on the district’s site, so these pairings come from the district’s own 2025-26 zone layers.

Meeting Street Brentwood runs through eighth grade, so its zone feeds a high school directly. Every other part of the Charleston County side of the city is zoned for R.B. Stall High, apart from small areas in the West Ashley High and Burke High zones.

Calendar and school hours

North Charleston High follows Charleston County School District’s 2026-27 calendar. Coming dates from the academic calendar (PDF):

  • Tuesday, Oct. 13: first day of the second quarter
  • Tuesday, Nov. 3: Election Day, schools closed
  • Nov. 23-24: no school; both are weather make-up days if the district needs them
  • Nov. 25-27: fall break
  • Friday, Dec. 18: half day
  • Dec. 21 to Jan. 1: winter break; students return Tuesday, Jan. 5

School hours: 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with arrival from 8:05 a.m., according to the district’s 2026-27 bell schedule (PDF). Early-release days end at 1:30 p.m. and half days at 11:45 a.m.

Programs

The district’s Cooper River Center for Advanced Studies, a career and technology center, sits across the street at 1088 E. Montague Ave., according to the federal directory, and the school’s website links to it.

Sports and activities

North Charleston is a Class 3A school in Region 5 for the South Carolina High School League’s 2026-28 classification, with Bishop England, Georgetown, Hanahan and Oceanside Collegiate, according to the SCHSL reclassification lookup.

The Cougars’ athletics website carries teams, schedules and tickets.

Fall schedules and results are in our Friday night football guide and on our scoreboard.

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Frequently asked questions

What grades does North Charleston High serve?

North Charleston High serves ninth grade through 12th grade, according to the state’s 2024-25 report card.

What is North Charleston High’s school rating?

North Charleston High was rated Below Average, with 47 points, on South Carolina’s 2024-25 school report card, the latest the state has published.

Which middle schools feed North Charleston High?

In Charleston County School District’s 2025-26 zone layers, the North Charleston High zone takes in all or part of the Morningside Middle, Northwoods Middle and Meeting Street Brentwood zones.

What time does North Charleston High start?

Classes run 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with arrival from 8:05 a.m., according to the district’s 2026-27 bell schedule.