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We're moving to the Columbia area in the summer with our 4 teenage sons, all of whom are in high school. We are looking for a high school with strong academics (proven results) & strong extra-curricular activities.
I've looked online & it looks like Chapin, Lexington, Dutch Fork, Irmo, Spring Valley, Ridge View & Richland NE are the best academic schools in the Columbia area. Do these schools have strong sports programs?
Our sons have been involved in competitive swim, football, wrestling & track. Additionally, our youngest is a diver & would like to join a diving team in high school. Do any of the schools in the Columbia area have diving teams?
We're looking to rent / lease for the first year, but would like to purchase some land after getting down there. Our goal is to do so in the same district...
Any suggestions, links, advice is appreciated.
I realize this "moving to Cola" is a commonly repeated thread; I'm reading all of them. I just haven't seen something with my specific interests regarding high schools in the area.
I know that Spring Valley has an excellent swim team. Several of their swimmers also swim year round with Carolina Aquatics swim club. I am not aware of the high schools having diving as part of their swimming program. However, former national diving champion Allison Brennan runs SC Divers (diving club) out of the U of SC pool. Top notch facilites and instruction.
I would think twice about believing anything online about this area. That is the trap we fell into. We chose
Lexington/Richland 5. It had the best scores-and even boasted Blue Ribbon Schools. We had to take our children out of the public school system-it is that bad. Gang infiltration even in the suburban schools. Thank You Palmetto Point and the other low income housing on Harbison. Palmetto Point is probably the only "projects" on a golf course. But that is the dichodemy that is Columbia, SC. My advice? Stay away from South Carolina-laws are screwed up-they are completely left up to the discretion of the police-and therefore-changeable. Depends on the cops. I found out the hard way-and it cost me dearly-if you arent already stuck here-----don't get stuck--go somewhere else. I have not heard of any diving teams in this area anyway-there may be--but I wouldnt count on it.
Yes, as I mentioned above, there is a diving team, SC Divers. My daughter was a member of this diving team for a year and also swam with the swim team Carolina Aquatics. All the high schools you listed are large schools with a varied population of students. The high schools I am most familiar with are Spring Valley, AC Flora, and Dreher. All three have good reputations for academics, athletics and safety.
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