Grayson High School

The community’s first real school— Tripp Academy— was established in 1882, years before the town was named Grayson. In 1900, a two-story frame school was erected on land where Grayson Elementary School stands today. A 1913 bond issue provided funds for a two-story brickveneer building that would become the first Grayson High. More than 200 students attended Grayson School, which boasted a 500-seat auditorium, a library, and fine athletic teams, according to a 1918 news account. In fact, Grayson’s boys’ basketball team brought home the state championship in 1925.

The Great Depression gave the school a prominent role in the economic life of the community. Training programs were offered through the school’s cannery, blacksmith shop, carpentry shop, sawmill, pole-treating plant, and potato-treating and storage house. In 1957, Grayson High School was consolidated with Snellville High School to form South Gwinnett High School.

In the mid-1990s, Grayson High School was resurrected when Gwinnett County Public Schools identified the need for a high school in the Grayson community. The name “Grayson High School” was recommended for the new facility and accepted by the Gwinnett County Board of Education.

On August 14, 2000, the new Grayson High School opened its doors for the students of today. Today’s students embraced Grayson’s history in selecting the school colors, mascot, and song. The green and gold of the first school are joined by the accent color of navy blue. A ram once again serves as the school mascot, and students proudly sing the old Grayson High School Alma Mater. The Grayson High School students of 2000–01 united under the new school motto: “First Comes Learning.”

The “new” Grayson High School has carried the traditions from the original Grayson High School forward into the 21st century. Grayson High School opened in August 2000. As a new school relieving the overcrowding at South Gwinnett High School, Grayson enjoyed an opening student enrollment of only 1,000 students. However, this area of the county continued to grow. By 2005–06, enrollment at Grayson High had increased to 2,792. And by 2008, the school’s student population had topped 3,300. However, relief was on the way, as the new Archer High School opened in 2009.

In addition to providing relief through the construction of a new high school in the area, the Board of Education has completed a number of additions at Grayson High School in order to better serve students. In 2002, a 10-room addition was built. Another 16 classroom-addition opened in 2004. That same year, the Grayson High School Technical Education Program opened on the school’s campus. This new technology building, welcomed technical students from many schools in the county. The Grayson High School Technical Education Program includes a commercial training kitchen with a 25-seat presentation and dining area, a climate-controlled greenhouse, an industry-donated electron microscope, an animal husbandry building, a black-box performance area, a professional musicrecording studio, and a TV production studio. In 2007 and 2008, a new field house opened as did other athletic facilities.

Over the years, students from Grayson High have won numerous academic awards. Community spirit runs high as well for athletic teams which have brought home the following state championships: One-Act Play and Softball in 2002; Softball in 2003; Boys Soccer in 2004; Girls Soccer Co-Champion in 2007 and 2014; and Football in 2012 and 2016.

Although Grayson High’s mailing address is Loganville, Georgia, the school is actually located in Grayson. Though Grayson is a small town the attendance area that comprises Grayson High School is one of the fastest growing and largest in Gwinnett County. Grayson High School is one of seven schools in the Grayson Cluster. The schools that make up the cluster are Bay Creek and Couch middle schools, along with Grayson, Pharr, Starling, and Trip elementary schools.

And so, a history of learning in the Grayson community continues… Cherishing the past and welcoming the future.