Denomination Episcopal Chaplain Kirk Brown Gender Male Faculty 50 Founded 1900 Staff 30 | Headmaster Paul Krieger Grades 8 - 12 Phone +1 828-684-6232 Color Green Number of students 293 | |
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Founder Father Thomas Wetmore
Susan Allen Wetmore Address 500 Christ School Rd, Arden, NC 28704, USA Similar Asheville School, Carolina Day School - A, Asheville Christian Academy, Asheville High School, AC Reynolds High Sch Profiles | ||
Christ School is an independent Episcopal college preparatory boarding and day school for boys in Arden, North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It features a competitive academic curriculum, intramural and varsity athletics, spiritual development and a work program. While an Episcopal school, it is open to students of all faiths and backgrounds.
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History
Christ School was founded in 1900 by Thomas and Susan Wetmore.
The 500 acre campus is home to approximately 260 boys (about 180 boarding and 80 day students), grades 8-12. Students come from 15 different states and 7 different countries.
Christ School is affiliated with the Episcopal Church but receives no funding or direction from it. All faiths are welcome and represented. The community gathers for chapel services three times per week. St Joseph's Chapel is the longest continuously operating Episcopal church in western North Carolina.
Academics
Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Christ School is an Episcopal boarding school founded in 1900 with a full college preparatory curriculum for the more than 260 boys enrolled.
Features include small classes (10-12 boys per class), Advanced Placement and honors courses in all subjects, extensive elective opportunities, and an outstanding faculty.
There are 24 Honors classes and 16 Advanced Placement class offered. More than 70% of the faculty live on campus. Graduates attend leading national universities.
In addition to on-campus learning there are an average of five international trips each school year - past trips include visits to London, China, Peru, Nicaragua, and Spain.
Art
Christ School students have won Gold Keys at the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, part of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers as well as Scholastic Art Awards National American Visions Medal.
Traditions
Christ School has a historic rivalry with Asheville School. "The Game" is the oldest prep school football rivalry in both North and South Carolina, dating back to 1911. The Fayssoux-Arbogast Trophy was created in 1971 and was named after Richard Fayssoux, football coach at Christ School from 1920 to 1966 and B.H. Arbogast, Asheville School coach from 1930-1967. Winning this trophy has come to represent the ultimate recognition between the two independent schools.
Each year the football teams compete for the Fayssoux-Arbogast Trophy which then remains with the winning school until the next year's game. Asheville School Week is held in fall and filled with spirited activities, skits, and a prohibition of any blue clothing.
Athletics & extracurricular activities
At Christ School all students are required to participate in sports. There are eleven varsity sports that students can participate in at school: three in the fall (football, soccer, and cross-country), three in the winter (basketball, swimming and wrestling), and five in the spring (track, tennis, golf, lacrosse, and baseball.) Intramurals, theater, and a band program are offered year-round as sports as well.
There are 28 student-led clubs. Students produce a literary magazine The Struan and the yearbook The Angelus.
Basketball
The Christ School basketball program has been very successful in recent years, winning 6 State Championships. The last state title was in 2011. It is the only boys program in the history of Western North Carolina to win five straight state titles in basketball. Since 2005, the Greenies have sent 23 graduates to Division I programs. The Christ School basketball team plays its home games in the Mebane Fieldhouse. "The Greenie Dome" is painted on the wall inside the Field House. Christ School has had 2 McDonald All-Americans and Plumlee brothers Miles (Class 2008) and Mason (Class 2009) were drafted in the first round by the NBA. Mason, won a gold medal in the FIBA World Champhionships in 2014. Each Plumlee brother attended Duke, and each left with a National Championship. Mason and Miles won in 2010 and younger brother Marshall won in 2015. The basketball team is currently coached by Head Coach Scott Willard and Associate Head Coach Bobby Long.
Football
The football team reached the NCISAA Division II semi-final round for the 3rd straight year in 2014. In 2015, the team made it to the State Championship before losinh to Ravenscroft School Since 2005, Christ School has had 8 players go on to play college football.
Golf
The Golf program has won NCISAA 3A State Championships in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Christ School has had 6 golfers continue at the Division I college level.
Lacrosse
Christ School began the lacrosse program in 2002 under current coach Jeff Miles. Since that time the program has won eight conference championships, appeared in 9 consecutive NCISAA playoffs, including six semi-final appearances. Lacrosse has placed 17 players at all levels of college lacrosse, many at the division one level. There have been 23 all state selections and four high school All American selections.
Outdoor Program
The Outdoor Program consists of canoeing, kayaking, climbing, ice climbing, backpacking, mountain boarding and mountain biking. Students may choose to participate in the Outdoor Program as their sport and is available in the fall, winter, and spring.
Christ School's Outdoor Program supports Miller Kaderabek '18, a kayaker and 2020 Tokyo Olympic hopeful. He barely missed qualifying for the 2016 Rio Olympics finishing third, but it still qualified Kaderabek for the Senior US National Team Kayaking Team. Just one weekend later at the U.S. Junior Championships, Kaderabek and his teammate Wes Bolyard finished with the gold medal in C2 (Tandem Canoe) and will compete in the Junior World Championships in Krakow, Poland this summer.
Ski and snowboard
Beginning in 2009, Christ School formed a Snow Team that practices at Cataloochee and competes regularly in the Cataloochee Interscholastic School Race League. In the 2012 Racing Season, two Snowboard team members, and two Ski team members attended the 2012 Nastar National Championships. The team members placed with two bronze, one silver, and one gold medal finishes.
Theater
The theater program is led by Mrs. Mary Dillon. Recent productions include One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Fantasticks, the operetta, The Pirates of Penzance, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Little Shop of Horrors, and Shakespeare in Hollywood. The plays have done well in regional play competitions, such as the Independent School Theater Festival. Theater productions take place in Pingree Auditorium.
Camps
Christ School hosts summer camps including Ralph Lundy Soccer Academy, All-American Cross Country Camp, Christ School Football Skills & Development camp, Revolution Lacrosse Camp, and Raleigh Boy Choir.