Profiles

High School at O'Neal

The high school experience at O’Neal remains positively ingrained in the lives of many who have graduated from this college preparatory private school of more than 50 years.  Regionally accredited, O’Neal is one school that serves students Pre-K3 through 12th grade in three divisions - Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School. Though in separate buildings with activities and curriculum to suit each age group, O’Neal finds this all–in–one community to be the best of both worlds in nurturing, understanding, and supporting the age groups above and beyond the individual student rendering a quality character trait to last for a lifetime.

Relationships
The student-teacher relationships at O’Neal are very strong in and outside of the classroom. Teachers and coaches will support students and their passions whether it be on the sporting field or the theater stage in addition to teaching them in the classroom. The most successful way to teach or coach the student is to know the individual.

Students take overnight class trips at the beginning of the school year as a way to bond with each other, get to know their advisors/teachers, and experience real-life places that are included in their high school curriculum.

Honor Code
O’Neal is governed by an honor code and a student-elected honor council. Students are required to sign the honor code yearly. No locks are on the lockers and students are trusted to do their own work.

Leadership Opportunities
There are many opportunities for leadership. O’Neal has a student forum comprised of elected class officers and executive board. By process of nomination, students may join the Leadership Academy where they meet weekly and continue to cultivate and refine their leadership competencies.  Service clubs such as O'Neal Volunteers/Key Club are mainstays in the School. New clubs are created each year by the students.  

Academics
O’Neal calls itself college preparatory for a reason. 100% of O’Neal’s graduates are accepted to colleges and universities across the nation and abroad. The 20-member Class of 2023 was awarded $2.6M in scholarships. Please see O’Neal’s College Profile for the Upper School curriculum. PSATs are given to high school students in grades 9-11 every year. O'Neal is proud to claim a National Merit Scholar this year by way of high PSAT scores.  From Advanced Placement course offerings to expansion of subject choice via the virtual platform - One Schoolhouse to being selected into the Signature Scholars Research Program, all students are challenged and given the resources to excel. Learn more about scholarships offered for the high school years at O'Neal. 


New for 2023-2024!
In addition to earning college credits through Advanced Placement testing, for the 2023-2024 school year, qualifying juniors and seniors may earn college credits via the Career and College Promise Program by taking online courses through Sandhills Community College.
 
Athletics
80% of Upper School students at O’Neal participate in athletics. Many play 2 or 3 sports seasons. The School is moving to the Sandhills Athletic Conference for the 2023-2024 school year. The 2022/2023 school year saw O'Neal earn its 10th Wachovia/Wells Fargo Cup for Excellence in Athletics as part of the North Carolina Independent School Athletics Association (NCISAA). This year state championships achieved were for Varsity Girls Golf  ( 2A- 2nd consecutive title) and Varsity Girls Swimming (D3). O’Neal has Falcons in golf, basketball, track and field, swimming, and tennis collegiate teams. 

JV/Varsity Sports Offered: Volleyball, Cross Country, Soccer, Tennis, Dance Team, Swimming, Basketball, Golf, Baseball, Track and Field

Visit Athletics

The Arts
In the Upper School, varying levels of drama class, chorus, as well as 2D and 3D art classes are offered. The School has received multiple superior ratings at regional One Act Play competitions with recognitions in one or more areas of the production. O'Neal has recently earned its charter for the International Thespian Society. An all-school musical is produced annually.

Community Service
Graduation requirements include 36 hours of community service, which is additional to any National Honor Society and ONV/Key Club service hour requirements. Students at the high school level have many ways of physically supporting efforts within the School as well as that of local organizations such as the Sandhills/Moore Coalition for Human Care, Habitat for Humanity, The Sandhills Children's Center, The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Sandhills, St. Joseph of the Pines and other assisted living facilities, USO, the Red Cross and more.

College Counseling
College counseling starts in the 8th grade as students prepare to enter the Upper School and plan for what courses they take. A dedicated college counselor follows the paths of each student throughout their high school years. The counselor consults and assists them and their parents with the many facets of applying for college.  Learn more on College Counseling at O'Neal. 
"At O’Neal you are expected to test your limits and grow as an academic, but also as an individual. In addition to being the source of much of your work, teachers are inspirations. All of the teachers that I have had at O’Neal have a true passion for the material they teach and they choose to teach because they genuinely seem to love it. I believe that the atmosphere at O’Neal, where learning is valued for its own sake, has enabled me to grow into a lifelong learner."

William Schirmer
Valedictorian Class of 2016
Johnson Scholar - Washington & Lee University
Morehead-Cain Semifinalist
Research Analyst, Clearnomics, NY, NY

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    The O'Neal School

    3300 Airport Road
    Southern Pines, NC 28387
    Phone: 910.692.6920
    The O'Neal School admits students of any race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other basis protected by law to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other basis protected by law in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
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