Ridge View High School

Ridge View High School
Ridge View High School Lettering and Rotunda
Address
4801 Hard Scrabble Road Columbia, South Carolina Columbia, South Carolina 29229
Information
Type	Public
Motto	Excellence in Education
Established	1995
School district	Richland County School District 2
Principal	Dr. Brenda Mack-Foxworth
Grades	9–12
Number of students	1357
Color(s)	Purple and Silver (Black and White Accent Colors)
Athletics	Baseball, Basketball, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Lacrosse, Rifle, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track & Field, Wrestling
Athletics conference	Region III-AAAA
Mascot	Blazer
Affiliation	Secondary, College Prep
Website	https://www.richland2.org/rvh

Ridge View High School (commonly abbreviated as RVHS) is a comprehensive public high school in Columbia, South Carolina. It currently holds approximately 1500 students. It is one of five high schools in Richland School District 2 along Spring Valley High School, Blythewood High School, Westwood High School, and Richland Northeast High School. The principal for the 2016-2017 school year is Dr. Brenda Mack-Foxworth.

As of 2013, the size of the facility is 238,755 square feet, and the school is built on a 60-acre campus.

The school has a racial composition as follows: African-American 78.2%, Caucasian 11.1%, Hispanic 5.5%, Asian 1.7%, Two or More Races 3.1%, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.2%, and Native American 0.2%.

Ridge View has an average GPA of 3.2. The school features several schools-within-a-school as well as several other programs relating to academics and careers. The schools-within-a-school include AVID, Blazer Academy, and the School for the Arts. Magnet Programs at Ridge View High School include the Allied Health and BioHealth Magnets for students interested in the medical field, and the Scholars Academy for Business and Law.

Ridge View not only focuses on academics and athletics, but also the arts. Ridge View's School for the Arts, abbreviated as SFA, allows students to focus on a core art and more.

The most successful of Ridge View's music programs is the Ridge View Marching Band, or Blazer Band, one of the most notable marching bands in South Carolina. The current director is Dustin King, who took over the program from Vince Clayton after his retirement at the conclusion of the 2015-2016 season. King becomes only the 2nd Band Director in the history of the school. The Blazer Bands compete at the 4A level, and have consistently ranked in the top 10 bands in the state. With recognition from WISTV, the band was also featured in the 2013 Philadelphia Thanksgiving Parade and has placed 2nd, 3rd and 2nd at the 4A State Championships in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

The most consistently successful athletic program at Ridge View High School is its Boys Cross Country team, which is currently under Coach Brian Rosefield. With his help, the Blazers finished 2nd in the state in both 2009 and 2010. They also finished 2nd in the state in 2004. The team has been a consistent top 5 program and has only finished out of the top 10 once since at least 2002. The Blazers Boys Track Team won the state championship three times in a row in 2004, 2005 and 2006. During those victories they set state records in the 4x800 relay and the record for most points ever scored in the state meet.