From early childhood to secondary education, Hilton Head Island and Bluffton offer public, private and parochial school options with an array of classroom environments, teaching methods and learning approaches.
The Beaufort County School District manages an early childhood center and six elementary schools in southern Beaufort County, including a school for the creative arts and an international baccalaureate program spanning kindergarten through high school offered individually or as a continuum.
Secondary education is provided by the public school system at three middle schools and three high schools and includes pre-vocational education in business, industrial arts, home arts and computer science, preparing students today for the careers of tomorrow. For high school students looking to participate in sports, athletic programs range from football, baseball and basketball to competitive cheerleading, swimming and golf.
Beaufort County has one of the highest concentrations of top ranked public schools in South Carolina, with a student-to-teacher ratio of 13-to-1 compared to the 15-to-1 average in the state. Bluffton High School, May River High School and Hilton Head Island High School are the top ranked schools in the county based on combined math and reading proficiency test score ranking.
The area is also home to a number of private and parochial schools offering a diversity of scholastic experiences, including Montessori’s self-paced and experiential approach to learning with programs for children as young as 12 months to middle school. Hilton Head Christian Academy’s new $23 million campus in Bluffton is a project based learning model.
Hilton Head Island is also home to the Heritage Academy, a secondary school for scholar athletes and performing artists who need individualized programming and flexible course scheduling to attend competitions and performances. The school draws students from 19 countries, creating a highly diverse and dynamic student body.