Winston Churchill High School (San Antonio)

Winston Churchill High School in San Antonio, Texas is part of the North East Independent School District. It is named after Sir Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The school serves portions of the city of San Antonio along with the towns of Hill Country Village and Hollywood Park.^[1][2][3] It first opened for classes in 1966, funded by a 1960 school district bond that also established Roosevelt High School and the Blossom Athletic Center.^[4]

The school mascot is the Charger while the British Union Flag (also referred to as the Union Jack) and lion are used as additional symbols. The school was referenced in the 1996 movie Lone Star. It has been twice named a National Blue Ribbon School, in 1982-83 and again in 1999-2000.^[5] In 2012, Churchill High School was ranked 8th on Children at Risk's Top 10 High Schools in Greater San Antonio.^[6]

Athletics

Churchill has won 69 5-A state championships in UIL sports, more than any other high school in the state of Texas. The 1982 Churchill High School basketball team won the 1982 State 5A Championship. The team was coached by Bobby Murphy and his brother, Assistant Coach Danny Murphy. The team ended on a nineteen-game winning streak by beating Galveston's Ball High School for the State Championship.

The team was led by Gary Heyland and Pat Hymel. Heyland was named MVP of the state tournament, First Team All State, and selected as the 1982 Texas High School Player of the Year. Hymel was selected first team All State. Rounding out the starting five were Jon Moseley, Jim Gallagher, and Paul Meyer. Team member Tim Woods is now Head Coach at Churchill.

Churchill High went 15-0 and won the 1976 4A state championship in football (the state's largest classification until 1980). Churchill High School's men's and women's soccer programs are also highly regarded countrywide. The Men's team won the Texas State Championship in 1989, 1998, 2001, and 2003. In 2000, Churchill's Nathan Hughes was selected as the Gatorade Texas Player of the Year.

Churchill's Men and Women's Swimming and Diving teams are also extremely successful. The aquatics program gives the high school the most state championships out of every other sport at the school, totaling up to 9 championships. Men's state champions: 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2000, and 2008. Women's state champions: 1984, 1999, and 2005.

Fine arts

The Winston Churchill Debate Organization consists of an elite member list of debaters under Lincoln Douglas (LD) and Policy (CX). Churchill is also an annual host of the prestigious and widely attended Winston Churchill 'Classic', normally hosted around January 10 to the 11th, it is also worth noting that this tournament is a TOC (Tournament of Champion's) Qualifier in both Congressional and Lincoln-Douglas debate.

The Churchill Oral Interpretation Team joins with the Churchill Theatre Dept. to form a nationally recognized and respected forensics program. Focused on the interpretation of literature, the Interp Team competes throughout the year in many events and at many forensics tournaments in Texas and the nation. The Forensics Program also hosts the annual Churchill Classic Speech and Debate Tournament in January, providing one of the finest competitive environments in Texas. Churchill High School is known nationally by its highly successful speech and debate teams—nine time sweepstakes winners of the National Forensic League's (NFL) National Tournament.^[7]

The Churchill Band is known statewide for its drum line and marching abilities, as they are a frequent winner of competitions at the state level. The Churchill Band has been Bands of America Grand Nationals finalists four times, and took 3rd place at the 2006 UIL state finals. They have won numerous awards and have consistently placed high in BOA competitions (Bands Of America). The Churchill band also got invited to go to Hawaii over the 2009 spring break season, playing music on the decks of Pearl Harbor in front of the USS Missouri. The Churchill Charger Band has also participated in the 2014 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, taking place in New York City. In 2015, the band placed 2nd in their class at the BOA Atlanta Super Regional prelims.

Churchill's Orchestra was selected as one of eight schools nationally to participate in Carnegie Hall's National Band and Orchestra Festival on March 21, 2008. In the 2009-10 school year, they became the first orchestra in Texas to receive 5 sweepstakes awards from the UIL competition.

Churchill's Indoor Percussion Ensemble place first the Scholastic Open World WGI Championships in 2003 and were Scholastic Open World Finalists in 2003. They were also the TCGC Scholastic Open World Champions in 2009 and 2010.

Notable alumni

Arts

• Abby Brammell, actress^[8]
• Derek Lee Nixon, actor^[9]

Business

• Gary C. Kelly, CEO Southwest Airlines^[10]

Music

• Alan Palomo, Creator of Neon Indian^[11]

Politics

• Pete Sessions, U.S. Congressman^[12]
• Bill White, former Houston Mayor, Gubernatorial Candidate^[13]

Sports

• Glenn Blackwood, former NFL safety^[14]
• Lyle Blackwood, former NFL safety^[15]
• Cody Carlson, former NFL quarterback^[16]
• Randy Choate, MLB pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals^[17]
• Josh Davis, swimmer, won several Olympic gold medals^[18]
• Scott Dunn, MLB player^[19]
• Alex Van Pelt - NFL player^[20]
• Jimmy Feigen

References

External links

• Churchill High School