Best high schools in the Savannah metro area

According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 15.5 million students attend public high school every year, and more than 3.76 million are expected to graduate in 2025. However, those students have a wide variety of experiences over the course of their high school careers.

To start, issues surrounding equal educational access persist throughout the United States. A January 2025 report published in Frontiers found that disparities across socioeconomic status, race, gender, and geography can lead to negative outcomes and the perpetuation of systemic barriers.

Outside of these issues, students also pursue many different paths within high school. Roughly 8.3 million high schoolers attend educational programs to prepare for careers in fields like transportation, landscaping, and culinary arts. Meanwhile, nearly 2.5 million are in dual enrollment programs that offer high school and college credit for the same course, allowing students to get a jump on higher education degrees.

Dual enrollment programs are particularly useful considering that more than 3 in 5 (61%) high school graduates head to college, per a 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Unfortunately, high school doesn't always guarantee college success. In 2024, the average SAT score declined for the third straight year, and nearly 2 in 5 (39%) test-takers met or exceeded the test's college readiness benchmarks. ACT scores are also on the decline year over year, down to 19.4 out of 36, and just 3 in 10 students met at least three of the ACT's college readiness benchmarks.

With that said, attending a quality high school will typically help prepare students for their next steps in life, whether that's college, technical school, or going straight into the workforce. Stacker compiled a list of the best high schools in the Savannah metro area using data from Niche, which uses seven weighted factors for its rankings. Most of the score is based on academics, but other factors include culture and diversity; sports; clubs and activities; resources; and surveys of parents, teachers, and students.

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#25. Royal Live Oaks Academy of the Arts & Sciences Charter School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Charter Institute at Erskine, SC
- Enrollment: 655 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus

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#24. Islands High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, GA
- Enrollment: 862 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B

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#23. New Hampstead High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, GA
- Enrollment: 1,436 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B

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#22. Jenkins High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, GA
- Enrollment: 1,118 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B

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#21. Effingham County High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Effingham County Schools, GA
- Enrollment: 2,108 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B

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#20. Memorial Day School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Savannah, GA
- Enrollment: 206 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+

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#19. Bethesda Academy

- School type: Private School
- Location: Savannah, GA
- Enrollment: 99 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+

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#18. Hilton Head Island High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Beaufort County School District, SC
- Enrollment: 1,345 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#17. Woodville Tompkins Technical & Career High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, GA
- Enrollment: 684 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#16. South Effingham High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Effingham County Schools, GA
- Enrollment: 1,888 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#15. Savannah Early College High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, GA
- Enrollment: 151 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#14. May River High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Beaufort County School District, SC
- Enrollment: 1,601 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#13. Veritas Academy

- School type: Private School
- Location: Savannah, GA
- Enrollment: 192 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#12. Calvary Day School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Savannah, GA
- Enrollment: 1,031 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus

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#11. Richmond Hill High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Bryan County Schools, GA
- Enrollment: 2,454 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#10. Bluffton High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Beaufort County School District, SC
- Enrollment: 1,350 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#9. St. Vincent's Academy

- School type: Private School
- Location: Savannah, GA
- Enrollment: 285 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#8. Hilton Head Christian Academy

- School type: Private School
- Location: Bluffton, SC
- Enrollment: 636 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#7. Benedictine Military School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Savannah, GA
- Enrollment: 408 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#6. Heritage Academy

- School type: Private School
- Location: Hilton Head Island, SC
- Enrollment: 130 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A

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#5. Savannah Christian Preparatory School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Savannah, GA
- Enrollment: 1,075 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#4. Savannah Arts Academy

- School type: Public School
- Location: Savannah-Chatham County Public School System, GA
- Enrollment: 905 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#3. Hilton Head Preparatory School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Hilton Head Island, SC
- Enrollment: 430 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#2. St. Andrew's School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Savannah, GA
- Enrollment: 535 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#1. The Savannah Country Day School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Savannah, GA
- Enrollment: 1,066 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

This story features data reporting by Rob Powell, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 97 metros.