Pequannock Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Pequannock Township in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school of the Pequannock Township School District.
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 655 students and 64.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.1:1. There were 28 students (4.3% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 14 (2.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Pequannock Township High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.
Advanced Placement (AP) courses are offered in AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Chemistry, AP English Literature and Composition, AP European History, AP Latin: Vergil, AP Music Theory, AP Physics B, AP Spanish Language, AP Studio Art, AP United States History, AP United States Government and Politics and AP World History.Pequannock Township High School 2013-14 School Performance Report, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 29, 2015. Honors courses are also available for students. These include Honors Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-Calculus, Calculus, English I, English II, English III, English IV, World History, US History I, US History II and many others.
History In March 1955, the Board of Education began plans for a new high school for the district, after the Butler Public Schools indicated that incoming students from Pequannock Township would not be accepted at Butler High School starting in the 1955–56 school year."Preliminary Plans Ready For Pequannock High School; Consultants to Talk Over Its Proposals With Representatives of 3 Town Boards", Herald News, March 22, 1955. Accessed January 20, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The Board of Education will know more about its high school plans after Monday night when the Township Joint Study Committee meets with the professional consultants.... Unless things are changed, the Butler High School will not accept Pequannock freshmen in September, 1956. Students attending the high school before that date would be allowed to continue."
Formally established in 1956,About, Pequannock Township High School. Accessed January 20, 2022. "Pequannock Township High School was established in 1956 and serves a student body of 700 students." the school building had its formal dedication in January 1958."Pequannock High School Dedication Ceremonies Set For 2 P.M. Next Sunday; Open House Follows", Herald News, December 30, 1957. Accessed January 20, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "Plans for the dedication of the new Pequannock Township High School have been completed. They include the formal dedication and open house next Sunday, from 2 to 6 p.m."
Awards, recognition and rankings The school was the 29th-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 339 schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2014 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", using a new ranking methodology."Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014. The school had been ranked 25th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 46th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed."The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed August 28, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 100th in 2008 out of 316 schools."2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 25, 2012. The school was ranked 78th in the magazine's September 2006 issue, which surveyed 316 schools across the state."Top New Jersey High Schools 2008: By Rank", New Jersey Monthly, September 2008, posted August 7, 2008. Accessed August 19, 2008.
Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 31st out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (an increase of 16 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (94.1%) and language arts literacy (97.9%) components of the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA).New Jersey High School Rankings: 11th Grade HSPA Language Arts Literacy & HSPA Math 2010-2011, Schooldigger.com. Accessed February 26, 2012.
U.S. News & World Report ranked the school 33rd out of all public high schools in New Jersey, and 942nd in the nation, in its 2014 edition of "America's Best High Schools"."Pequannock Township High School Overview", U.S. News & World Report, April 21, 2014. Accessed April 22, 2014.
In its listing of "America's Best High Schools 2016", the school was ranked 237th out of 500 best high schools in the country; it was ranked 40th among all high schools in New Jersey and 23rd among the state's non-magnet schools."America's Best High Schools 2016", Newsweek. Accessed November 11, 2016.
In 2013, PTHS was one of nine schools in the nation to have an entire class of 18 or more students attain a 5, the highest possible score, on the College Board's AP Calculus AB exam.Janoski, Steve. "Pequannock teacher gets an A grade for teaching AP calculus", Suburban Trends, September 2, 2013. Accessed September 30, 2016.
Out of the 175-student Class of 2005, there were ten Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholars, two National Merit Scholarship Program Commended Students and 38 recipients of the President's Education Award.
Athletics The Pequannock Township High School Golden PanthersPequannock Township High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, an athletic conference comprised of public and private high schools located in Morris, Sussex and Warren counties in Northwestern New Jersey, operating under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).Home Page, Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference. Accessed August 27, 2020. "The Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference prides itself on being one of New Jersey's premier high school conferences and is comprised of 39 high schools located in Northwest New Jersey."League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. Prior to the NJSIAA's 2009 realignment, the school had participated in the Suburban Division of the Northern Hills Conference, which included schools located in Essex, Morris and Passaic counties.Home Page, Northern Hills Conference, backed up by the Internet Archive as of January 28, 2011. Accessed December 15, 2014. With 520 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group II for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 486 to 758 students in that grade range.NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The football team competes in the American Blue division of the North Jersey Super Football Conference, which includes 112 schools competing in 20 divisions, making it the nation's biggest football-only high school sports league.Cooper, Darren. "Here's what we know about the new Super Football Conference 2020 schedule", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference (SFC) is a 112-team group, the largest high school football-only conference in America, and is comprised of teams from five different counties."Cooper, Darren. "NJ football: Super Football Conference revised schedules for 2020 regular season", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference has 112 teams that will play across 20 divisions." The school was classified by the NJSIAA as Group II North for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 484 to 683 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
The school participates in a joint cooperative ice hockey team with West Milford High School as the host school / lead agency, operating under an agreement scheduled to expire at the end of the 2023–24 school year.NJSIAA Winter Cooperative Sports Programs, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed December 1, 2020.
Sports offered at the school include:
Fall sports: Football, Fall cheerleading, boys' and girls soccer, field hockey, cross country and girls' tennis, girls' volleyball
Winter sports: wrestling, boys' and girls' basketball, winter cheerleading, boys' and girls' swimming and ice hockey
Spring sports: Golf, boys' and girls' lacrosse, baseball,Pequannock Baseball softball, boys' and girls' track and field team and boys tennis.
The field hockey team won the North II Group II state sectional championship in 1976, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986 and 1989, won the North I Group II title in 2001 and 2003 and won the North I Group I title in 2019; the team won the Group II state championship in 1983 (defeating Collingswood High School in the tournament final) and 1985 vs. Hopewell Valley Central High School.History of NJSIAA Field Hockey Championships, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023. The 1983 team won the Group II title with a 2–1 win against Collingswood in the championship game. The 1985 team finished the season with a 22–1 record after winning the Group II title after defeating Hopewell Valley in overtime by a score of 2–1 in the playoff finals.Jackson, John. "Athlete of the Week", The Record, December 3, 1985. Accessed February 2, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "As a freshman, she played on the freshman and junior varsity teams before moving up to the varsity and becoming a starter as a sophomore in 1983. With Maloney at first link that year, Pequannock defeated Collingswood, 2-1, to win the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Group 2 championship. Last week, Maloney assisted on the game-winning goal and made several key defensive plays from her center halfback position to help the Panthers (22-1) beat Hopewell Valley, 2-1, in overtime to win another Group 2 title."
The boys' wrestling team won the North II Group II state sectional title in 1984, 2000 and 2003, the North II Group I title in 1995 and the North I Group I title in 2005.Boys Wrestling Championship History: 1934–2025, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated February 2026. Accessed March 1, 2026.
The baseball team won the Group II state championship in 1988 (defeating Delran High School in the finals of the tournament) and 2009 (against Shore Regional High School), and won the Group I title in 2023 (vs. Buena Regional High School).Baseball Championship History: 1959–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. The 1988 team finished the season with a 17–10 record with a 3–0 win in the Group II final against Delran, a team that entered the championship game with a 24–2 record.Breeman, Dan. "Pequannock upsets Delran for title, 3-0; Conoscenti's pitching wins Group II", The Record, June 12, 1988. Accessed January 17, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The Pequannock High School baseball team added the final chapter to its Cinderella story yesterday when the Golden Panthers upset Delran in the state Group II championship game 3-0 behind the four-hit pitching of senior Mike Conoscenti."