The University Laboratory High SchoolOfficial website (also known as Uni High or just Uni) is a laboratory school located in the engineering section of the University of Illinois campus in Urbana, Illinois. It was established in 1921. It enrolls about 300 students, spanning five years (the traditional grades 9–12, preceded by an 8th grade year known as the "subfreshman" year).Members of the Uni High community usually refer to subfreshmen as "subbies." (Use of the term "subbie" in the Online Gargoyle, Uni's student newspaper )

Funding and relationship to the University of Illinois Uni's two primary sources of funding are private donations and the statewide per-pupil distribution financed in the Illinois state budget. It is also supported by mandatory school fees and a contribution from the University of Illinois Provost's office. Uni does not receive any property tax revenue due to enrollment being competitive vs. dependent upon residency in a particular district.

For many years, the school was funded by the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign as an institution to experiment with educational curriculum and to teach university students majoring in education. The University of Illinois withdrew most of its support in the early 1980s. The "laboratory" aspect persists in certain classes. An experimental math course was taught in the early 2000s and teachers continue to experiment in small, creative, ways.

The relationship to the university provides a number of benefits to the students. Students get full access to the university's library system†. Junior and senior students can enroll in courses at the university. Credit earned in this manner may then be applied to future study at the university level. Additionally, Kenney Gym, the university's former men's gymnasium, is used by Uni for physical education and by the volleyball and basketball teams.

† The high school library is a branch of the university library system and for this reason has been called "the largest high school library in the world."

In 2022, the school changed its colors to match those of its parent institution.

Admissions and academics Students apply to enter Uni as part of the incoming "subfreshmen" class which completes a year at eighth grade level before continuing on to the ninth grade. Roughly 65 students are admitted each year, keeping the school's total enrollment near 320 students. Admission decisions are based on previous academic history, extracurriculars, teacher recommendations, a personal statement, and a timed writing sample. The school no longer requires scores on the Secondary School Admission Test as part of its admission process. Students may apply during their sixth or seventh grade years. Whether immediately after graduation, the vast majority of students go on to enter a four-year college or university, although some choose to defer a year to study abroad, volunteer, or work.

Uni High has an excellent academic reputation. Many students are among the most accomplished in the nation every year. For example, the school had three national merit scholarship winners in both the 2021 and 2022 academic graduating classes. Given that only 2,500 winners are selected nationwide every year out of about 4 million high school graduates, Uni High graduates were approximately 74 times more likely than an average high school student to become national merit scholarship winners.

Extracurriculars Uni has had numerous successes in interscholastic competitions, including competitive chess (administered by the Illinois High School Association) and academic competitions. Students also participate in many clubs through the school, both for fun and to give back to their community.

Chess The school's chess team has won the IHSA's team chess tournament seven times (1978, 1979, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1994, and 2009), and has been runner-up three times (1976, 1980, 1989). They came in second in the US National Championship in 1978 on a tiebreak. Members of that team included Thomas Krause, Robert Sah, Mark Zvilius, Jonathan Atkin, and Steven Schran. The team was coached by David Sprenkle, a Uni alum and ranked chess master. Currently, the school has rebuilt its competitive chess program.

Toshiba ExploraVision Since the competition's inception, students at the school frequently participate in Toshiba ExploraVision, a science competition where students submit projects imagining theoretical inventions for the future. Under Biology teacher David Stone, ten teams placed first in the regional competition and of those, five went on to place first nationally (1996, 1997, 2009, 2010, and 2016) and one placed second (1998). Stone's last team, May Yang and Maher Adoni (both class of 2021), placed first at regionals in 2019. Under Biology teacher Cynthia Smyser (class of 1992), one team has placed second nationally (2020). Lawrence Zhao and Dina Hashash of the class of 2022 also placed first nationally in the competition before coming to Uni in 2017.

Academic teams Uni High has several academic teams that compete each year and typically place highly in their respective competitions. These include Science Olympiad, Scholastic Bowl, WYSE Academic Challenge, Japan Bowl, and various math competitions.

The Uni High Scholastic Bowl team has qualified for the IHSA State Competition in four consecutive years, placing 4th in 2014 and 1st in 2015 in Class A before being bumped to Class AA and finishing 2nd in 2017. Throughout the season, which roughly runs from September to March, the team participates in a variety of tournaments and competitions. The program was started as a club in 2013 by Bruce Li and members of the Class of 2015, who then secured sponsorship from the school's administration to begin competing as a team in the 2013-2014 season. Uni has since grown into one of the strongest teams in the state, winning the NAQT State Championship in 2018 and the IHSA Class AA State Championship in 2019. In 2019, Uni placed second at the National Academic Quiz Tournaments High School Championship and third at the Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence National Scholastic Championship. In 2023, Uni won the IHSA Class A State Championship.

Tim Cho (class of 2019), member and leader of the Scholastic Bowl team, competed on Teen Jeopardy in 2018 and returned for the Reunion Tournament in 2023.

Since 1997, Uni has been an annual participant in the Academic Challenge, which consists of a series of tests in various academic fields, including biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering design, English, mathematics, and physics. The competition is open to high schools in Illinois and Missouri. For nine consecutive years from 1998 to 2006, as well as in 2008, 2009 and 2011, Uni was the state champion in the smallest division (enrollment under 300). In 2007, Uni competed in the next larger division and placed 2nd, despite the school's smaller enrollment in the 9th through 12th grades.

Service clubs Uni High's Habitat for Humanity club works with the Habitat affiliate in Clarksdale, Mississippi. They hold several fundraisers throughout the year in order to send money to Clarksdale, as well as having an annual trip to Clarksdale every February during Agora Days where students work on houses. The club was founded by history teacher Bill Sutton and run by him until his retirement in 2017. The club is now run by history teacher Ben Leff (class of 2001). Several Uni alums have moved to the Clarksdale area to work with Habitat for Humanity or to work in various schools and after-school programs. Uni High's connection to Clarksdale allowed Anja Theissen and Uni High alumni Bianca Zarahescu, class of 2007, to found Spring Initiative, a program which mentors students and prepares them for greater academic success, personal growth, and an opportunity to overcome poverty. Habitat and Spring host events throughout the school year for students including the Sprabitat Dodgeball Tournament and Sprabitat Haunted House.

Uni has a Food Pantry club that volunteers at and raises money for the Wesley Food Pantry. The school also has a club called United for Uganda, which raises money for a grassroots organization in Uganda called Come Let's Dance. During the 2013-2014 school year, the club started a program through Come Let's Dance to sponsor a child in Uganda's education each year.

Madrigals The Madrigals are a group of student singers who perform throughout the year, most notably at the Winter Party at the end of the fall semester. Before the Winter Party, the madrigals typically lead students through the halls, out of their last final exam, with candles and singing. The group was founded in 1948 and originally consisted of twelve members but now has grown to seventeen. In the 1970s, the group adopted Elizabethan style attire which they still wear at their appearances. In 2017, music director Richard Murphy organized a reunion of past Madrigals including some singers from the 1950s.

School traditions Agora Days (since 1977) Agora Days, a four-day school week in late February when students, parents, faculty, alumni and friends of the school can teach hour-long classes about a wide range of topics, which have included popular cake decorating and massage classes. Students are required to take a number of academic-oriented classes, but classes based on playing sports, watching films or TV series, and studying video games also exist. Students have the same eight-hour schedule on each of the four days.

During Agora Days, for the past two decades, Sprabitat Club has sent about a dozen upperclassmen (primarily seniors) to Clarksdale, Mississippi to build houses, meet locals, and learn about local history. After a year off due to COVID-19, the 2022 trip split students among two sites to mitigate the virus: one in Tutwiler, Mississippi and the other in Clarksdale. Students also wore masks when indoors. The two groups ate dinner together at Meraki Roasting Company.

Handprints (since 1979)

After graduation, each senior has the opportunity to leave a painted handprint on the walls of the school, a tradition that began in the lounge and has since expanded along the first-floor hallway.

Big Show (since 197?) Big Show is a student directed and acted sketch comedy show that is put on by the school every year in the South Attic during the weeks after the spring musical. Since its inception as a variety talent show for the school, it has evolved into the comedy program that students know now. In the 1980s, Big Show began to take on themes rather than remain just a talent show, in the 1990s, students experimented with improvisational comedy, and in the 2000s, students began creating video sketches.

The Wylde Q. Chicken Award (since 1998) The Wylde Q. Chicken Award, sponsored by the graduating class of 1972, is meant to recognize "spontaneous creativity," "unbidden originality," and "extraordinary acts in ordinary circumstances." It is awarded annually at the end of the school year; recipients are chosen by a panel of judges from the class of 1972 along with past winners of the award. Previous winners have included a series of promotional posters for the 50 states in the first floor restrooms, the staging of the American Revolution in comic strip form, and a Gilbert and Sullivan-style adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth.

X-Week (2013–20??) / X-Dinner (since 20??–present)