Eastern Regional High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school for students in ninth through twelfth grades from Berlin Borough, Gibbsboro and Voorhees Township, three communities in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Eastern Camden County Regional High School District. The high school is located in Voorhees Township.Eastern Regional High School 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed May 26, 2016. "Our school is a public regional high school serving students in grades 9 through 12. The student population is multicultural and reflects the diversity of the three communities it serves: Berlin Borough, Gibbsboro and Voorhees Township."
As of the 2024–25 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,847 students and 141.8 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 13.0:1. There were 280 students (15.2% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 21 (1.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Eastern Camden County Regional High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed January 15, 2026.
History The origin of the district dates to 1964, when voters in all three sending communities approved a referendum to fund the construction of a high school.Staff. "Eastern Regional High School touts 50 years of 'Excellence in Education' with May 6 celebration", The Voorhees Sun, May 8, 2015. Accessed April 11, 2021. "The students of Voorhees, Gibbsboro and Berlin townships traveled to Overbrook, Edgewood, Haddonfield or Collingswood to go to high school, and the students and their parents were not pleased. Then things started to change. In 1963, the county appointed a special school board to look at the issue. In 1964, high school plans were developed, a bond referendum was approved by all three communities, ground was broken, and in September 1965, Eastern Regional High School opened its doors."
The original school building with 18 classrooms was constructed on a site covering at a cost of $1.7 million (equivalent to $ million in ). Prior to opening, students from Berlin Borough attended Edgewood Regional High School, while those from Gibbsboro and Voorhees Township were sent to either Collingswood High School or Haddonfield Memorial High School."$1.3 Million in Pacts Given For Voorhees Twp. School", Courier-Post, July 29, 1964. Accessed March 23, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The one-story, 18-classroom, all-brick school will be built on a 50-acre tract located off Rt. 561 near Laurel Oak Country Club.... Overall cost of the new school, including land and equipment, has been fixed at $1.7 million. Cost of the school will be paid through a $1.1 million bond issue approved by the voters Oct. 15, 1963. The regional district includes Gibbsboro, Berlin Borough and Voorhees Township. At present, high school pupils from Gibbsboro and Voorhees Township attend classes at Haddonfield and Collingswood High Schools while Berlin pupils attend Edgewood High School."
The school opened in 1965, with 35 professional staff and 525 students in grades 9-11 in a building designed to accommodate an enrollment of 850.History , Voorhees Township. Accessed July 7, 2011. "Before Eastern Regional High School opened in 1965, Voorhees students attended other high schools including Camden, Haddonfield, Lower Camden County and Collingswood.""New Regional School To Open on Schedule In Voorhees Sept. 8", The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 22, 1965. Accessed April 30, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The new Eastern Camden County Regional High School in Voorhees township will open its doors on schedule to 525 students on Sept. 8.... The district embraces five elementary schools in the boroughs of Berlin and Gibbsboro, plus Voorhees township. Grades 9, 10 and 11 will attend this fall, and the 12th grade will be added next year. The building was constructed for 850 students, but a major addition is envisioned within a few years as enrollment expands.... The school will ease the student load in Haddonfield, Collingswood and Lower Camden County Regional High School." The school was originally divided into schools on the same site: Eastern Intermediate High School (grades 9-10), completed in 1992, and Eastern Senior High School (grades 11-12). There were over 1,000 students enrolled at Eastern Senior High School. Eastern Intermediate High School had approximately 1,150 enrolled students. In September 2012, the schools merged into one unit with the retirement of Dr. James Talarico in June 2012 and was renamed "Eastern Regional High School" with Robert Tull serving as the principal of the merged school. The oldest parts of the school, which were constructed in 1965, 1970, and 1975 are now the "11-12 Building", and the 1992 addition is referred to as the "9-10 Building".
In 2021, the school and its principal were accused of attempting to censor the valedictorian's speech during the graduation ceremony. Bryce Dershem, the valedictorian, gave a speech that included him being queer and overcoming mental health issues, but the principal, Robert Tull, tried to make him recite a preapproved speech that excluded those remarks.O'Kane, Caitlin. "When this high school valedictorian started giving a speech about being queer, the principal took the mic", CBS News, June 28, 2021. Accessed February 14, 2022. A valedictorian from New Jersey says his high school tried to censor his graduation speech, first making him remove parts about sexuality and mental health, then cutting him off as he spoke at graduation. Eighteen-year-old Bryce Dershem, who graduated from Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees, told CBS News he originally wrote a speech about being queer and dealing with mental health issues, but Principal Robert Tull told him to change it.""Lupkat, Alyssa. "When a Valedictorian Spoke of His Queer Identity, the Principal Cut Off His Speech", The New York Times, June 27, 2021. Accessed February 14, 2022. "Less than a minute into Bryce Dershem’s valedictorian speech on June 17, the microphone cut out. He had just told the audience at his New Jersey high school’s graduation ceremony that he came out as queer in his freshman year.... Then his classmates at Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees Township, N.J., cheered for him to continue his speech."
Awards, recognition and rankings Eastern Regional High School was ranked 81st out of 337 High Schools statewide in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2016 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools" using a new ranking methodology. The school was the 104th-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.Staff. "Top Schools Alphabetical List 2014", New Jersey Monthly, September 2, 2014. Accessed September 5, 2014. The school had been ranked 117th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 86th in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 11, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 79th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed April 4, 2011.
Schooldigger.com ranked the school tied for 133rd out of 381 public high schools statewide in its 2011 rankings (a decrease of 46 positions from the 2010 ranking) which were based on the combined percentage of students classified as proficient or above proficient on the mathematics (86.0%) and language arts literacy (93.1%) 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 March 5, 2012.
In its 2013 report on "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast ranked the school 847th in the nation among participating public high schools and 63rd among schools in New Jersey.Streib, Lauren. "America's Best High Schools", The Daily Beast, May 6, 2013. Accessed May 9, 2013.
Sports The Eastern High School VikingsEastern High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. participate in the Olympic Conference, which is comprised of public and private high schools in Burlington and Camden counties, and operates under the auspices of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. With 1,486 students in grades 10–12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 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 Memorial Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconferenceEastern Vikings, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023.Home Page, West Jersey Football League. Accessed May 1, 2023. "The WJFL is a 94-school super conference that stretches from Princeton to Wildwood encompassing schools from the Colonial Valley Conference, the Burlington County Scholastic League, the Olympic Conference, the Tri-County Conference, the Colonial Conference, and the Cape Atlantic League. The WJFL is made up of sixteen divisions with divisional alignments based on school size, geography and a strength-of-program component." and was classified by the NJSIAA as Group V South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 1,333 to 2,324 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024.
Eastern High School has an ice hockey club that fields both a varsity and junior varsity teams. In the 2015–16 season, the team beat Kingsway Regional High School in a series of 2–1 to claim the SJHSHL Tier 1-B Championship on a goal scored seven seconds into overtime.Benevento, Don. "Ice hockey: Eastern edges Kingsway in OT for title" , South Jersey Sport Digest, February 22, 2016. Accessed September 29, 2017. "The two players, one just beginning his high school career and the other finishing his, were the key contributors Monday when Eastern Regional High School defeated Kingsway 4-3 in overtime. The victory sealed the Vikings' South Jersey Ice Hockey League Tier 1 championship in a game played at the Flyers Skate Zone." The team, which is a member of the South Jersey High School Ice Hockey League, competes against other member high schools throughout South Jersey.Varsity Tier I Teams , South Jersey High School Ice Hockey League. Accessed April 11, 2007.
The wrestling team won the South Jersey Group III state sectional championships in 1983 and 1985Boys Wrestling Championship History 1934–2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated October 2024. Accessed November 1, 2025.