Cheltenham High School was established in 1884 and is one of the oldest public high schools in Pennsylvania. The first location was on Ashbourne Road, and at the time of its closing in 1953, it was considered the oldest public school site in continuous use.[3] The next building was at High School Road and Montgomery Avenue in Elkins Park. The current Cheltenham High School located at 500 Rices Mill Road in Wyncote was built in 1959. It sits on a land area of approximately 47 acres, and is bound by Route 309, Route 152, Panther Road, Rices Mill Road, Carlton Avenue, and Old Mill Road.
In 2017–18 the student ethnicity was distributed as follows: 54% Black, 31% White, 8% Asian, and 5% Hispanic.[1] The school has approximately 1400 students in grades 9 through 12, with a student-teacher ratio of about 12:1.[1]
Cheltenham's athletic teams are known as the Cheltenham Panthers and are members of the PIAA District 1 in the American Conference of the Suburban One League. They have a long-standing tradition of holding a Thanksgiving Day football game against their cross-town rival, Abington Senior High School. The rivalry celebrated its 100th year in 2015.
In 2004 the school adopted a stricter dress code because the administration felt that clothing that was too loose could hide identity badges and make identifying occupants more difficult.[4]
Extracurriculars
Cheltenham Township School District offers a wide variety of clubs, activities and an extensive sports program.
Athletics
Athletic teams representing Cheltenham High School
CHS is a member of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) and in the Suburban One American Conference (SOL). It was one of the founding members of the SOL in 1922, and is one of 4 of the remaining original schools.[5] Cheltenham Athletics promote sportsmanship above self, and therefore, consistently receive the SOL Sportsmanship Award.[6] Cheltenham has teams in the following sports:[7]Asterisk designates available to both boys and girls.
Fall sports
Cross country running*
Boys football
Soccer*
Color Guard*
Girls tennis
Girls volleyball
Coed cheerleading
Coed field hockey
Coed unified cheer
Winter sports
Basketball *
Color Guard*
Indoor Track*
Swimming/Diving *
Boys wrestling
Spring sports
Boys baseball
Boys tennis
Track & field
Cross country
Color Guard*
Boys volleyball
Coed unified track
Lacrosse
Girls softball
Girls Basketball Team
The Cheltenham Girls basketball team won the PIAA AAAA state championship in 2000, and again in 2007. They have won PIAA District 1 titles, and the Suburban One American Conference 23 times. Coach Bob Schaefer won his 700th game on February 5, 2010, and has coached the Panthers for 30 years.[8] He has coached the WBCA All-American Forward, Laura Harper, who played in the WNBA and is the current head coach at Coppin State. Harper scored 2007 points during her Cheltenham Career. In 2007 (their 2nd championship year), the Panthers were honored by the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame with the "Pride of Philadelphia Award."[9] The award is given to individuals or teams who have "represented the Philadelphia area with dignity, determination, and class through athletic achievement.[10] " On Tuesday March 27, 2012, Schafer resigned from his 31-year post as the Lady Panthers head coach. He finished with a 757-163 record, 2 PIAA AAAA state titles, 2 state runner-up, 4 District I Championships, and the Suburban One League champions 24 out of the last 26 years.[11] Schaefer, a West Hazleton native, was inducted into the Hazleton Area Sports Hall of Fame in September, 2012.[12]
Girls Track and Field
The Cheltenham Girls Track and Field Team has won six state championships. They have won four indoor PTFCA indoor state championships (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017) and two outdoor PIAA State Championships (2015, 2016). They have also won seven PIAA District 1 championships (2013 - 2019)[13]
Cheltenham–Abington rivalry
The Cheltenham and Abington logos next to each other at the Abington gymnasium
The Cheltenham–Abington rivalry, also known as "The Turkey Bowl", is a football game played between the Cheltenham Panthers and the Abington Galloping Ghosts. It has been played annually on Thanksgiving Day since 1915, unless one of the teams has conflicts with PIAA playoffs. The rivalry is the fifth-oldest public high school rivalry in Pennsylvania, and the seventh-oldest including private schools. The schools are less than 2 miles apart. Despite not being in the same conference, the rivalry is prevalent in other sports, mainly basketball. In some sports, the teams do not play each other at all. Abington leads the overall series 55–34-6. Below is a chart of the all-time games of the rivalry.[14]
1915: Cheltenham, 38-0
1916: Cheltenham, 49-0
1917: Cheltenham, 37-0
1918: Cheltenham, 16-0
1919: Cheltenham, 14-0
1920: Cheltenham, 13-17
1921: Abington, 14-0
1922: Abington, 13-0
1923: Abington, 27-0
1924: Abington, 39-0
1925: Abington, 13-7
1926: Cheltenham, 36-7
1927: Abington, 6-0
1928: Abington, 24-0
1929: Abington, 12-0
1930: Abington, 3-0
1931: Abington, 19-0
1932: Abington, 22-0
1933: Cheltenham, 14-13
1934: Abington, 2-0
1935: Cheltenham, 34-0
1936: Abington, 13-6
1937: Abington, 46-0
1938: Cheltenham, 13-6
1939: Cheltenham, 18-6
1940: Tie, 0-0
1941: Tie, 13-13
1942: Abington, 27-6
1943: No Game
1944: Cheltenham, 26-7
1945: Cheltenham, 18-6
1946: No Game
1947: No Game
1948: Cheltenham, 6-0
1949: Abington, 20-7
1950: Abington, 7-6
1951: Cheltenham, 21-7
1952: Tie, 0-0
1953: Abington, 27-7
1954: Abington, 47-0
1955: Tie, 0-0
1956: Cheltenham, 7-0
1957: Cheltenham, 21-13
1958: Abington, 39-0
1959: Tie, 14-14
1960: Abington, 33-13
1961: Abington, 13-12
1962: Abington, 40-26
1963: Cheltenham, 13-7
1964: Abington, 34-7
1965: Abington, 6-0
1966: Abington, 38-0
1967: Abington, 6-0
1968: Abington, 60-6
1969: Abington, 17-14
1970: Cheltenham, 34-0
1971: Abington, 22-0
1972: Abington, 34-6
1973: Cheltenham, 15-14
1974: Abington, 18-13
1975: Abington, 9-6
1976: Cheltenham, 28-6
1977: Cheltenham, 8-7
1978: Cheltenham, 25-21
1979: Tie, 14-14
1980: Cheltenham, 2-0
1981: Abington, 20-16
1982: Abington, 41-0
1983: Abington, 34-14
1984: Abington, 32-0
1985: Abington, 14-7
1986: Abington, 42-0
1987: Abington, 38-6
1988: Abington, 32-0
1989: Abington, 21-6
1990: Abington, 33-12
1991: Abington, 22-10
1992: Cheltenham, 36-0
1993: Abington, 14-0
1994: Cheltenham, 21-15
1995: No Game
1996: Abington, 31-29
1997: Abington, 21-13
1998: Cheltenham, 23-20
1999: Abington, 21-20
2000: Cheltenham, 20-17
2001: Abington, 32-26
2002: Cheltenham, 20-17
2003: Cheltenham, 28-7
2004: Abington, 21-7
2005: Cheltenham, 36-35
2006: No Game
2007: Abington, 45-7
2008: Abington, 38-3
2009: Abington, 28-14
2010: Abington, 16-7
2011: Abington, 42-7
2012: Abington, 7-0
2013: Cheltenham, 35-34
2014: Abington, 21-0
2015: Cheltenham, 41-36
2023: Tie, 14-7 (game ended early)
Media
Cheltenham High School publishes a school newspaper The Cheltonian, the school yearbook El Delator, and various interviews, polls, and student work aired on Comcast channel 42, which is the township channel.
Music and arts
Vocal music
Cheltenham has many choir classes, such as Vwa Ba, Voces Altas, Concert Choir, and Select Choir, which all perform together biannually at the Winter and Spring Choir Concert. Other activities include the Touring Ensemble, CHS's show choir, in which students prepare a set of song and dance numbers-often with a central theme-and perform monthly around the community as well as at competitions. Most recently, the Touring Ensemble traveled to New Orleans in March 2019. Cheltenham also sponsors two A cappella groups, Sons of Pitch and Up the Octave.
Band and orchestra
Marching Band, Chamber Orchestra, etc.
Theatre
Cheltenham hosts an annual Music Theatre production, which occurs annually on the week preceding Spring Break.
Notable alumni
The Cheltenham High School Hall of Fame was established to "acknowledge the achievements of our alma mater's most remarkable graduates".[15] The first class was in 1981, and have had inductions in 1984, 1987, 1993, 1996, 1999, and 2002. Hall of Fame inductees have a HoF next to their name.
