West Deptford High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from West Deptford Township, in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the sole secondary school of the West Deptford Public Schools.
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 754 students and 71.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 10.6:1. There were 187 students (24.8% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 39 (5.2% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for West Deptford High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
History In August 1958, the district approved a proposal for the construction of a junior/senior high school on a site covering that would cost a projected $2.5 million (equivalent to $ million in )."W. Deptford High School Plan Okayed", Courier-Post, August 14, 1958. Accessed March 21, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "West Deptford Township Board of Education and the Citizens Advisory Committee approved plans Wednesday night for a junior-senior high school estimated to cost $2.5 million. The board will meet with the State Department of Education Aug. 26 at 10.30 a. m. for permission for the board to exceed its borrowing capacity. Township voters authorized purchase of a 50-acre site for the proposed structure at a special election in May." The school opened for ninth-grade students in 1960 and had its first graduating class four years later.Maska, April; Mikulski, Noreen. West Deptford, p. 72. Arcadia Publishing, 2011. . Accessed March 21, 2022. "They were the first color guard team of the new West Deptford High School. The high school opened in 1960 with an incoming freshman class. A new incoming class was added each year. In 1964, the first senior class graduated from West Deptford High School." Formal dedication ceremonies for the school, which could handle a maximum enrollment of nearly 1,450 students, were held in December 1960."W. Deptford High School Is Dedicated", Courier-Post, December 3, 1960. Accessed March 21, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The new $2.5 million West Deptford Junior-Senior High School which opened recently was dedicated in ceremonies here today..... Functional capacity of the school is 1,156 pupils while maximum capacity is 1,446."
Awards, recognition and honors The school was the 152nd-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 219th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 182nd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed September 24, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 185th in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed October 30, 2011. The school was ranked 170th 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.
Athletics West Deptford High School EaglesWest Deptford Township High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete as a member school in the Colonial Conference, which is comprised of small schools whose enrollments generally do not exceed 800 students for grades 9-12, and operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.Schools , Colonial Conference. Accessed September 1, 2022.League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. With 603 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2022–24 school years as Group II South for most athletic competition purposes.NJSIAA General Classifications - Public Schools 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022. The football team competes in the Constitution Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconferenceWest Deptford Eagles, 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 II South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 514 to 685 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. The school competes in Varsity Tier II of the South Jersey High School Ice Hockey League, a high school ice hockey league with 20 teams participating at the varsity level from South Jersey.
The boys' soccer team was Group II co-champion with Madison High School in 1982 and won the Group III title vs. Scotch Plains High School in 1985.NJSIAA History of Boys Soccer, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022. The 1982 team was declared as Group II co-champion after a 1–1 tie in the finals with Madison."Dodgers tie for state soccer crown", The Madison Eagle, November 24, 1982. Accessed February 27, 2021. "With a 1-1 tie against West Deptford on Friday night Madison won the Group II State Championship and completed the 'triple crown' of soccer for 1982 The Dodgers won Morris County and Northern Hills Conference championships to go with their state crown. The game, in which both teams were declared state champions because of the tie. was played at Wall High School near Pt. Pleasant before a crowd estimated at 1,300." In 1999, the soccer team earned the South, Group III sectional title with a 2–0 win against Moorestown High School.Public Group Semifinals - South, Group III, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 6, 2007. In 2012, the soccer team won the South Jersey Group II sectional title with a 4–1 win in penalty kicks after a 2–2 tie in the tournament final against Cinnaminson High School."West Deptford at Cinnaminson, NJSIAA Tournament, Round, South Jersey, Group 2", NJ.com, November 19, 2012. Accessed December 20, 2017.
The girls swimming team won the Division B state championship in 1984.NJSIAA Boys and Girls Team Swimming History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
The field hockey team won the South Jersey Group II state sectional title in 1994, 1996, 2003, 2009, 2013–2019 and won the South Group I title in 2022 and 2023; the team won the Group II state championship in 1996 (defeating Warren Hills Regional High School in the tournament final) and won the Group I state title in 2022 and 2023 (vs. Shore Regional High School both years).Field Hockey Championship History; 1971–2025, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated November 2025. Accessed December 1, 2025. The team won the South Jersey, Group II state sectional in 2003 with a 3–2 win over Camden Catholic High School in the final game,2003 Field Hockey - South, Group II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 6, 2007. avenging a 2–1 loss the previous year against the same team.2002 Field Hockey Tournament - South, Group II, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 6, 2007.
The boys' wrestling team won the South Jersey Group II state sectional title in 1996, 2000, 2010, 2019 and 2020; the team won the Group II state championship in 2000.Boys Wrestling Championship History: 1934–2025, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated February 2026. Accessed March 1, 2026. The team won the 2000 Group III state championship, edging North Hunterdon High School 25–24 in the semifinal match and defeating Sparta High School 34–28 in the finals.Group Finals - Group III, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 6, 2007. The boys' wrestling team took the South Jersey, Group III sectional title in 2000 with a 37–23 win in the tournament final against Oakcrest High School.Team Wrestling - South, Group III, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed July 6, 2007. In the 2009-10 wrestling season, the Eagles won a South Jersey Group II Title. Then beat 10th-ranked David Brearley High School in the state semi-finals before losing to second-ranked Long Branch High School in the finals and finished ranked 12th in the state.
The 1996 softball team finished the season with a 24–6 record after winning the Group II state championship. The team won the semifinals against Carteret High School in 14 innings and went on to win the championship with a 6-5 extra-inning victory against Arthur L. Johnson High School in the tournament final after falling behind in the ninth, tying the game and then going on to win in the bottom of the tenth inning.Softball Championship History 1972–2023, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated July 2023. Accessed April 1, 2024.Culligan, Joey. "W. Deptford captures first state softball title; The team had fallen behind in the 9th inning. But in the 10th, rival A.L. Johnson succumbed.", The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 9, 1996. Accessed June 6, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The West Deptford Softball team learned the meaning of patience last Tuesday when it defeated Central Jersey champion Carteret in a state semifinal game that went 14 innings. That experience paid off for coach Jill Schectz's team yesterday at Toms River North when it edged A.L. Johnson, 6-5, in 10 innings, to win the school's first state Group 2 title. West Deptford (24-6) lost all of a 4-0 lead and then fell behind, 5-4, in the top of the ninth, but the Colonial Conference team tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, then scored the deciding run in its next at-bat."