The school was opened in 2004 to educate students in grades 9 to 12. The school was opened due to the growing number of students in Chattahoochee High School. The 330,000 square foot school was designed by Perkins and Will with sustainable design in mind. It was relieved by the 2012 opening of Cambridge High School.
Alpharetta cluster
Alpharetta High is part of a cluster of schools in Fulton County that interact closely and educate students from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Most of the campus at Alpharetta High School is occupied by a main building that contains three floors and three hallways. The bottom floor contains the cafeteria, media center, and access to the buses and portables outside. The second and third floor are mostly classes, and the second floor has access to the auditorium, gym, and orchestra room. Other parts of the school outside the main building include the band building, the soccer field, football fields, tennis court, trail, and softball field.
Athletics
Competitive sports at Alpharetta High School are football, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, soccer, wrestling, tennis, track and field, cross country, volleyball, swimming, diving, cheerleading, and golf. Although not officially recognized by the Georgia High School Association, additional athletic activities include rugby, fencing, chess, cricket, and ping pong.
Fine Arts
Band
The band is directed by Mike Walsh and Ira Jenkins and contains three concert bands. The program also contains a marching band and smaller ensembles, including a percussion ensemble and trombone choir.
Orchestra
The Alpharetta High School Orchestra is currently directed by Dr. Charles Laux and is also split into five ensembles, which are Concert, Philharmonia, Sinfonia, Symphony, and Chamber. The program used to be directed by Mr. Sheldon Fisher, who retired in 2016. The orchestra's Symphony ensemble frequently collaborate with the band in order to perform and compete as a full symphony orchestra.
Chorus
The Alpharetta High School Chorus is directed by Michelle Levesque. The chorus performs in several concerts and is divided in smaller ensembles and clubs.
Extracurriculars
Alpharetta High School has many extracurricular activities and has about 95 clubs. Most of these clubs occur either before or after school. Many of these clubs occur during Anchor Time, which is a 45-minute period that takes place every Tuesday and Thursday in both first and second semesters. Some of the notable clubs include Future Business Leaders of America, Raider Ambassadors, National Honors Society, Raiders of the ARC, Science Olympiad, and Beta. Students may also form their own clubs.
In the 2018-2019 school year, Alpharetta High School has officially been chosen to become an International Baccalaureate school. Although the school already offers Advanced Placement courses and Dual Enrollment courses at various colleges, IB courses will be completely new. Students will be allowed to complete the IB Diploma Programme by taking the required classes, or they may take specific IB classes along with other classes.
Awards
Alpharetta has won awards in a variety of fields.
Academic
The school was the recipient of the 2007-2008 Governors Cup for the AAAAA school with the highest increase in SAT scores.
Alpharetta High School was nationally ranked in Newsweek's "Best High Schools 2012," coming in at 268.
The school has been consistently at the top on the US News report and is ranked #4 for the best Georgia high schools in 2020.
Athletic
The 2008 girls' cross country team were Region 6-AAAAA Champions and placed 6th in the state.
The 2007 girls' track and field team was Region 6-AAAAA Champions and placed seventh in the state.
The 2009 competition cheerleaders were Region 6-AAAAA Champions and placed seventh in the state.
The 2009-10 boys' ice hockey team won the state championship.
The 2010 boys' tennis team won the school's first state championship.
The 2010 competition cheerleaders won the state championship.
The 2011-12 boys' ice hockey team won the state championship.
The 2012 boys' tennis team won the state championship.
Chess
On March 27, 2010, the Alpharetta High School Chess Team won the State Championships by defeating Creekview 5-0, Dunwoody 5-0, Greater Atlanta Christian School 5-0, Pace Academy 5-0, and Northview 5-0. This makes them the first chess team in Georgia history to win a state championship with a perfect 25-0.
FBLA
The school's FBLA team is one of the largest in Georgia. Many members compete at the regional, state, and national levels. For 6 years in a row, Alpharetta has won the State Sweepstakes Award for the most number of competitive wins.
Quizbowl
The Academic Team won the 2007–2008 Annual High Q competition, which is hosted by Chuck Dowdle and airs on WSB-TV. They were originally alternates for the competition.
In the 2013-2014 season, the varsity quizbowl team won the ATTACK III and GATA Winter Tournaments. The Junior varsity team won the GATA State tournament. Both the varsity and junior varsity teams won the MLK Day History Bowl Regional. The team was ranked 84th in the national quizbowl rankings at the end of the season.
In the 2014-2015 season, the varsity quizbowl team finished third at the 25th Annual Walton Academic Challenge and won both the History Bowl and Bee Regional at Athens.
The school's Varsity Speech and Debate Team placed second in the State Championship in Spring 2009.
The school's Varsity Speech and Debate Team placed fifth at the All-State competition in 2009.
Arts
The school's symphony orchestra, composed of nearly 90 select band and orchestra students, was chosen to perform at Chicago's 2012 and 2018 Midwest Clinic. Of thousands of schools that auditioned all over the world, Alpharetta was one of only a few that were chosen.
