Apex Friendship High School


Apex Friendship High School, often referred to as AFHS, is a public high school located in the southwestern corner of Apex, North Carolina near the small community of Friendship, North Carolina. The school was founded in 2015 and remains part of the Wake County Public School System.

History

Naming controversy

The naming of Apex Friendship High School was highly controversial before its opening in 2015. The school board had initially planned to call the school ‘West Apex High School’ after a vote in 2011, but local Friendship residents, many of whom are minorities, wanted the school to pay tribute to the area's history by including the word ‘Friendship’ in its name. In 2013, the school board retracted its 2011 decision in favor of the current name in order to accommodate these residents’ wishes.
The school board received criticism for its final decision from many of the incoming students, parents, and staff. Hundreds of residents signed an unsuccessful petition to reverse the decision, citing ‘Friendship' as an inappropriate name for a high school.

Early years

It opened for the 2015–2016 school year to 9th and 10th graders only. During the 2016–2017 school year it added 11th graders, and the following year expanded to add 12th graders. The class of 2018 was the first to graduate. The class of 2019 was the first to graduate after being there all four years. It operates on a 4x4 block schedule.