The school was established in 1957 as Essex Junction High School. In 1970, a new, larger campus was constructed about away, containing both the high school and a technical center. This new campus was named the Essex Junction Educational Center, while the former building became Albert D. Lawton Middle School. In the 1990s, the school's name was changed to Essex High School to reflect the two communities it served, Essex and Essex Junction. The original EJHS building was designed for future expansion by the addition of a second story. However, when more classrooms were needed in the 1980s, new building codes required any renovations to bring the entire old building up to code, at great cost. A new two-story "C wing" and senior courtyard were added to the east side instead. In 2002, a new library and media center were built east of the C wing. In 2014 a small "Maker Space" was opened in the library.
Academics
The school is accredited as a public secondary school by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and by the Vermont Department of Education. EHS adjoins the Center for Technology, Essex, a technical and vocational school. Students can enroll concurrently in both high school and technical programs; approximately ten percent of students do so each year. The school has accelerated programs in Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, English, French and Spanish; honors courses in English and Mathematics; and a selection of fourteen Advanced Placement courses. The school also offers media and computer facilities. In 2008, EHS students earned the county's best math scores on the New England Common Assessment Program test. Tuition was $11,900 in 2009-2010. This tuition was paid by towns sending students to this public school, sometimes from outside the school district.
Student activities
There are 31 clubs and 18 sports including:
The Essex High School Robotics club competes in FIRST Tech Challenge and progressed to the internationals in St. Louis in 2012.
The Essex High School Jazz Band ranked in the top two bands in the state of Vermont for 2006 and 2007 at the IAJE Jazz Festival in Burlington.
The team has won the state championship seven years since 2004 and has been ranked nationally for the last five. In 2006 and 2008, they were ranked as one of the top 10 teams in the nation.
In 2005, the programming team won the regional title and was ranked fourth nationally, and ranked third in 1981.
The Envirothon team won the state competition in 2009 and 2010 and represented Vermont at the Canon 2009 North American Envirothon in Asheville, NC.
The Scholar's Bowl Team won the state championship in 2017, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2010, and 2004.
Athletics
The school has a stadium, track, tennis courts, and several practice fields. The town's indoor hockey rink is located on school grounds. School teams and student athletes have won over 200 Vermont State Championships since 1970. This figure includes 63 individual track records set by various girl and boy athletes.
The cross country and track and field teams are top in the state of Vermont. The girls' cross country team has won 18 state championships, and won New England's in 1986, 1987, and 1994. Since 1948, the boys' cross-country teams have won 16 titles, including a New England's crown in 1987, and won five consecutive titles from 2000-2004. Most recently the boys cross country team were state champions in 2018 and the Boys track team won states in 2018 This run culminated in a 4th-place finish at the New England championships in 2004. Essex's boys' and girls' teams have won a total of 72 state titles since 1973.
The hockey team won its first Vermont state championship in 1981.
In the 2003-2004 season, the hockey team went undefeated, winning 23 straight games and the Vermont state title.
The football team has won the state title six times - 1973, 1981, 1988, 1989, 1992, and 2009.
The cheerleading team has captured the most state championships by any cheerleading team in Vermont, winning a total of 21 state titles since 1986. In 2005, after taking first place at the New England Regional Qualifier, the team traveled to Orlando, Florida, where they placed third out of thirty-one teams in the most competitive national cheerleading competition in the country: the UCA National Cheerleading Championship. They marked VT Cheerleading history as the first team in the state to compete nationally. The team's most recent state titles were claimed in 2008, 2011, 2012, and 2014.
The boys' lacrosse team won the state title in 2007, 2008, and 2010.
The boys' tennis team won the state title in 1994 and 2011.
The boys' basketball team won its first state title in 1979, and won again in 1998 and 2010.
The boys' rugby team has won four of the last five state championships.
The girls' basketball team has won the state title nine times - 1979, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 2006.
