The high school occupies a campus within of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There are scenic views of the park's peaks and nearby Walland Gap that divides the Chilhowee Mountain range into two sections. Heritage High School occupies two main educational buildings. The Main school building consists of three, two-story academic wings; counseling and office suites; sizable common area; theater; gymnasium with locker rooms and additional class space for physical education, art and band along the gymnasium perimeter. A covered walkway leads to the vocational education building with large class space for various vocational training programs. Athletic facilities include James D. Lillard Field/Jack Renfro Stadium utilized for football, and track & field. Additional athletic facilities include a soccer field; side-by-side baseball and softball facilities; exterior hard tennis courts as well as a large gymnasium used for basketball, volleyball and wrestling competition. Located adjacent to stadium is the Wilbur Shoun Athletic Fieldhouse used primarily for weight training. Also present on campus is the Heritage Planetarium whose programs were utilized by local schools and general public. The Planetarium is attached by breezeway to main school building. The planetarium was closed on September 23, 2010 following conflict between Director Thomas Webber and Blount County School Board on the Planetarium's direction, budget and the director's salary reduction. There are no current plans to reopen the facility as Mr. Webber resigned his position.
Faculty
Heritage's faculty consists of 104 members. 1% of the faculty possess Ed. D. Degree, 16% have an Ed. S. Degree, 5% have earned master's degree+45, 47% have a Master's Degree, and the remaining 31% have a Bachelor's Degree.
Student life
Most students begin their class day at 8:30 A.M. As Heritage utilizes block scheduling, there are five 70-minute class periods per school day. Before the school year of 2011- 2012, the block schedule used four 90- minute class periods. There is an early class option for seniors who wish to graduate early or need extra credit to graduate on time. These early classes begin at 7:00 a.m. and end at 8:00 a.m. In 2006, Blount County Schools created a freshman academy at Heritage High School that affords faculty and administrative personnel solely devoted to first-year student development. The Heritage High School Marching Band, also known as the Marching Mountaineers, earns superior ratings at most competitions. The band program hosts the annual "Volunteer Classic Band Festival" every October at James D. Lillard Field/ Jack Renfro Stadium. Heritage High School choral groups have garnered superior ratings at state and national-level competitions. They prospered under the direction of Chris Clift, the President of the ETVA until 2018, when Heritage alumni Tyler Owens continued the success of the program.
