Rancocas Valley Regional High School is a regional high school and public school district serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from five communities in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Rancocas Valley Regional Board of Education District Policy 0110 - Identification, Rancocas Valley Regional High School District. Accessed February 9, 2020. "Purpose: The Board of Education exists for the purpose of providing a thorough and efficient system of free public education in grades nine through twelve in the Rancocas Valley Regional High School District. Composition: The Rancocas Valley Regional High School District is comprised of all the area within the municipal boundaries of Eastampton Township, Hainesport Township, Lumberton Township, Mount Holly Township and Westampton Township." The district encompasses approximately and comprises the communities of Eastampton Township, Hainesport Township, Lumberton, Mount Holly and Westampton.Rancocas Valley Regional High School District 2015 Report Card Narrative, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed June 1, 2016. "The Rancocas Valley Regional High School (RVRHS) District serves five sending districts covering approximately 40 square miles in Burlington County: Eastampton, Hainesport, Lumberton, Mount Holly and Westampton. RVRHS is situated on a picturesque campus in Mount Holly, the county seat."Staff. "Regional School Districts", Burlington County Times, April 26, 2015. Accessed June 1, 2016. "Rancocas Valley Regional - Serves: Eastampton, Hainesport, Lumberton, Mount Holly, Westampton"History of the School, Rancocas Valley Regional High School. Accessed April 15, 2021. "The district encompasses approximately and comprises the townships of Eastampton, Hainesport, Lumberton, Mount Holly, and Westampton.... The first addition to Rancocas Valley High School after its opening in 1937 was an agriculture building in 1950 followed four years later by four new classrooms and a home economics and wood shop facility." The school is located in Mount Holly. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1938; the school's current accreditation extends until January 2028.Rancocas Valley Regional High School, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools. Accessed December 22, 2024. The high school is the only facility of the Rancocas Valley Regional High School District.Public Schools Directory 2023–2024, Burlington County, New Jersey. Accessed March 1, 2024.School Performance Reports for the Rancocas Valley Regional High School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed September 1, 2025.New Jersey School Directory for the Rancocas Valley Regional High School District, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed February 1, 2024.
As of the 2023–24 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,005 students and 141.3 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.2:1. There were 435 students (21.7% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 142 (7.1% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Rancocas Valley Regional High School, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 15, 2024.
History The school was built on the ruins of the West Jersey Collegiate Institute, a private school for boys that was abandoned at the time of the Civil War. Mount Holly High School was founded in 1895, and after a vote to establish a regional high school, the name "Rancocas Valley Regional High School" was chosen in April 1935."Regional High School Chiefs Hold Parley", Courier-Post, April 5, 1935. Accessed May 16, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "After considering several names for the new school, the Board of Education decided that it should be known as 'The Rancocas Valley Regional High School.'" Constructed at a cost of $300,000, a crowd of 500 attended the school's formal dedication ceremonies in October 1937."Dr. White Dedicates Rancocas Valley Hi; See Ceremony at Regional School Recently Opened at Mt. Holly", Courier-Post, October 25, 1937. Accessed April 15, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The recently opened $300,000 Rancocas Valley Regional High School was dedicated yesterday, with 500 persons in attendance."
Before Lenape High School opened in September 1958, students from Medford, Medford Lakes and Tabernacle Township had attended Rancocas Valley Regional High School. With students in these three communities in ninth and tenth grades attending Lenape, the Rancocas Valley district anticipated a drop in enrollment of 90 students for the 1958-59 school year."Rancocas Regional Completes Opening", Courier-Post, September 10, 1958. Accessed May 16, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Rancocas Valley Regional High School, Jacksonville rd., opens its new school year Thursday for freshman and sophomore students.... Harry Wenrich, school principal, anticipates the total enrollment this year will be 1170 students compared with 1260 last year. Students from Tabernacle, Medford and Medford Lakes who have previously attended classes here will be enrolled in the new Lenape Regional High School at Medford."
The district had been classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "DE", the fifth highest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed December 22, 2024.
Academic programs Rancocas Valley Regional High School offers a range of college prep, honors, accelerated, Advanced Placement (AP) courses, business and technology education classes. Students can receive college credits by successfully completing specific high school courses through the Burlington County College Accelerated Program (CAP) and Seton Hall University Dual Enrollment Program. Rancocas Valley High School offers over 85 clubs and activities.
RVTV is operated out of the school and showcases sporting events, concerts, graduations and student-created programming.RVTV, Rancocas Valley Regional High School. Accessed August 17, 2011.
Annex The Rancocas Valley Regional High School Annex on Smithville Road in Eastampton Township is home to the district's business offices and the Functional Life Skills Integrated Program (FLIP), a special education program run by the district. Renovations to the Annex facilities were completed in the summer of 2018 to house the new RV PREP education program opening in September 2018. The building formerly housed the Eastampton Elementary School.
Awards, recognition and rankings The school was the 174th-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 255th in the state of 328 schools in 2012, after being ranked 223rd in 2010 out of 322 schools listed.Staff. "The Top New Jersey High Schools: Alphabetical", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2012. Accessed August 24, 2012. The magazine ranked the school 242nd in 2008 out of 316 schools.Staff. "2010 Top High Schools", New Jersey Monthly, August 16, 2010. Accessed February 13, 2011. The school was ranked 243rd 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. In recognition of the school’s efforts and the positive outcomes resulting from newly formed programs and initiatives, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) designated RVRHS a No Place for Hate school in May 2018.
Athletics The Rancocas Valley Regional High School Red DevilsRancocas Valley Regional High School, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. compete in the Burlington County Scholastic League (BCSL), which is comprised of public and private high schools in Burlington, Mercer and Ocean counties in central New Jersey, operating under the jurisdiction of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).League & Conference Officers/Affiliated Schools 2020-2021, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed October 20, 2020. With 1,537 students in grades 10-12, the school was classified by the NJSIAA for the 2019–20 school year as Group IV for most athletic competition purposes, which included schools with an enrollment of 1,060 to 5,049 students in that grade range.NJSIAA General Public School Classifications 2019–2020, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed November 20, 2020. The football team competes in the Memorial Division of the 94-team West Jersey Football League superconferenceRancocas Valley Red Devils, 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 V South for football for 2024–2026, which included schools with 1,333 to 2,324 students.NJSIAA Football Public School Classifications 2024–2026, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, updated September 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. Rancocas Valley competes in the BCSL's Liberty Division. The school's mascot is the Red Devil and its colors are red and white.
The boys' cross country team won the Group III state championship in 1960. With a time of 12:34.4, Carl Budden was the top runner at the Group III championship in 1961.NJSIAA Boys Cross Country State Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed May 1, 2023.