Northwood High School is a public high school located in the northernmost part of Irvine, CA, USA. It opened in 1999 but the first graduating class did not graduate until 2002. In 2016, Northwood was ranked 25 nationally in Newsweek's list of top public high schools.AcademicsThe school operates on an alternating block schedule, in which students attend odd-period classes on one day and even-period classes the following day. Classes are 90 minutes long and meet for either 18 weeks or 36 weeks . On Tuesdays and Thursdays, students attend a tutorial session, which lasts for 40 minutes between the first and second classes of the day, and can be used at the students' discretion. Most students opt to finish homework or meet with teachers for help. Every Wednesday is designated a "late-start," in which classes start an hour later than the regular schedule. All students, with the exception of seniors, are required to take a minimum of six classes per semester. Seniors are required to enroll in a minimum of five classes for the fall semester and four for the spring.Every year, dozens of Northwood students receive prestigious academic awards, such as scholarships from the National Merit Scholarship Program, and the school consistently sends a large number of students to nationally acclaimed universities, including Stanford, UCLA, the Ivy League schools, as well as many other UC and CSU campuses. In 2005, 2009, and 2012, the school was recognized as a California Distinguished School and in 2006 was also named a Blue Ribbon School. Many students participate in highly merited academic teams such as Speech and Debate, Model United Nations, and Science Olympiad, all of which have won state-level competitions. The school also has a video production class that has won awards such as best short film at the 2007 STN convention.
