Needham B. Broughton High School

Needham B. Broughton High School, commonly known as Broughton High School, is one of thirty-two high schools in the Wake County Public School System. It is located at 723 St. Mary's Street, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Broughton was named after businessman and politician, Needham B. Broughton, who contributed much to the public schools of the Raleigh area. Broughton is known for its castle-like stone facade design and tall bell tower. The architect was William Henley Deitrick. History Needham B. Broughton High School was established in 1929 as Raleigh High School. It is the oldest high school in Raleigh still being used. Shortly after it was built, C. B. Edwards sent a letter to the Raleigh Public School Board, requesting that the school—then without an official name—be named for Needham B. Broughton in honor of his service to public education in the city. The renaming ceremony took place in 1930, towards the end of the school year. In 1935, Henry Watson Moore wrote a class song for his graduation, which later became Broughton's alma mater. Broughton's Queen of Hearts dance began in 1943, in an effort to raise funds for World War II. In 1957 during the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in the school's former auditorium. Broughton was originally an all-white segregated school. In 1961, Broughton was first integrated when three Black students, Myrtle L. Capehart, Dorothy J. Howard, and Cynthia E. Williams, started attending. In 1989, Broughton's 3,000 seat Capital Stadium opened. In 2009, President Barack Obama visited the school. Academics Broughton offers 16 Advanced Placement (AP) courses as well as 28 International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. The school offers four foreign languages: French, German, Mandarin and Spanish. The school runs on a 4x4 modified block schedule (A Day-B Day which allows students to go a whole semester without missing a "core class" or a foreign language).