MUNDAY LIBRARY       /       ARCHIVES & SPECIAL COLLECTIONS       /       DIGITAL EXHIBITS       /     ST. EDWARD'S HIGH SCHOOL

The St. Edward’s High School’s origins are intertwined with the founding of the university itself, dating all the way back to the Doyle Farm in 1880. Education of the younger men on campus (known as “juniors”, Cubs, and “Little Saints”) had always been a part of the organization’s responsibilities. The distinction of “high school” as grades 9-12 did not become common in the United States until the 1920s.

The High School, whose faculty and administration was also made up almost entirely by the Brothers of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, enjoyed many successes in academics, athletics, and extracurriculars. 

Mexican American students made up a large portion of the day students by the mid 1960s and six were listed on the honor roll in 1953. In 1954, two weeks before the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, African American student James Mosby won the Cub elocution contest with his rendition of a popular poem. 

As the university’s enrollment grew (particularly due to the admission of female students) and its demand for space increased, it was clear the high school would need to relocate off campus. Despite valiant efforts by students, parents, faculty, staff, and alumni, the funding for a new location didn’t materialize and the school closed in May 1967.

St. Edward's Military Academy

In 1942, as the university continued at an abbreviated level, the High School was briefly replaced with St. Edward's Military Academy. This made St. Edward’s the only Catholic institution in the world with a training and research unit in the Texas State Guard and following the directive of the War Department. When classes started many on campus began wearing military uniforms - even the Brothers of Holy Cross, who were now referred to by military rank. In addition to their studies, the cadets saluted, drilled, held field maneuvers, bivouacked, and paraded. In 1946 the Academy reverted back to St. Edward's High School.