| Former Name: | Fuquay-Varina High School (2019-2021) |
| Address: | 1704 Old Honeycutt Rd |
| City: | Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina |
| Zipcode: | 27526 |
| Country: | United States |
| Coordinates: | 35.575°N -78.7372°W |
| Type: | Public |
| District: | Wake County Public School System |
| Us Nces District Id: | 3704720[1] |
| Ceeb: | 340157 |
| Us Nces School Id: | 370472003570 |
| Principal: | Wade Martin[2] |
| Teaching Staff: | 53.00 |
| Grades: | 9–11 |
| Gender: | Coeducational |
| Enrollment: | 928 (2022–23) |
| Ratio: | 17.51 |
| Campus Size: | [3] |
| Campus Type: | Rural |
| Colors: | Navy blue, Sky blue, and Yellow[4] |
| Conference: | Greater Neuse River Conference |
| Mascot: | Storm |
Willow Spring High School (WSHS) is a public high school located in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. The school began construction in 2017 to accommodate the growing population of Wake County, and began operation in 2021. The school has had one of its teachers nominated for a state award in 2023, and has had a successful varsity football team.
Willow Spring is a relatively new high school, built to accommodate the growing population of Wake County in the 2020s.[5] WCPSS Assistant Superintendent and future principal of the school upon opening, Wade Martin,[2] helped propose the idea for a new school, after multiple schools in the area were citing as being "significantly over 100 percent of their capacity".[5]
Engineering plans for the school were drafted by LHC Structural Engineers, and the site plan approved on March 21, 2017.[3] In 2019, construction on the school finished, and while the buildings were completed, they would first be used to temporarily house students of Fuquay-Varina High School while their old school was being reconstructed.[4] In December 2020, the school mascot was chosen as "Storm",[4] and in the 2021–2022 school year, the buildings were officially opened for their intended purpose, housing about 900 freshmen and sophomores in their inaugural class.[4] [6] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, about 35 students opted to attend via the district's Virtual Academy, while the remaining about 850 students attended in-person in classroom layouts designed with social distancing in mind.[6]
In February 2023, one of four of the school's assistant principals was suspended following a pending driving under the influence charge.[7]
In October 2023, the school's special education teacher received the Educator of Excellence award from the state Department of Public Instruction.[8]
The school is most notable for their varsity football team, which within the conference had a 1-9 overall record during the 2022–2023 school year.[9] The school hosts cheer, crosscounty, football, women's golf, men's soccer, women's tennis, and women's volleyball in the fall; basketball, indoor track and field, women's soccer, swimming/diving, and wrestling in the winter; and baseball, men's golf, lacrosse, women's soccer, softball, men's tennis, and outdoor track and field in the spring.[10]
The school hosts a number of clubs: including Interact, Key Club, Mu Alpha Theta, National Art Honor Society, and National Honor Society.[11]