University of the Philippines High School Cebu

The University of the Philippines Cebu High School was established on May 3, 1918 after the Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines approved the formal petition for a branch of UP in Cebu. It was then known as the Junior College of Liberal Arts. Three years later, the Junior College of Liberal Arts became a separate unit of the University and was renamed the Junior College of the UP.

World War II brought about the closure of the College. It reopened in 1947 with only 56 students: 20 were enrolled in the third year and 36 in the fourth year. During the graduation exercises for the school year 1949-1950, 17 graduates received their high school diplomas.

The College had to close for the second time when its appropriation was omitted from the 1950-51 Appropriations Act.

Although the College reopened in 1963, it was only on May 31, 1972 that the Board of Regents authorized the establishment of a high school at the University of the Philippines in Cebu. This high school was intended as a feeder for the College and as a laboratory for the graduate students. Nine teachers and a guidance counselor composed the high school staff. There were only 151 first and second year students.

In the late 1980s, UP Cebu High School was under threat of closure due to budget issues. To avert this threat, the school adopted a policy of democratized admission for students in the high schools of the UP System. This was initially implemented during the school year 1989-1990 and was fully implemented during the school year 1990-1991.

Under this concept, "every high school in UP is a program for helping economically disadvantaged but deserving students gain access to tertiary level education in UP." Pursuant to this policy, UP Cebu High School admits first year students from low-income families. As such, the high school is an experimental laboratory for innovative teaching strategies designed to better prepare these deserving students for access to tertiary education, particularly in the UP System where they can avail of subsidized education through the socialized tuition program.

Incoming Grade 7 students from both public and private elementary schools may be admitted into UP Cebu High School, provided they meet the following requirements:

1. must be an elementary school graduate by the end of the current school year or academic year;
2. must not have previously studied in another high school;
3. must have an average grade of 85% or better in Math, Science, English/Reading, Civics/Social Studies, and Filipino subjects at the time of filing of application;
4. must have a conduct grade of B or its equivalent; and
5. must come from a family whose gross annual income is 150,000 pesos or less.

The school follows a special science curriculum simultaneously with UP High School in Iloilo. The curriculum's strength lies in mathematics and the sciences, as well as in research.

UP Cebu High School students excel in academics not just through subject content exposure within the confines of the classrooms, but also through the co-curricular and extracurricular opportunities that the school offers to its students.

Students are encouraged to participate in various curriculum-oriented and extracurricular student organizations. One of the hallmarks of an education in the University of the Philippines is that most of the learning happens not inside the classroom—but outside of it, through student organizations.

• Official Website of UP High School Cebu
• Official Website of University of the Philippines Cebu
• UP High School Cebu History from the UP Cebu Official Website