Bangor High School, a member of the Bangor School System, is a high school in Bangor, Maine, United States. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,200 students in grades 9–12. It is Bangor's only public high school. Since its 2001–2002 selection as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education Bangor High School has consistently been recognized for the achievements of its students. For four years from 2012–2016, the school was named a National Silver Award winner by U.S. News & World Reports "America's Best High Schools. In 2013, BHS was the only urban school among the state's 133 high schools to earn this designation. BHS consistently ranks among the top five Maine schools in annual rankings of America's Most Challenging Schools published by the Washington Post and journalist Jay Matthews. To determine its rankings, the Post considers the degree to which disadvantaged students outperform their state peers coupled with percentage of most recent graduates having earned a score of 3 or higher (out of 5 maximum points) on one or more Advanced Placement exams. In 2014, the Post analysis placed Bangor High in the top 8% nationally (of approx. 22,000 'normal-enrollment' public high schools), and Bangor was one of only six Maine high schools to make the top 10%, and one of only two in a Maine city. In 2011, Maine's male and female AP Scholars were students at Bangor High School. In 2016, a Bangor High School senior earned the AP International Diploma for having achieved scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams in each of three content areas. In 2014, the College Board recognized Bangor as one of 547 US / Canadian District Honor Roll designees, a critical element in the district's selection by the College Board to serve on its national steering committee for its revision of the SAT and the PSAT. History Bangor's first public high school (for boys only) was founded in 1835, followed by a school for girls in 1838. These were consolidated as Bangor High School in 1864. The first principal was Robert P Bucknam, a graduate of Wesleyan University. In the late nineteenth century, Bangor High School was located on Abbott Square, across from the present Bangor Public Library. Designed by architect Wilfred E. Mansur, this building burned down in the Great Fire of 1911. Its steel-framed, yellow-brick replacement was built in