McIntosh High School was opened on January 18th, 1981 to serve the growing community of Peachtree City. Before this, all county residents went to Fayette County High School. At the time, the building was still under construction, though deemed sufficient to serve the truncated 2nd Semester of the 1981-1982 school year. The following year, the school was finally able to open a full school year on its campus. More additions came a few years latter during the 1985-1986 school semester. The math and science wing was added to the east side of campus. Some years later the Black Box theater was built next to the construction education classroom during the 1994-1995 school year. The opening of Starr's Mill High School in 1997 helped alleviate the rapid population growth of Peachtree City. Shortly before the 2004-2005 school year the automotive education program was dropped and the black box theater was converted into the new band room. A new gym was constructed and the former converted into a new auditorium.
Awards
It was named a 2007 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education for having scored in the top 10% of all schools nationwide in student achievement. The school placed on Georgia's 2007 Top 25 SAT List for having the 15th highest SAT score in the state. It received Georgia's 2007 and 2011 Platinum Award in the highest performance category for outstanding student achievement; it was one of seven high schools in the state to receive this honor. It was named a Georgia School of Excellence in 1987, 2001, 2008, and 2012. It was recognized by the college board as an AP Merit, AP STEM, and AP STEM Achievement School. It received the Director's Cup Distinction for Athletics in 2013, and Director's Cup for Girls' Athletics in 2013 and 2014. It was recognized in Atlanta Magazines 2012 list of 50 Best Public High Schools. It ranked 48th in the Washington Post list of America's Most Challenging High Schools, 2013. It has earned 44 state championships in athletics since 1981. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, McIntosh was on Newsweek magazine's 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 top 1300 U.S. High Schools lists, placing in the top 5% of all high schools nationwide.
Student life
McIntosh has athletic programs in soccer, volleyball, dance, and cross country. Boys' tennis has been state runner-up twice, in 2008 and 2010, and has been division champions for four years. Boys' soccer has won 2 national titles, 6 state championships, and been state runner-up 6 times. Girls' soccer won the state championship eleven times including 1994, beating their rival Fayette County in 1995, and in 2016, beating Columbus 4-0. Both soccer teams have won the state championship in the same season four times. The varsity boys' soccer team was named national champions in 2013 and 2014 and went unbeaten through those two seasons. The newly added lacrosse program was state runner-up in 2008. Not only has the lacrosse program found success in post season games, they have also been division champs every year since its creation. McIntosh had the highest SAT scores in Fayette County for 2005. In 2008, McIntosh's ACT scores were reported as the highest in Fayette County and the third highest in the state of Georgia. In 2008 and 2009, the McIntosh High School Varsity Academic Bowl team won the state championship. As of September 2014, there are 21 AP courses offered, and over 150 students participate in dual enrollment through the ACCEL Program.
