Clemmons School was built in 1926 at a cost of $100,000 and opened with 500 students in grade 1 through 11. The high school was formerly located in Clemmons Moravian Church from 1901 to 1925.

While the school was being built, students went to class in temporary shacks located beside the school. Southern Public Utilities brought electric power and lights from the nearby Idols Power Plant to the school and immediate village.

The new school had 16 modern classrooms, rest rooms, three domestic science rooms, a library, a music room and an auditorium with a seating capacity of 800. Professor J.F. Brower and his wife Annie Brower were the administrators of the school until 1931.

Clemmons School had eight month sessions in the 1920’s in order for the majority of farm children to help work on their family farms during the planting and harvesting seasons. Each class had 50 to 55 students.

The high school in the 1920’s had a science laboratory and classes in French, Latin and Spanish. Girls were taught domestic science courses of cooking and sewing, while boys were taught agriculture and manual training. Students played basketball on outdoor courts and the first baseball team for the Clemmons School was in 1927.

Mrs. Alma (Ma) Hampton managed the lunch room (built in 1928) from the first year until the 1950’s. She used a woodstove in the early days of the school and fed students soup and sandwiches.

By the 1930’s Clemmons School had an orchestra under the director of Theodore Ronthaler, who was named principal of the school in 1931. The principal and his wife, Alice gave free lessons and helped students obtain instruments.

Mr. Ronthaler was also responsible for bringing the Christmas pageant to the school in 1932, which continued until 1962. The pageant was based on the German passion play. Students wore beautiful velvet costumes and portrayed six tableaux poses depicting the birth of Jesus. There were choruses of primary, grammar and high school students singing carols. George and Harriet Moody assumed leadership of the Christmas pageant in 1945 after Theodore Ronthaler left to become a professor at Black Mountain College. T. Ray Gibbs was principal from 1945 to 1949.

Halloween Carnivals were held each year with individual classes holding games and various events in their classrooms to raise money for PTA projects. During the 1930’s the junior and senior classes held their plays in the school auditorium and the banquet-dances in the school lunchroom. Chicken pie suppers were also held in the lunchroom to raise money for the school.

In 1940 the gymnasium was built by the community. Students and community residents solicited funds for the new gymnasium beginning in 1938. The gymnasium was built by WPA workers.

In 1949 the community began raising money for an athletic field with a football stadium, a baseball diamond, outside lights and a chain linked fence. Denis Brewer, class of 1929, chaired this project. The field was ready for play in 1950 at a cost of $30,000. Half of this amount was donated by William N. Reynolds, the owner of the Tanglewood estate. Forsyth County donated $6,000 for building materials by holding chicken pie supers and donkey baseball games.

In 1949 a cafeteria and four classrooms were added to the western end of the school. A separate shop and agricultural building were built in the same year.

During WWII, the gym basement served as a community cannery, where residents brought their meats, vegetables, and fruits to preserve in tin cans. Alma (Ma) Hampton managed this project with the assistance of Luther O. Crotts, who was the agriculture and shop teacher at Clemmons School from 1945 to 1956. Also during WWII, in 1943, the senior class had to cancel their play due to gas rationing.

The sports program grew from baseball and basketball to include track, soccer and tennis. In 1937 the girl’s track team won the county championship and 1938 was the first year for cheerleaders at the Clemmons School.

The first football team of 11 men got their uniforms in the fall of 1940 and played their first and only season in 1941. Thereafter the school formed six-men teams. From 1948 to 1950, the baseball team, the Clemmons Blue Streaks, won three consecutive state baseball championships. They were coached by George T. Moody, who also taught English and French at the school form 1938 to 1956.

By 1945 there were 12 grades in the school, following a phasing-in period that began with student testing in 1941.

The first annual or yearbook “Clemmomories” began in 1948 and continued until 1956 with the last senior class. The school newspaper, “The Chatterbox” began in the 1940’s and continued until 1956, and was written and printed by each senior class. Clemmons School colors were blue and white. The gold class rings held ruby stones and in the 1950’s cost about $30.00 each.

School clubs included the Keys, the Keyettes, Y-Teens, Hi Y, Future Farmers of America, Future Homemakers of America, Library Club, First Aiders, Safety Patrol, Band and Chorus.

The last graduating class was in 1956. By that fall consolidation of the high schools of Clemmons, Lewisville and South Fork occurred when Southwest High School opened. In 1981, a new elementary school was built on Bingham Avenue to replace the Old Clemmons School. In that same year a reunion of the classes form 1926 to 1956 was held in the old auditorium and several hundred alumni attended.