Accomplishments
Walton Profile PageHere is what separates Walton from the rest....
Academics:
- The Class of 2023 included 430 students graduating with honor, having earned a weighted GPA of 3.5 or above.
- Class of 2023 Top 20% weighted GPA ranges were 4.86-4.24 (Top 10% 4.436-4.86).
- Walton has a long tradition of above average SAT scores and above average percentage of students testing. Based on the highest score received, the Class of 2025 averaged a total score of 129.
- In 2025, Walton students had an average composite ACT score of 27.
- Walton has a nationally certified pre-engineering program. We were the first high school in Cobb County offering this four year program through Project Lead the Way.
- ISA (International Spanish Academy) at Walton is a rigorous Humanities-based program of study for students who are learning Spanish as a foreign language. In 2008 the ministry of Education of Spain named Walton an International Spanish Academy (ISA). The academy promotes the values of a multicultural education to foster international communication and respect among different cultures. ISA graduates receive nearly 30% of their course instruction in Spanish throughout their high school career. These students earn diplomas from the Cobb County School District and from the Ministry of Education of Spain.
- Last year, Walton has had 41 National Merit Semi-Finalists and 37 National Merit Finalists.
- In 2023, 497 Walton students earned the HOPE Scholarship.
- Not including the Hope scholarship, the Class of 2023 was offered $ $21,493,632 million in scholarship monies.
Advanced Placement (AP) program:
- 69.5% of seniors have passed one or more AP courses.
- Walton offers 35 AP courses. Our newest is the AP Seminar course which is part of the new College Board Capstone Program
- May 2025, 1476 students took 3463 exams with 93.8% scored 3 or higher.
- Walton currently has multiple teachers who have participated as AP Readers for The College Board
- Each year, AP Spanish students have an opportunity to study in Spain as part of their AP language studies through an immersion program developed by the school and tailored specifically for our students. The activities are often exclusive to our students and are led by professionals and experts in their field. Since 1999, over 1700 Walton students have studied at the Universidad Pontificia in Salamanca.
Walton Fine Arts Program:
- Over 1000 students participate in our music programs—chorus, band, and orchestra and about 200 in visual arts every semester. All of these programs consistently receive the highest ratings at festivals & competitions.
- Band: The Walton Band program is comprised of over 300 students who participate in four concert bands, two jazz ensembles, symphony orchestra, winter guard, percussion ensemble, small ensembles, and marching band. Walton students consistently place in the District 12 Honor Band, the District 12 Honors Jazz Band, and the Georgia All-State Band, and many perform in community groups around the Metro area. The Walton Marching Raider Band has a long history of success and appearances in national performances. Awarded the Sudler Shield as the outstanding marching band program in the country by the John Philip Sousa Foundation in 2007, the Raider Band has performed in the Macy’s Parade, three times in the Tournament of Roses Parade, twice in the Waikiki Holiday Parade, and is a perennial Bands of America Regional Finalist and three-time Bands of America Semi-Finalist. The Marching Raiders have earned many Grand Championship Trophies over 50 years of competition, including the 2022 Bands of America North Carolina Regional Class Champion, the 2021 Bands of America Powder Springs Regional Champion and the 2023 Bands of America Buford Affiliate Champion. This year the Raider Band will travel overseas for the first time to the United Kingdom to perform in the London Parade on New Year’s Day. Walton ensembles also excel on the concert stage. The Walton Wind Symphony and the Symphonic Bands have received multiple invitations to perform at the Music for All Southeastern Concert Festival at Georgia State University. The Wind Symphony has won auditions to perform for the Georgia Music Educators Association Conference and the University of Georgia January Music Festival, while the Percussion Ensemble and the Jazz Band have also been selected to perform at the GMEA Conference. Being selected for these events is the equivalent of winning a State Championship – each year only three high school concert bands are selected to perform, while only two percussion ensembles and two jazz bands are chosen annually from the entire state. The Walton Winter Guard is a nationally-known program – taking first place in the Southern Association of Performing Arts (SAPA) Championships in Tennessee for the past four years. The Winter Guard has placed in the finals of the Winter Guard International (WGI) Championships numerous times, most recently in 2023.
- Chorus: With over 350 enrolled singers in six choral ensembles, Walton Chorus is the largest high school choral program in Cobb County and one of the largest in the southeast. The choruses of Walton consistently earn the highest ratings in choral performance and music reading. Walton Chorus has performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and on the Spivey Hall Young Artists Series. Our choirs have been selected to perform for the GMEA In-Service Conferences on five occasions: Bel Canto in 2003; Men's Ensemble in 2007; and A Cappella in 2010, 2013 and 2018. Walton Tour Choir has performed in some of the world’s most prestigious places, including Carnegie Hall, NYC; the Cathedral of St. Patrick’s, NYC; St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City; St. Mark’s Basilica, Venice; St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh; St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin; the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris; the American Cemetery, Normandy; the Duomo in Salzburg, Austria; Melk Abbey, Austria; and St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, Austria. Walton chorus students represent our school in the Governors Honors Program and the GMEA All-State Chorus. Choral students are scholars, athletes, and leaders, that give hundreds of hours in community service. Choral students sing the National Anthem for school and community events such as the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks games.
- Orchestra: Walton’s Orchestra has ~300 students enrolled in orchestra classes and is the largest program in Cobb County. The orchestras have been accepted to perform at the prestigious, international Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic eight times: 2000 (string orchestra), 2005 (string orchestra), 2009 (first high school chamber music performance), 2012 (symphony orchestra), 2016 (chamber music), 2020 (string orchestra), 2021 (string orchestra), and 2022 (string orchestra). In 2014 and 2015, the orchestra program won the National Championship in the Mark of Excellence competition and was a commended winner in 2020. The Walton Chamber Orchestra has been invited to perform at the national ASTA conference three times (2009, 2012, 2018). In 2026, the Walton Orchestra Program performed at the state music conference for a record-breaking eleventh time The Walton orchestras have completed six European tours (2000, 2004, 2007, 2000, 2015, 2017).
- Drama: The Walton Drama Club has earned multiple nominations—and several wins—at the Georgia High School Musical Theater Awards (Shuler Hensley Awards) over the years and was honored as one of the original 14 schools invited to participate in the inaugural year. Drama Club members have been accepted into competitive BFA programs such as Pace, NYU, Tisch and Harvard. Many Walton Drama Club alumni have gone on to build successful careers in the theater and film industry.
- Art: Walton High School’s Visual Arts Department has earned recognition at the national, state, and local levels through numerous prestigious awards and exhibitions. Students have received Scholastic Gold and Silver Medals, had artwork selected for the Davis Planner, and were accepted into the All-State Art Symposium as well as the Atlanta High School Art Exhibit at the Dogwood Festival. Their work has been displayed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and published in SchoolArts and Arts & Activities magazines. Walton students have also collaborated to win the national Wyland “Water is Life” mural competition four times, and one student received Wildlife Forever’s Conservation Award, with her artwork turned into a postage stamp.
Clubs and Extra-curricular Activities:
- Walton DECA earned the 2025 Region 1 Top Chapter Award and achieved Gold Level Membership Campaign status for 2024–2025. Over the past three years, 25 members have qualified for the International Career Development Conference in Orlando and Anaheim.
- In 2024-2025, the Walton Model UN team won individual, Position Paper, & overall delegation awards at Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, the University of Georgia, Harvard, & Kennesaw State University. The team won the “Helen Riddley” cup at KSU which is often considered the State Championship for Georgia MUN. The team is consistently ranked as one of the top 100 teams in the US by Best Delegate.
- Walton Robotics has over 34 regional competition wins and qualified for the FIRST World Championship for the 13th time in its 17 year history. In the 2025 season, the team was a State Finalist and won its 3rd Peachtree District Impact Award, the highest award in FIRST Robotics. At both District competitions the team won the Robot Competition, and at the Dalton District Competition the team won the Impact Award, recognizing the dedication the team shows in its programs to spread STEM awareness in our community.
- The Walton High School chapter of Habitat for Humanity has been a vital student organization since 1996. The chapter supports the Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Metro Atlanta, and through fundraising efforts, grants, and student volunteers, the student-run organization has built 28 homes and raised approximately $1,000,000. In 2025 the Walton chapter of Habitat for Humanity partnered with Campbell High School, Harrison High School, Hillgrove High School, and Pope High School and together completed their 28th Habitat home in March of 2025 in Austell, Georgia.
- Walton has won 9 State Math Team Championships and most recently placed 2nd in the state tournament. The team placed 1st in the Georgia Southwestern Tournament with the highest score in the 40 year history of the tournament, as well as taking the top 3 individual trophies. In the last two years, the Walton Math Team has also placed first in the University of Georgia High School Math Tournament, the Georgia Tech High School Math Tournament, and the College of Charleston Math Meet, with a number of individual awards complementing the team awards. For the past four years, the team has traveled to the Harvard and MIT campuses to compete in the Harvard-MIT Math Tournament, an international invitational tournament where Walton has scored as high as 23rd in the world. Walton has also routinely placed first as a team and in individual performances in the annual Cobb County School District Three-Series math competitions.
- In 2019, the Varsity Academic Bowl Team won the Division 1 State Championship (following other recent Varsity State Championships in 2004, 2005, and 2006, 2009, and 2011). In national competition, the team finished in the Top 10 in 2006, 2005, and 2004, and was a National Champion in 1995.
- The Academic Bowl has competed in the Championship Round of WSB-TV's High-Q 17 out of the 32 seasons that it has been on the air. Walton holds the state record by winning 13 High-Q Championships (most recently in 2011).
- Walton’s Latin program is nationally recognized for its excellence. Walton’s Latin Academic Bowl team (Certamen) has won the state championship seven of the last eight years, and members of Walton’s Certamen teams regularly make up a large part of the teams which represent Georgia at the National Junior Classical League Convention. Walton has won the overall state championship at the Georgia Junior Classical League Convention for fourteen of the last fifteen conventions.
- Walton’s Latin program consistently ranks #1 in the state and top ten in the nation on the National Latin Exam, with students receiving the most gold medals in Georgia. For the second time in the last four years, a Walton student was awarded the prestigious National Latin Exam Scholarship. In addition, Walton had the only student in the world who earned 5 perfect papers on the National Latin Exam, out of over 128,000 students who took the test in the United States and 20 other countries.
- Walton is the national leader in results on the Medusa Mythology Exam, and among the best in the nation on the National Classical Etymology Exam, the National Roman Civilization Exam, the CAMWS translation Exam, and the National Latin Vocabulary Exam. Students from Walton are regularly selected to attend GHP in Latin, including 2 this past year.
- In 2020, the Mock Trail team were the District II champions which qualified them for state competition.
- Walton's Science Bowl Team won the State Championship in 2014, placed second in 2015 and competed against 67 teams at the National level, with 7 wins and one loss at the event. The Science Bowl Team has been in existence for 20 years and won first place at the regional competition for 14 years, and first place at the State competition 8 years. In addition, Walton has attended the national competition hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy 8 years, and made the championship round for 4 of those years.
- Walton competed in the AAPT Physics Bowl Competition 14 of the past 21 years and been recognized 13 times for placing first or second in our region.
Athletics:
- Walton offers 26 varsity sports and has won 89 State Championships and 315 Region Championships in 50 years.
- Walton has won the GADA Regions Directors’ Cup, representing the best overall athletic program in the state in its’ class, 11 times in the 25 years the award has been in existence, including 2000, 2002, 2007-2009, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2024, and 2025.
- During the 2024-25 academic year, all 26 varsity teams made the state playoffs, two won state championships, 25 advanced past the first round of the playoffs, and 16 finished in the top ten in the state.
- Walton had 2 GHSA State Champions: Baseball and Girls Soccer
- Walton also had 2 Individual State Titles in Track and Field: 1 in Girls 100 & 200 and 1 in Girls Shotput
- Boys Swim & Dive won back-to-back State Championships in 2023 and 2024, the second time it has accomplished that feat (2014 and 2015) and has five total titles.
- Competition Cheer won its first state championship in the coed division in 2023.
- Girls Tennis won the State Championship in 2023, 19 of the last 24, and 23 overall, and holds the record for the longest winning streak of any sport in the state of Georgia (158-0 from 2004-2011).
- Girls Swim & Dive won the State Championship in 2022, its 3rd title overall.
- Boys Tennis won the State Championship in 2022, its 10th title overall.
- Girls Volleyball won the State Championship in 2021, has won 10 of the last 14 State Championships, and a total of 15 titles since 1998, and finished ranked 1st in the country by Prepvolleyball.com and MaxPreps and 2nd by USA Today in 2017.
- Girls Track & Field won the State Championship in 2021, its 2nd title overall.
- Boys Lacrosse won the State Championship in 2019, its 2nd title overall.
- Girls Lacrosse won its first State Championship in 2016 and finished ranked 19th in the country by USA Today.
- Baseball won the State Championship in 2016 and 2025, its 4th title overall, and finished ranked 6th in the country by USA Today.
- Girls Soccer won the State Championship 1991,1993, and 2025
- Other sports that have won State Championships include Fastpitch Softball, Girls Cross Country (6), Boys Cross Country (5), Girls Soccer (3), and Boys Soccer (6).
- Football has played in the State Finals twice (2011 and 2023) and has won 9 Region titles overall.
- Boys Golf was the state runner-up in 2019 and Girls Golf in 2014.
- In only its second year in existence, the Precision Air Rifle team won its first Area Championship and placed third in the state in 2016. It won a second Area Championship in 2019.
- During the 2023-24 academic year, 45 senior student-athletes signed letters of intent to continue their athletic careers in college. Walton averages 30-35 scholar athletes a year.