Emsley A. Laney High, 2700 N. College Road: grades 9-12, 2,243 students, a C (69) in 2025-26 state grades, 91.5% graduation rate.

Last checked Oct. 11, 2026. Sources: Emsley A. Laney High School, New Hanover County Schools, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s 2025-26 accountability data, the NCHSAA and the federal NCES school directory.

Emsley A. Laney High School is a New Hanover County Schools high school for grades 9 to 12 on North College Road, north of Wilmington. It has a Wilmington mailing address, but the campus sits outside the city limits in unincorporated New Hanover County, in the area the Census Bureau calls Northchase. Emma B. Trask Middle is next door. Laney is the largest high school in the district by the federal count, and runs the district’s STEM program.

Who to call

  • Front office: 910-350-2089, 2700 N. College Road, Wilmington, NC 28405
  • School website: laney.nhcs.net
  • Enrolling a new student: the district’s enrollment office, 910-251-2929. District main line: 910-254-4200.
  • Buses: the district’s Transportation Department
  • Which school serves my address: the district’s School Locator
Address 2700 N. College Road, Wilmington, NC 28405
Phone 910-350-2089
Grades 9 to 12
District New Hanover County Schools
Athletics NCHSAA 8A

Principal

Principal Danny Little, according to the school’s website.

Enrollment and teachers

  • Federal count: 2,243 students in the 2024-25 school year, with 110 full-time-equivalent teachers, according to the NCES directory. That is about 20 students per teacher. The 2023-24 count was 2,248.

State report card

North Carolina grades every public school from A to F. According to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s technical guide, 80% of the grade comes from an achievement score built on state tests and other indicators, and 20% from students’ academic growth, on a 15-point scale.

School year Grade Score Growth
2025-26 C 69 Not met
2024-25 C 62 Not met
2023-24 C 67 Not met

Other 2025-26 figures from the state’s school assessment and indicator data:

  • 57.1% of state tests taken at Laney were at grade level or above, against 59.2% statewide.
  • Four-year graduation rate: 91.5%, the highest of the four large high schools. The five-year rate was 90.9%.
  • ACT: 55.5% of 11th graders scored 17 or higher on the composite.
  • End-of-course tests at grade level: English II 70%, NC Math 3 56.5%, Biology 56.2%, NC Math 1 38%.

The grades and scores come from the state’s School Performance Grades dashboard data. The state’s interactive school report card for Laney covers 2024-25, with results by student group, teacher data and spending.

Attendance zone and feeder schools

Check any address on the district’s School Locator map or call the enrollment office at 910-251-2929. According to the zone map:

  • Middle schools: most of Laney’s zone is in the Holly Shelter Middle zone in Castle Hayne. Parts of the Emma B. Trask Middle and MCS Noble Middle zones also send students to Laney.
  • Elementary schools in the zone: Castle Hayne, Porters Neck, Murrayville, Wrightsboro and Ogden, plus small parts of Blair and Freeman.

Students from other zones can apply through the district’s open choice lottery; students accepted into a signature program such as Laney’s STEM Academy get priority.

Programs

According to the district’s STEM page, Laney’s STEM program includes Pre-STEM for grades 9 and 10 and the STEM Academy for grades 11 and 12. For 2026-27 entry, applications opened Jan. 18, 2026, and closed Feb. 8.

Sports and activities

In the NCHSAA’s 2025-2029 realignment, approved March 6, 2025, Laney is an 8A school in the 6A/7A/8A Conference A, with Hoggard, Ashley, New Hanover, North Brunswick, Topsail and West Brunswick. The school’s athletics page lists:

  • Fall: football, flag football, volleyball, cross country, men’s soccer, women’s golf, women’s tennis and cheerleading
  • Winter: men’s and women’s basketball, swimming, wrestling and women’s wrestling
  • Spring: baseball, softball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, women’s soccer, men’s golf, men’s tennis, and track and field

Scores and schedules: our Friday night football page and the high school scoreboard.

Calendar

Laney follows the district’s traditional calendar. From the 2026-27 calendar (PDF), students are off on:

  • Monday, Oct. 26: teacher workday
  • Tuesday, Nov. 3: Election Day, teacher workday
  • Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day
  • Nov. 25-27: teacher workday, then Thanksgiving
  • Dec. 21 to Jan. 1, 2027: winter break

More on Wilmington schools

Frequently asked questions

What grades does Laney High School serve?

Grades 9 through 12. Emsley A. Laney High is a New Hanover County Schools high school at 2700 N. College Road, with 2,243 students in the federal 2024-25 count, the most of any high school in the county.

What is Laney High School’s school performance grade?

Laney earned a C, with a score of 69, in North Carolina’s 2025-26 school performance grades, up from 62 in 2024-25. Its four-year graduation rate was 91.5%.

Which middle schools feed Laney High?

Most of Laney’s zone is in the Holly Shelter Middle zone in Castle Hayne, according to the district’s school locator map. Parts of the Emma B. Trask and MCS Noble middle zones also go to Laney.

What conference does Laney play in?

Laney is an 8A school in the NCHSAA’s 6A/7A/8A Conference A for 2025-2029, with Hoggard, Ashley, New Hanover, North Brunswick, Topsail and West Brunswick.