Best High Schools in Zip Code 29817

Zip code 29817 is home to just one high school, Blackville-Hilda High, a small rural school in Blackville, South Carolina, serving grades 9-12 with only 140 students enrolled.

For parents considering this area, the most important takeaway is that Blackville-Hilda High offers an exceptionally personalized learning environment thanks to its tiny student body and a very favorable student-to-teacher ratio of 8.7:1—far better than the national average of about 16:1. Academically, the school shows clear strengths in English instruction. In the 2025-2026 school year, 75.85% of students scored proficient on the English 2 exam, and 57.57% were proficient in English 1. Both figures beat the Barnwell district averages, making this school a relative bright spot within a district that ranks in the bottom 13% of South Carolina. However, U.S. History proficiency lags significantly at just 43.59%, which is below both the district and state averages. Overall, the school ranks 174th out of 245 high schools in the state and holds a 1-star rating.

The most striking finding is the 32-point gap between the school’s best subject (English 2) and its weakest (U.S. History), suggesting that social studies instruction may need additional support while literacy programs are working well. The small size limits course offerings and extracurricular options, but the low student-teacher ratio is a major advantage that larger schools cannot replicate. One limitation in the data is that free/reduced lunch information was not reported, making it difficult to fully assess the socioeconomic context. Additionally, with only one year of ranking data available, it’s not yet possible to determine whether the school is improving or declining over time. For parents who value close relationships with teachers and a focus on English skills, this school offers clear benefits, though history instruction and overall state standing remain areas of concern.