Cathedral Catholic High School

Private school in San Diego, California, United States

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego
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| president = Kevin J. Calkins
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| principal = Marlena Conroy
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| chaplain = Fr. Michael Ortiz, Fr. Martin Latiff, Fr. Patrick Wainright, and Fr. Richard
Captain (Ret. ), USN
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| ceeb = 052896
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| average class size = 24
| type = Private
Coeducational
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| tuition = $21,012
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| grades = 9 12
| rivals = Saint Augustine High School Academy of Our Lady of Peace Torrey Pines High School
| mascot = The Don
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| team name = The Dons
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| colors = Red and Gold
| yearbook = Presidio
| former name = University of San Diego High School
| publication = El Sol (art/literary magazine)
| newspaper = El Cid
| established = 1957 (Relocated in 2005)
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| enrollment = 1,560
| enrollment as of = 2017–18
| teaching staff = 107.0 In 1971, the newly constituted and expanded University of San Diego High School graduated its first coeducational class. Uni or the University of San Diego High School (USDHS), was located in the Linda Vista neighborhood of San Diego. Construction began on CCHS at its current location on Del Mar Heights Road in Carmel Valley in 1999. In 2005, the school including all faculty, administration, and students, moved to that campus and changed its name to Cathedral Catholic High School. Cathedral Catholic High School is accredited by the Western Catholic Education Association (WCEA), the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and holds membership with the College Board.

University High School (known as UHS or Uni) was founded in 1957 as a Catholic college preparatory high school for boys. It was located in the San Diego neighborhood of Linda Vista, on a site overlooking Mission Bay to the west and Mission Valley to the south, across the street from the University of San Diego which had been founded in 1949. The class of 1971 was the first co educational graduating class in UHS history. In 1986 the name of the school was changed to University of San Diego High School (USDHS). As of 2005 over 10,000 students had graduated from the school. Students at Uni were also afforded opportunities to participate in a wide variety of extracurricular activities including fine arts, athletics, clubs, service organizations and leadership roles. The athletic teams were the Dons, and all students and alumni were referred to as Dons, with the motto "once a Don, always a Don". In 1998 USDHS was honored by the United States Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School.

The new campus was completed in summer of 2005, and USDHS officially shut down after the 2004–2005 school year. The new school opened as Cathedral Catholic High School in August 2005, with all the same faculty, administration, and the remaining three classes of students from USDHS (Classes of 2006, 2007, and 2008). On May 31, 2008, the final class of USDHS students, who had been freshmen at the time of the transition, graduated from CCHS. Cathedral Catholic continued all of the traditions from USDHS, including the Dons mascot for the athletic teams. The names of the yearbook (Presidio), newspaper (El Cid), and art/literary magazine (El Sol) were also preserved. The Dons Athletic Hall of Fame was moved to the gymnasium at CCHS. The statues and relics from the old campus, such as the Mary statue from the quad, were all moved to locations around the Cathedral Catholic campus. The dedicated walk of fame from the quad at Uni was originally proposed to be moved and installed on the quad of CCHS around a new memorial fountain. But due to deterioration and costly efforts, the stones were not brought to CCHS. Those who had names there were honored with a memorial display, which was hung in the USDHS Library at CCHS during the 50th Anniversary Celebration. Notable dedications for major Uni/CCHS contributors have been engraved into the stone benches and lamp posts around CCHS' quad as well. The Linda Vista campus was temporarily occupied by Notre Dame Academy from June 2005 to January 2006, while that school's new campus, also in the Carmel Valley area, was being completed. In 2008 the Linda Vista campus was sold to The Irvine Company for development. The site is now the home of a 500+ unit apartment complex called Carmel Pacific Ridge.

The CCHS campus in Carmel Valley opened in 2005. It is designed to resemble a Tuscan village. In 2021 the diocese appointed the school's first female principal, Marlena Conroy. At approximately 1600 students, CCHS is the largest high school in the Diocese of San Diego.

CCHS offers Advanced Placement classes in art history, biology, calculus AB & BC, chemistry, English language, English literature, environmental science, Macroeconomics, Physics C, Spanish language, studio art, US history, US government and World history. Dual enrollment classes with MiraCosta College and Mesa College are also offered, as well as honors courses.

Visual and performing arts classes at CCHS include drama and advanced drama 1–2, multimedia authoring 1–2, CCTV broadcast and video journalism, journalism, photography, digital imaging, art 1–2, art 3–4, ceramics, 3D design, introduction to guitar, choral music, concert and pep band, AP art history and AP studio art. After school courses in band, journalism and Yearbook are also available.

CCHS offers more than 80 extracurricular activities including music, drama, publications, and robotics. Schoolwide masses are held on various feasts and solemnities of the Church throughout the school year. In addition to the schoolwide liturgies, daily mass and lauds (morning prayer) are held each morning before school in the St. Therese Chapel on campus.

The film Miracle at Manchester is based on a true story about a student with brain cancer at CCHS, and principal photography took place there.