Father Judge High School is a Roman Catholic high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Oblates of St. Francis de Sales provide ministerial leadership to the school community, which the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia established in 1954.

History

The school is named for Father Thomas Augustine Judge (1868–1933), who organized lay missionaries in the northeastern United States. Fr. Judge founded the congregation of sisters whose "motherhouse" is located next to the high school; these sisters then donated a portion of the land to the archdiocese on which the school was built.

Curriculum

The school offers ten Advanced Placement classes for sophomore, junior, and senior students: U.S. Government & Politics, English Language and Composition, Literature, Calculus, European History, U.S. History, Psychology, Physics, Environmental Science, and Biology.

Extracurricular activities

Father Judge Model United Nations Team

Crusader News Network

CNN ("Crusader News Network") is Father Judge's student-run network television station. Renovated in 2013–2014 with the help of several students from the class of 2014, CNN provides live announcements during homeroom via the school's YouTube Channel.

Athletics

The school is a member of the Philadelphia Catholic League (PCL) and the Philadelphia City (now PIAA District XII). The Athletic Department currently offers 16 interscholastic athletic programs and two club sports programs. The athletic programs offered at Father Judge include: Soccer, Football, Golf, Cross Country, Fall Crew, Basketball, Wrestling, Bowling, Indoor Track, Baseball, Lacrosse, Outdoor Track, Tennis, Spring Crew, and club sports Ice Hockey and Rugby. The school has participated in 59 PCL Championships and 18 City (District XII) Championships over its 60-year history, with the most recent teams of Soccer, Wrestling, and Bowling capturing their titles in the 2013–2014 season. Joe Galasso was the first wrestler from Philadelphia to win a State Title in the 138lb weight class for wrestling. The school has two gymnasiums (The Fox Gymnasium and the Mitchell Activity Center), a wrestling training room, a weight room and fitness center, a track & athletic complex, a synthetic turf multi-purpose (football, soccer, lacrosse, rugby) field, an artificial turf baseball field, three locker rooms, and a cross country course in nearby Pennypack Park. The school launched the Patrick S. McGonigal '81 Center for Fitness and Wellness in 2013 to offer fitness and wellness programming open to the entire student body. The center offers fitness programming, strength training, intramurals, and an Outdoor Recreation Club.

Notable alumni