COLUMBIA – The South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) has released its new-look classifications that will be in effect for 2026–2028 for South Carolina high schools. The realignment is made every two years in an effort to level competition between high schools in the state.
Fairfield Central High School is one of seven 2A schools dropping to the new-look Class A for the upcoming 2026–2028 school years. The other Class 2A high schools dropping to Class A include: North Central, Hampton County, Eau Claire, Batesburg-Leesville, Marion, and Mullins. Class A has the most teams of all the classifications.
The move down from Class 2A is due to Fairfield’s lower enrollment numbers, according to the SCHSL. Classification is based on 45-day enrollments for 9th-11th grades, with Class A now for schools with fewer than about 500 students — specifically around 485 for Fairfield.
An out-of-zone multiplier was also used by the SCHSL this year in determining classification. The multiplier counts each student who lives out of the school’s attendance zone three times to determine the school’s final enrollment.
Schools that want to appeal their new classifications must submit their appeals in writing to the SCHSL executive committee by 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 7. Those appeals will be heard Jan. 13-14, and, if necessary, will be considered by an appellate panel Jan. 15-16.
Classification of schools is the initial phase of the realignment process. The next step will be to place the schools into regions in their respective classifications.