The University Interscholastic League (UIL) academic competitions offer 30 contests at the high school level. Thousands of students participate in UIL academic contests each year.

At the state academic competition that occurred April 30 and May 1, Lake Ridge High School’s Mark Smith earned a gold medal in social studies. His teammate, Tony Le, earned a silver medal for current issues and events. The two, along with fellow social studies teammates Laura Yon and Demetrius Carpenter, earned a bronze medal overall.

The UIL sponsors five journalism contests under the academics umbrella: news writing, feature writing, editorial writing, headline writing and copy editing. Mansfield High School’s Bailey Rizzo earned bronze in headline writing.

Student publications are also judged in the UIL contest. Legacy High School earned a Silver Star for its yearbook and online newspaper. Recipients of the Star Awards represent the top 10% of student newspapers and yearbooks in Texas.

On the national level, Legacy High’s newspaper earned the coveted Gold Crown from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. That puts “The Rider Online” among the top 10 in the United States. The school’s yearbook, “The Arena,” earned the prestigious Pacemaker Award from the National Scholastic Press Association, making it one of the top 20 yearbooks in the country.