Palo Alto High School vs Gunn

There are only two public high schools in Palo Alto: Henry M. Gunn High School and Palo Alto High School (Paly). Both schools are known nationwide for their exceptional students and their stunning array of activities. Both schools constantly compete to be the top in all of those activities. However, there are a multitude of areas where Gunn beats Paly.

Gunn and Paly are located in different areas: Paly is close to Stanford, while Gunn is bordered by Los Altos Hills, a scenic area where Gunn students can run and hike. Gunn students can enjoy the view of the entire Bay Area if they hike far enough up. Since the hills are closer to Gunn, Gunn students can walk after school to the hills, whereas Paly students have to drive to the hills.

Their differing locations come with different surroundings, as Paly is near Town and Country and Gunn has access to El Camino Real. Restaurants located near Gunn are cheaper than those near Paly, while still providing high-quality food for Gunn students.

Moving on to the students of both schools: Gunn’s homecoming events trounce Paly’s homecoming events. For example, Gunn has night rallies with Airbands, which are recorded for future students to watch online. In those videos, the spirit of Gunn clearly exceeds the spirit of Paly. Gunn builds giant floats each year to demonstrate how dedicated Gunn students are to showing their school spirit. Gunn’s homecoming airbands and floats are more impressive and more grand than Paly’s.

Gunn also demonstrates school spirit via drawings and paintings on campus. The Chalk Art club often draws all over Gunn’s campus, brightening the school. The club might draw a picture related to the time of the year, a motivational drawing or anything in between. At the same time, the library displays works made by Gunn students. Since the art in the library changes, Gunn students can enjoy a variety of artistic creations.

Recently, the Gunn Robotics Team (GRT) placed first out of 49 schools in the Arizona Regional, and won the Excellence in Engineering Award. GRT has also placed first in national robotics competitions three times, a feat that no other school has been able to replicate.

Paly has a robust journalism program, with more than six publications run by the school. Gunn also publishes a student newspaper: The Oracle. The Oracle is similar to the Paly Campanile in most aspects, but The Oracle also publishes several online articles that the Campanile lacks. In particular, The Oracle has a Changing the Narrative section, which describes the personal lives of students from all over Gunn. People submit stories to Changing the Narrative in hopes of showing their life story and what they learned from it. Indeed, this section is both a beacon of hope and a unique aspect of The Oracle.

An activity where Gunn proves superior to Paly is in math competitions. In 2011, Gunn placed ninth in the entire nation in the Harvard-MIT Math Tournament. Curiously enough, if one searches the results page of 2011, Paly’s team is nowhere to be found. This trend continues from 2011 through 2017: Gunn sent math teams every year, while Paly sent their math team only once. Last year, Gunn placed fourth in the CalTech math tournament and placed fifth in the Berkeley math tournament, while Paly failed to send a team to the former and failed to place in the latter.

Despite Paly being known as the sports school, Gunn has proved more successful in sports such as badminton, boys’ and girls’ water polo, boys’ swimming and boys’ wrestling. These statistics prove Gunn can compete with Paly as well.

Following multiple meetings with our staff, the Editorial Board and our adviser, we have concluded that there was a conflict of interest in the following article that should have been disclosed at the time of publishing. The columnist was a member of the 4th-quarter crowd that went over to the Henry M. Gunn High School student section during the game. We apologize for the confusion and want to assure readers that we remain committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards possible.


While I am an editor-in-chief of Verde Magazine, my opinion does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the staff.

On Friday, Palo Alto High School played against its rival, Henry M. Gunn High School, in their first football matchup in 12 years. As expected from any rivalry game, large numbers of both Paly and Gunn students, including myself, showed up dressed in green and red, respectively, to watch.

In the fourth quarter, with around 12 minutes of playing time remaining, Paly students flooded into the Gunn student section. Paly students gathered in one section of the stands to start the classic “sko Vikes” chant, and promptly left the Gunn section.

The game was canceled with five minutes to go for “sportsmanship and safety concerns,” according to The Campanile.

Following the incident, I have seen and heard many Palo Alto parents and residents demanding that administrators punish the Paly student body. However, I urge the school board and administrators NOT to take punitive action against the Paly students.

Why? Because Paly students did nothing wrong.

There was no school-on-school violence, and there was no bloodshed. In fact, some Gunn students jokingly joined Paly students in their chants. I understand that administrators and parents may contend that there was a high possibility of violence, and Paly students should be punished because violence could have unfolded.


Paly students should not be punished for events that could have unfolded, but didn’t.


But, the reality is, we did not strike our friends. Even though we belong to different schools, Paly and Gunn students have grown up in the same neighborhoods, attended the same elementary/middle schools and shared family dinners for all of our lives. A large-scale fight between Paly and Gunn would not happen simply because our friendships supersede our rivalry.

I also ask administrators why they want to punish students for something that could have happened, but didn’t? Do we live in the “Minority Report” dystopia where people are punished before they commit a crime or punished simply because of the possibility of committing a crime? No. Paly students should not be punished for events that could have unfolded, but didn’t. Any one-on-one and isolated fights between individual students should be punished accordingly; however, the actions of a few individuals should not lead to the punishment of an entire student body.

While there was no physical violence, some may argue that going to the Gunn section was “unsportsmanlike.”

But, what is the definition of sportsmanship?

The definition proves to be nebulous and subjective. In reality, it is a construct that is defined by culture, experience and tradition. What one generation thinks is unsportsmanlike is different from how another generation feels; in other words, it is arbitrary. Some claim that going over to the opposing side during the game and chanting was taunting because Paly was winning 41-0. However, I would counter by saying that this act was not taunting, but was rather a display of intense school spirit.

Because the definition of “sportsmanship” is subjective, as two people in the same setting can have vastly differing interpretations of an event, and nothing dangerous or violent occurred, claiming Paly students were “unsportsmanlike” alone is not justification enough for punishment.


To punish us is to lose the moral power to teach us.


Finally, it was at no point made clear to students that crossing the field was prohibited, so unless administration institutes a rule against it after the event took place, there is nothing to make students guilty and deserving of punishment. What rule forbids Paly students from moving to the other side of the stadium? Is this rule clearly defined? I didn’t see any sign on the football field prohibiting this, and I have never heard an announcement about it. If students were not physically harming anyone, being unsportsmanlike or knowingly breaking clear rules, how are they guilty of anything? 

This is what lawyers and legal scholars call an “ex post facto” law: a law that is created after an act was committed to punish supposed offenders.

“Ex post facto” laws are prohibited in a variety of legal documents ranging from the Magna Carta to Article 1 of the United States Constitution, and their prohibition is one of the pillars of liberal democracy.

Now, it may be true that a school is not a democracy, and legally, administrators can do what they want within the legal sphere of actions, to punish students, however, one of the most important duties of education in the U.S. is to teach us, the students, how to become responsible citizens who will understand and defend the U.S. Constitution. How can school administrators teach us to be responsible American citizens if they themselves violate one of the bedrock principles of the U.S. Constitution? To punish us is to lose the moral power to teach us.

With this information, I hope that the Paly administration will not discipline Paly students for their actions at the Paly vs. Gunn football game. Paly students did nothing wrong, nothing dangerous, nothing unsportsmanlike and nothing outside of the rules.

Is paly better than gunn?

The report evaluated 1,603 schools in California, placing Paly at 34th and Gunn at 22nd.

Is Gunn High School the number one public school in California?

Gunn High School in Palo Alto is California's No. 1 best. Henry M. Gunn High School has a 96 percent graduation rate, 1,420 average SAT score, 32 average ACT score, 40 percent Advanced Placement class enrollment, and its student-teacher ratio is 19:1.

Is Gunn High School Competitive?

Gunn High School is somewhat competitive between students, but the relationships built at this school are very strong. The school gives excellently taught courses, which is shown through students' test scores and GPA.

Is Palo Alto High School Good?

Palo Alto High School (Paly) is ranked #295 in the National Rankings. Schools are ranked on their performance on state-required tests, graduation and how well they prepare students for college.