For outstanding success in VHSL academic activities, Manchester High won its first-ever National Guard Cup presented by the Virginia Army National Guard.
The cup is awarded annually for demonstrating yearlong success in Virginia High School League academic activities. A point system determines cup winners based on overall performance in VHSL state championships throughout the school year. For the academic cup, points are tallied from publications/multimedia, robotics, theater, scholastic bowl, forensics, debate, creative writing and film festival. An academic cup is awarded to the top school in each VHSL size classification.
Manchester High earned 398 points — more than any National Guard Cup winner has ever achieved since the award began in 1990 — to win the cup for VHSL class 6 in 2023-24. Manchester High students earned points in magazine (35), yearbook (35) and forensics (3), but what put the school at the top of the cup standings were the 325 points earned in the VHSL film festival.