Rivals have become classmates after many Midlothian High School students have transferred to Heritage due to rezoning. Even old Midlothian teachers are now a Jaguar, and the comparison between the two schools has been a popular conversation topic for this school year.

Previous Panther Jeremiah Atwell (10) reflects on what he claims is the main difference between the two schools.

“Everything’s just really small [at Heritage],” Atwell said. “The population, how big the school is, and the extracurricular activities like the band.”

Even with a smaller size, however, Heritage does rival MHS in many aspects according to new student Chase Fuller (11).

“The teachers here are a lot nicer,” Fuller said. “And then I saw last year you guys went to State for soccer and everyone went to that which seems fun.”

While incoming freshmen and sophomores were required to transfer, students who were rising juniors and seniors like Fuller were given the choice between attending Heritage or MHS for their final years of high school.

“I was originally going to stay at MHS,” Fuller said. “And then I wanted to switch because all of my close friends are here because I went to Walnut Grove.”

Despite choosing to transfer, Fuller is a part of the countless other old Midlothian students who miss elements that only MHS seemingly has to offer.

“[I] obviously [miss] my friends,” Atwell said. “Then, more options for different classes. The schools are too small and they don’t have other classes like French.”

In addition to the lack of classes and previous friends, Fuller believes Heritage is deficient in school spirit.

“[I’ll miss] how much energy there was at MHS,” Fuller said. “I haven’t been to a Heritage football game. I went to the volleyball game and that’s it so far. It was good, but MHS was a lot louder.”

In spite of Heritage’s faults, many transfer students enjoy the atmosphere and freedom of our school.

“Teachers at MHS are more strict,” Atwell said. “Like for band [at Heritage], people were saying you can just get up and leave to go to the bathroom.”

Given all of the comparisons between the two schools, Diego Herrera (12) summarizes his reasoning and reaction to transferring in one simple sentence.

“The way that I see it,” Herrera said. “I got to spend time with friends from MHS for the first three years,” Herrera said. “and for the last one I get to spend time with friends at Heritage.”