Philippine Science High School Main Campus

The Philippine Science High School - Main Campus is the flagship campus of the Philippine Science High School System. It was founded in 1964. It is located along Senator Miriam P. Defensor-Santiago Avenue (formerly Agham Road), Diliman, Quezon City.
The 7.5-hectare (19-acre) campus includes two main buildings, the Science and Humanities Building (SHB), and the Advanced Science and Technology Building (ASTB). As of school year (SY) 2016–2017, a constructed extension on the back of the SHB (SHB-BEx) has been available to use by students and faculty. Since SY 2022-2023, a constructed extension on the front of the SHB (SHB-FEx) has also been available for use by students and faculty. The Science and Humanities Building is where the majority of the classes are held and the majority of the faculty units, namely the Biology, Chemistry, Integrated Science, Mathematics, Research, and Humanities Units, have their offices. The Curriculum and Instruction Division (CID), Student Services Division (SSD), Office of the Registrar, Office of the Campus Director, and the school library were all located on the second floor of the same building until the availability of use of the Administration Building since SY 2022-2023, in which only the school library remained on the second floor of the SHB, along with the Humanities Units and the Guidance and Counseling Unit (GCU). Since 2018, construction of a new six-floor academic building for the senior high school program has been ongoing, on the grounds where the old cafeteria once stood. The new building is to include an auditorium with a seating capacity of 600, new lecture rooms, laboratory rooms, a new cafeteria on the first floor, and an astronomical observatory on the sixth floor. In October 2024, the school library was temporarily moved to the Multi-Purpose Hall on the fourth floor of the SHB-FEx, due to renovations on the second floor, which are to include new rooms for student publications The Science Scholar and Ang Lagablab, and the Student Council, with completion scheduled for March 2025.
The Computer Science Unit, Technology Unit, Physics Unit, and the Management Information System (MIS) are located in the Advanced Science and Technology Building. Classes in Computer Science 3-5, Design and Make Technologies, Physics 2-4, Chemistry 3-4, and Biology 4 are usually held in this building. Grade 10 electives such as Computational Crafts and Mathematical Physics are likewise held in this building.
The campus also includes four dormitories. Since SY 2023-2024, two are allotted for boys and two are allotted for girls.
There are many recreational facilities on campus. One of them is a multipurpose gymnasium with bowling lanes, ping-pong tables, a dance room, a basketball court, and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Outside the gym, a football field, concessionaires, track oval, volleyball court, and another basketball court may also be found.
To be admitted to the PSHS System, a prospective student must pass the PSHS National Competitive Exam. To take the exam, the student must have a final grade of at least 85% in both Science and Mathematics (in their 5th year of elementary school), or belong to the top 10% of their graduating class. Around 20,000 applications are received each year. The top 240 students of the exam are guaranteed slots in the Main Campus. In case a student doesn't want to enter the school or wants to transfer to another campus, students from the waiting list are called up to be enrolled in the Main Campus to complete the 240 slots allotted by the system. They are then divided into eight sections with 30 students or less in each section. After the first year of the batch, slots emptied by dismissed students or those who choose to transfer are then filled by new students who qualify via a placement exam given to students who belong to the top percentage of their batch in another school. However, currently, only up to Grade 9 students are allowed to be transferees. Afterward, the remaining students are the only ones who can graduate at the Main Campus.
Students from the Main Campus may transfer to other campuses. Students from the regional campuses may apply for transfer to the Main Campus. However, they must meet a grade requirement. Students outside the Philippine Science High School System may also apply for transfer to the Main Campus. However, they must take a lateral exam and must meet a grade requirement.
Students undergo a curriculum that emphasizes the sciences and mathematics. During Grades 7–9, the students all have a unified core curriculum with a heavier load on their math and science subjects. For Grade 10, the same is true but they get to choose one elective subject. For the Specialization Years Program (SYP) or Grades 11–12, they get to choose a core science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) and an elective (all the core sciences, Agriculture, Computer Science, Engineering, Technology), along with their research and humanities subjects. The core science chosen cannot be changed going into Grade 12, while the elective can.
There are also non-graded but required activities that students must finish before they finish Grade 12. These activities are the Science Immersion Program (SIP) and the Service, Creativity, Action, and Leadership (SCALE) program. The SIP is mainly done by incoming/current Grade 10, 11, and 12 students, while the SCALE program is done by SYP students.
The Main Campus has around 30 students in each class, with 8 classes per batch, in a total of about 240 students in each year level. The names of the sections in each year level are in accordance to a theme based on the major subject offered in that particular year level in the former 4-year curriculum. Each section in Grades 7-10 is assigned a Homeroom Adviser.
In the new 6-year curriculum, the sections of Grades 11 and 12 are based on the chosen core sciences and electives, along with the chosen difficulty of said sciences and Math. From there, 5 sections are given to each student:
Streaming to Technology and Science streams began in June 1995. Only 2 sections out of the 8 in each 'batch' were chosen to be in the Technology stream.
Before 2005, incoming freshmen batches were required to take a streaming exam to determine their mathematics and sciences aptitude. Those who had rather high scores were put into the so-called "Technology Stream" and had a set curriculum that included drafting and technology research. The "Science Stream" had art and earth science classes in the first and second years and had more leeway in choosing their electives, which included English and Filipino journalism, microbiology, microprocessing, and visual communications.
Starting from Batch 2009, streaming was abolished. Instead of having 90 students taking technology electives during the second year, based on the student's first-year performance and desired stream, every student has a fair chance of experiencing both the science and technology streams.
Many of the organizations in PSHS-MC are clubs. In SY 2024-2025, there are 41 active clubs, and they may be divided into 4 categories:
Other organizations in PSHS-MC include, but are not limited to, the following:
The school annually holds a Humanities Week during November or December. During this week, students do various activities related to the Humanities Subjects (English, Filipino, Social Science, Values Education, P.E., Health, and Music). One such activity is the showcase of students' month-long rehearsed presentations for the annual Patimpalak sa Filipino, where Grade 7 students showcase Kilos Awit, Grade 8 students present Sabayang Pagbigkas, Grade 9 students do non-conventional music, and Grade 10 students perform interpretative dances. Other activities include the Pisay Debate Open, Human Libraries, and various talks related to the theme of the event.
Aside from Humanities Week, the school also annually holds a Youth Math Science and Technology (YMSAT) Week, typically during February or March. During this week, special science projects are presented by various year levels not only to the whole Philippine Science High School community but to some visiting schools as well. Brain Blast is also held during this week, with Grade 10 students viewing the defense of various research projects by Grade 11 students, the panelists mainly being PSHS-MC teachers who specialize in the specific topic of the project being defended, with an additional teacher from the units teaching Humanities subjects.
The school also holds a 3-day fair every school year during December or January. The management of the fair is usually delegated to one batch, typically the batch that is Grade 10 or 11 at the time of the commencement of the fair. The management usually starts on the previous school year, as a lot of preparation is needed.
Various booths and a few rides may be seen throughout the fair. On the night of the third day, a concert called Battle of the Bands (BOTB) is held, with various school bands and a few guest bands performing on stage and judges giving out prizes to the best school band of the night.
The names of the fair and its corresponding BOTB vary year by year and are based on a certain theme.
The school is the subject of the 2007 Filipino drama film Pisay, which was directed by school alumnus Auraeus Solito and was shot entirely within the campus.