Payson High School has one of the longest histories of any school in Utah and, since August 2025, one of the newest buildings. Home of the Lions, it sits at 271 West 800 South in Payson. Its old building, opened in 1967, was where Footloose was filmed; its replacement, a $143 million, 360,000-square-foot school, opened for classes in fall 2025. It enrolled 1,680 students in the state's October 2025 count, and its Class of 2025 graduated at 94.8%, above the statewide 89.8%.
This guide covers what families ask: the history, the new building, 2026-27 bell times, the Nebo calendar, who attends, the numbers, college credit, sports and registration. Payson is in Nebo School District, which isn't affected by the Alpine split. School details are from Payson High's website and posted bell schedule, read Nov. 13, 2026; enrollment and graduation figures are from the Utah State Board of Education.
Quick facts
| Address | 271 West 800 South, Payson, UT 84651 |
| Phone | (801) 465-6025 |
| District | Nebo School District |
| Grades | 10 to 12 |
| Students (Oct. 1, 2025) | 1,680 |
| Graduation rate (Class of 2025) | 94.8% |
| School day | 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday to Friday; Monday out at 1:45 |
| Building | Opened August 2025; about 360,000 square feet |
| Sports | 5A Region 7 (UHSAA, 2025-27) |
| Mascot and colors | Lions; green and silver |
A long history
Payson High's own origin story starts earlier than most Utah schools can claim. According to the school, the first Utah high school south of Salt Lake City was established in Payson in 1873. It closed in 1876 so its students could consolidate into the new Brigham Young Academy in Provo, the school that became BYU. In 1884, Payson opened the Central School, which gradually added grades until it was a full high school; its first class, 13 seniors, graduated in 1893.
Sports came early, too. Payson fielded its first football team in 1908 and won the Utah County track and field championship in 1910. The teams were the Payson Farmers, then the Beetdiggers, then the Maple Leaves, which gave the school its green and silver colors. In 1912, Payson finished the first building officially called Payson Senior High School, a two-story red brick building, and graduated its first class there. In 1917 the school won its first state championship, in track and field.
The name came in 1928. The football team needed uniforms and had no money, and the Payson Lions Club organized fundraisers, donated money and bought season tickets. The team reached the state semifinals in its new uniforms, lost to Manti, and came home to a banquet the Lions Club had organized. The school changed its mascot to the Lions in the club's honor. "Welcome to the Pride," the school's history page ends.
Footloose, and the building that replaced it
The building most people picture opened in 1967. In 1983 it was a filming location for Footloose, and in 2024, for the movie's 40th anniversary, Kevin Bacon came back for a charity event at the school.
By then, the school had outgrown it. The Daily Herald reported that the old building was built for about 700 students; enrollment had passed 1,700. "We've definitely outgrown it," Principal Jesse Sorenson told the paper at the May 2025 ribbon-cutting for the new school.
The replacement, according to the Herald:
- cost about $143 million,
- covers about 360,000 square feet on two stories,
- has 78 classrooms, a media center, new wood and metal shops, and dance, choir and band rooms,
- includes an auditorium with 1,522 seats and a balcony, and a gym that seats 2,520.
At the ribbon-cutting, most classrooms were move-in ready, with finishing work still under way on the auditorium and gym. Sorenson opened it in May, before school let out, because "high schools don't really shut down in the summer."
Classes moved into the new building in August 2025. The old building came down on June 25, 2025, KSL reported, but one piece survived: Ren McCormack's locker from Footloose, Kevin Bacon's character's, which the school built into a row of lockers in the new building as a tribute. "It's the spirit of the building and not necessarily the structure that matters," Sorenson told KSL. Asked whether he misses the old school, he compared it to missing an old car after you get a new one. For the city around the school, see our Payson guide.
Who attends: the boundary
Payson High's attendance area is one of the biggest in the county: about 427.5 square miles of the south end of Utah Valley, including farmland and the foothills of Mount Nebo. By Nebo School District's map, it takes in:
- all of Goshen,
- about 96% of Santaquin and 96% of Genola,
- about 75% of Spring Lake,
- about 40% of Payson's land,
- and a sliver, about 4%, of Elk Ridge.
The feeder schools:
- Middle and junior high: all of Mt. Nebo Middle School and Payson Junior High.
- Elementary schools: all of the Apple Valley, Goshen, Orchard Hills, Park View, Santaquin, Spring Lake and Wilson areas.
The city of Payson splits with Salem Hills, which takes about 59% of Payson's land. Check any address with Nebo before you buy or rent. Our Payson High attendance-area page lists the feeders, and the Salem Hills High School guide covers the other side.
Bell times, 2026-27
Payson posts its bell schedules as a document, updated June 29, 2026. Payson runs four class periods a day and serves breakfast from 7:30 to 8 a.m.
Tuesday through Friday:
| Period | Time |
|---|---|
| 1st | 8:00 to 9:25 |
| The Pride | 9:25 to 9:35 |
| 2nd | 9:40 to 11:05 |
| Lunch | 11:05 to 11:40 |
| 3rd | 11:45 to 1:05 |
| 4th | 1:10 to 2:30 |
Monday:
| Period | Time |
|---|---|
| 1st | 8:00 to 9:15 |
| 2nd | 9:20 to 10:35 |
| Lunch | 10:35 to 11:10 |
| 3rd | 11:15 to 12:30 |
| 4th | 12:35 to 1:45 |
Each Nebo high school sets its own day: Salem Hills, for comparison, runs five periods starting at 7:50 a.m. The Payson schedule also lists extended lunch and assembly versions for both kinds of day, a half-day schedule that ends at 11:15 a.m., an afternoon pep assembly at 1:50, and a late-start snow day schedule that begins at 10 a.m. and still ends at 2:30.
The 2026-27 calendar
Payson follows Nebo School District's 2026-27 calendar, 180 school days:
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Tue., Aug. 18, 2026 | School begins |
| Mon., Sept. 7 | Labor Day |
| Mon., Sept. 21 | Staff development day, half day |
| Wed., Oct. 14 | First term ends |
| Oct. 15 to 19 | Fall break |
| Nov. 25 to 27 | Thanksgiving |
| Fri., Dec. 18 | Half day; second term ends |
| Dec. 21 to Jan. 1 | Christmas break |
| Mon., Jan. 4, 2027 | Third term begins |
| Mon., Jan. 18 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day |
| Fri., Feb. 12 | District development day, no students |
| Mon., Feb. 15 | Presidents Day |
| Fri., March 12 | Third term ends |
| Wed., March 17 | Staff development day, half day |
| Fri., March 26 | Good Friday, half day |
| April 5 to 9 | Spring break |
| Wed., May 26 | Last day of school |
Our Utah County school calendars guide puts Nebo beside Alpine and Provo.
Size, students and graduation
The state's Oct. 1, 2025 count:
| Grade | Students |
|---|---|
| 10th | 602 |
| 11th | 561 |
| 12th | 517 |
| Total | 1,680 |
The sophomore class is the largest, 85 students bigger than the senior class. About 20% of students are Hispanic and about 76% white; about 23% are economically disadvantaged, the highest share of Nebo's five high schools, and 107 are English learners. The Class of 2025, 519 students, graduated at 94.8% with a 4.2% dropout rate.
Nebo's five high schools side by side
| Students | Grad rate 2025 | Econ. disadvantaged | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maple Mountain | 1,897 | 96.2% | 11.6% |
| Springville | 1,632 | 95.7% | 20.6% |
| Salem Hills | 1,513 | 95.6% | 14.0% |
| Payson | 1,680 | 94.8% | 23.3% |
| Spanish Fork | 1,565 | 93.6% | 18.4% |
Payson serves more low-income students than any other Nebo high school and still graduates nearly 95%, five points above the state. Our graduation rates guide covers every county school.
Early college: CE, AP, the ALC and MTECH
Payson's "Early College" page, under the motto "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today," lays out four routes:
- UVU concurrent enrollment. Classes taught at Payson for UVU credit. UVU charges a one-time $35 admission fee plus $5 per credit hour. Students apply to UVU with the concurrent enrollment participation form, get a UV ID, then register by course number. Students must take the ACT or Accuplacer/ALEKS before CE English or math, and classes can't be dropped after the college withdrawal deadline without a failing grade on the college transcript.
- Advanced Placement. Exams are scored 1 to 5, and a 3 or higher earns credit at many colleges. There's a fee for each exam, the test is optional, and failing scores don't appear on college transcripts.
- The ALC (Advanced Learning Center) in Salem, a Nebo program for hands-on, problem-based learning, with its own counselor, master schedule and bell schedule. Students who want a UVU associate degree or general education certificate in high school must meet with Payson's UVU adviser, whose office is at the ALC.
- MTECH (Mountainland Technical College). High school students can work toward certificates and licenses, and tuition is waived for them; they pay fees and materials.
Sports
Under the UHSAA's 2025-27 alignment, Payson plays in 5A Region 7 with Maple Mountain, Pleasant Grove, Salem Hills, Spanish Fork, Springville and Timpview. Payson played its 2024-25 season in 4A before moving up.
Recent highlights:
- Boys basketball won the school's first boys basketball state title in February 2025, rallying past top-seeded Green Canyon 54-51 in the 4A final under coach Anthony Mitchell, the Daily Herald reported. "Our first state championship ever," Mitchell said; the Herald noted the school opened in 1912.
- Wrestling is a Payson strength. Under coach Jeb Clark, the Lions won the 5A state title in 2021 with 268 points to Box Elder's 205.5, their first since rejoining 5A, after a 4A title in 2019, KSL reported.
The school's About Us page also links a Hall of Fame and a page on Payson High at the Utah Film Commission, a nod to Footloose. Our high school football guide and sports calendar cover the county.
Enrolling a new student
- Confirm your boundary with Nebo; Payson splits with Salem Hills.
- Register online through Nebo's system. For 2026-27, online registration opened April 20, 2026, the school announced.
- Bring documents: proof of residence, birth certificate, immunization records, and any transcripts or IEP.
- Apply for free or reduced lunch if eligible; the 2026-27 applications are open through Nebo's LINQ system.
- Call the school at (801) 465-6025 to reach counseling and build a schedule, and ask about ALC or MTECH classes if your student is interested in a trade.
Questions to ask on a visit
- Which AP and CE classes run this year, and which need an ACT, Accuplacer or ALEKS score?
- How do ALC and MTECH classes fit a four-period day, and how do students get to Salem or an MTECH campus?
- What do sports, band, choir and dance cost, now that the new building has its own rooms for each?
- How does the school support students who are behind on credits? Payson serves the largest share of low-income students in Nebo and still graduates nearly 95%; ask what makes that work.
- Where is the Footloose locker, and can families see it during a school event?
What parents ask
Can we see the Footloose building? Not anymore. It was demolished June 25, 2025. Ren McCormack's locker lives on inside the new school.
Why does school start at 8 when other high schools start at 7:45 or 7:50? Each school sets its own bell schedule. Payson's day runs 8 to 2:30, with breakfast from 7:30.
What is "The Pride" on the schedule? A 10-minute block between first and second period, Tuesday through Friday. The school calls its community "the Pride."
Is Nebo splitting like Alpine? No. Nebo stays whole.
Related guides
- Nebo School District guide
- Salem Hills High School guide
- Utah County high school graduation rates
- Utah County school calendars 2026-27
- High school football in Utah County
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Payson High School?
Is Payson High the Footloose school?
What are Payson High's bell times for 2026-27?
How many students attend Payson High?
What is Payson High's graduation rate?
Which cities go to Payson High?
Why are Payson's teams called the Lions?
How much does concurrent enrollment cost at Payson High?
Sources
The facts in this guide were checked against these sources. Hours, fees and rules change, so confirm anything time-sensitive with the source before you go. How we make Provo.com.
- Payson High School. Checked November 13, 2026.
- Our Origin Story, Payson High School. Checked November 13, 2026.
- Payson High School: Early College, Payson High School. Checked November 13, 2026.
- PHS Regular and Specialty Bell Schedules 2026-2027, Payson High School. Checked November 13, 2026.
- Fall Enrollment by Grade Level and Demographics, 2025-26, Utah State Board of Education. Checked November 13, 2026.
- 2025-27 UHSAA Alignment, Utah High School Activities Association. Checked November 13, 2026.
- Fall Enrollment by Grade Level and Demographics, October 1, School Year 2025-2026, Utah State Board of Education. Checked November 13, 2026.
- High School Cohort Graduation Rates, 2025, Utah State Board of Education. Checked November 13, 2026.
- Academic School Year Calendar 2026-2027 (Board Approval 9/10/2025), Nebo School District. Checked November 13, 2026.
- Concurrent Enrollment, Utah Valley University. Checked November 13, 2026.
- A Lion's share of emotions: Payson celebrates new high school, says goodbye to the old, Daily Herald. Checked November 13, 2026.
- Newly demolished iconic Payson High School makes way for new memories ahead, KSL. Checked November 13, 2026.
- Payson boys basketball wins first state title, Daily Herald. Checked November 13, 2026.
- Payson rides lone champ, heavy depth to first state wrestling title since 5A realignment, KSL. Checked November 13, 2026.
