High School vs. Preps

I actually prefer prep sports. But my SE has always pointedly told me that prep schools do not equal high schools.

 

People call it preps in the Northwest, but my two newspapers always wrote it as high school sports.

It is most definitely called high school sports in Texas.

 

Really? Since I accepted preps -- I used to be strictly high school, but one place I went said preps, so I came around on it -- I've used them pretty much interchangeably in copy.

Obviously, for standing heads, the name of the page or whatever, you need to pick one and stick with it.

 

I had never heard the term "preps" until I read it on sj.

I think everyone up here uses "high school".

 

Our rule is that everything here is called "XXXX High School" so we write "high school sports."

In some rougher areas, you could call them perps.

 

most papers around here who have someone in charge of high school coverage, their title is Prep Editor

 

The archaic word "prep" is kept alive by copy editors because it fits in a one-column sig.

No one calls them prep schools. No one. It's high school.

 

It's "high schools" until you have to squeeze that 1-48-3.

 

He speaks the truth.

 

Now, that's just silly. You can say it's a misnomer, but not that no one calls them preps. "Preps" is considered a synonym for high school from coast to coast.

 

My first job was as a part-time writer and the guy who hired me was the high school sports editor.

 

It's still only correct when referring to Prep Schools, no matter how often it's misused. If there were not specific schools that fall under the prep category, you might have a reason to use it as a general term. But I think it's confusing to people who have never worked in a newsroom.