Founded in 1999 by Virginia Uldrick, the high school program provides pre-professional training in creative writing, dance, drama, film, music and visual arts to sophomores, juniors and seniors, in a master-apprentice, arts-centered community.

As one of the state's two Governor's Schools, enrollment is eligible to any South Carolina student with selection based on application to individual arts areas and auditions for most programs.

[6] A second proposal with the support of Uldrick, Magill, and Hall was submitted in 1980[6] with Governor Richard Riley issuing an executive order creating the program in October of that year.

[13] The final necessary component—the school's design—was settled through an architectural competition coordinated by Hughes and state entities, with Greenville-based firm Freeman & Major Architects being awarded the contract for their concept of a Tuscan village.

Performance spaces such as the Margaret Reynolds Smith Recital Hall and the Sakas Theatre are integrated into the building and provide for on-campus events; visual arts exhibitions are also available through the Lipscomb Family Foundation Gallery located within the campus as well.

[26] Admission to the high school program is based on a combined application and audition process per artistic discipline of interest in the academic year preceding entry.

Specific audition requirements vary by arts area but collectively engage components such as portfolio review, workshop or performance settings, and interviews to evaluate artistic ability and potential.

[27] The school offers core subject areas—English, mathematics, sciences, social studies, and foreign languages—at College Preparatory (CP), Honors, and Advanced Placement (AP) levels.

[30] Subsequent classes in each focus area continue individual critiques, work development, and exposure to established writers while approaching new structures and elements.

[32] Dramatic training at the school is organized through continuous coursework in acting, voice and speech development, and auxiliary topics such as movement studies, theatre history, and professional preparation.

Acting class integrates the Michael Chekhov technique and perspectives from and components of the work of Viola Spolin, Uta Hagen,Tawnya Pettiford-Wates, Augusto Boal, and other practitioners.

Instrumental and vocal students within the department take weekly, hour-long individual lessons along with master classes and group seminars while also participating in the school's larger string, wind, and/or sinfonia orchestral performance ensembles as appropriate.

Additional material introductions take place in the second semester as classes include painting, sculpture, a continuation of motion design, and nine-week units in ceramics, metals, photography, and printmaking.

More advanced studies—animation, etching and relief techniques, wheel-throwing, bronze casting, architecture and environmental design, etc.—proceed in the senior year elective options, culminating in a fourth-semester thesis and area of concentration.

The component is carried out through readings, written responses, group discussion, and special projects including a PechaKucha presentation developed during the senior spring semester.

[42] Originally focused on serving as a Summer Honors preparatory program for rising tenth-grade students from outreach locations, enrollment was limited to select areas from South Carolina (i.e., excluding Aiken, Greenville, Lexington, Richland, and Spartanburg counties) through the late 1990s.

[47]: 5  Converse College in Spartanburg, South Carolina served as the host campus for at least thirteen years before the program and its studies in creative writing, drama, music, and visual arts were housed in Greenville.

[45]: 6  The current Summer Dance program is now available to rising seventh- to twelfth-grade dancers and offers five weeks of study in classical ballet based on Vaganova technique.

[57][58][59] The school's ensembles have performed on programs such as NPR's classical showcase From the Top[60][61] and in settings such as St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican for the 500th anniversary of the Cappella Giulia in 2013.

Past achievements include the Senior Brass National Winner,[66]: 26  the NATS Mid-Atlantic Top Prize,[66]: 26  twelve student/alumni award-winners in the 2015 YoungArts competition,[67] and regional and national success in the annual Scholastic Awards[68] with distinctions including multiple Portfolio Gold Medal winners[69] in creative writing and American Visions Medals in the visual arts.