Helix Charter High School is closing out its 75th anniversary year with a new event: A Highland Games.
Helix, with its tartan graduation cloth and bagpipe band, pulls many aspects of Scottish culture into the La Mesa school thanks to its mascot, The Highlanders. The idea for a Highland Games had been raised for a while, but the 75th anniversary was important enough that school administrators finally focused on founding a festival they hope will become an annual tradition.
“This is something that people have always wanted to do here,” explained Lauren Knuth, community relations liaison for Helix. “We are the Highlanders.”
The Highland Games are to Scots what the Olympics are to Greeks. With Celtic roots, the games are a heavy athletic competition focusing on strength tests. The high school will have the junior version of the games — no actual tossing of telephone poles in the Caber Toss. Events include a kilted dash, stone put and Weight for Distance.
Already, 250 people have signed up for the Oct. 24 event from those who compete nationally in Highland Games to high school athletes. It is not just limited to sports teams and alumni groups. La Mesa Police Department and Heartland Fire-Rescue will go head-to-head in a tug-of-war.
“We wanted it to be an event that included the entire community, so that neighbors and La Mesa community members could attend,” Knuth said.
Watching feats of strength isn’t the only reason to attend. The event will also have guided tours of the campus, a car show, food stands, a festival area with booths for alumni of each decade, lawn games for children, Highland dance demonstrations and bagpipe band performances.
“I’m excited for the Highland Games because it gives us an opportunity to bring together students, staff, alumni, families and community members to celebrate 75 years of Helix serving the community,” said Helix Executive Director Kevin Osborne in a statement. “I’m especially looking forward to seeing different generations of Highlanders reconnect, have some fun, and celebrate the traditions and sense of community that have made Helix such a special place for so many years.”
The event will be a major gathering for graduates dating back to the school’s founding.
“I am excited to share what a great school Helix is and how important it is to give back to our school community,” said Judy Mitchell Kirk, a 1972 alum and retired staff member who heads the Helix Foundation.
The mascot Highlanders came about as the polar opposite of Helix’s lifetime rival, Grossmont High School, whose mascot is the Foothillers.
La Mesa and the surrounding communities saw their population double around the time of World War II so residents needed a new high school. In 1951, Helix began mid-year, with half of Grossmont’s student body automatically enrolled in the new school. That abrupt beginning kicked off the forever rivalry between the two schools.
Helix was a strong school for many years, until falling to become one of the worst performing schools in the county.
“In the 1990s, everything changed for us,” Knuth said. “We found ourselves with the lowest performance scores, the lowest graduation rates.”
School administrators finally settled on a solution, converting from a public school in the Grossmont Union High School District into a charter school in 1998. The move worked. Knuth calls Helix “a turnaround school.”
Voice of San Diego named Helix the best high school in San Diego County in 2026.
“We’ve just been making little by little changes that have increased our performance so much that now we’re really nationally recognized as one of the best performing schools,” Knuth said.
The Highland Games take place on Saturday, Oct. 24 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Attendees are asked to bring their oour own lawn chairs and blankets to sit on the grass and watch the games. For a full schedule and more information, visit helixcharter.net/about-us/75-anniversary.
