National Honor Society

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National Honor Society
Founded	March 1, 1921; 103 years ago (1921-03-01) Fifth Avenue High School Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
Type	honor, high school and middle school
Affiliation	National Association of Secondary School Principals
Status	Active
Scope	International
Pillars	Scholarship, Character, Leadership, and Service
Colors	Blue and   Gold
Chapters	17,000+
Members	1.4 million active
Headquarters	c/o/ National Association of Secondary School Principals 1904 Association Drive Reston, Virginia 20191-1537 United States
Website	www.nationalhonorsociety.org

The National Honor Society (NHS) is one of the oldest, largest, and most widely recognized cocurricular student organizations in American high schools, with 1.4 million members.^[1][2]

The purpose of the NHS is to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to recognize outstanding students, to stimulate a desire to render service, to promote leadership, and to develop character in the students of secondary schools.^[3][4]

Membership in local NHS chapters is an honor bestowed upon a student by a Faculty Council and is based on the four pillars of NHS: scholarship, character, leadership, and service. Once selected, members have the responsibility to continue to demonstrate these qualities.^[4]