Among the top 5 large-sized schools (with more than 100 graduates each year) there were 3 Christian schools listed: two Catholic schools in Nazareth - the St. Joseph School (Greek Catholic) and the St. Joseph Nuns School (Roman Catholic) - and an Orthodox school in Haifa (the Orthodox College in Haifa). The percentage of students who received excellence awards in each school was 39%, 35%, and 29% respectively. However, of the total 750 high schools around the country, only 36 of them had a percentage of over 15% of their students who received excellence awards. This brings the total number of students in the country who received excellence awards to 3,986 students, or 3.77% of the total number.

In Israel, the Bagrut Exams are divided into a system of units for each subject. According to the Israeli Ministry of Education?s criteria, a student is awarded excellence if he/she achieves an average score above 90 (out of 100) over their 30 units of learning, on the condition that they were examined extensively in English (5 units) and moderately in Mathematics (4 units). Alternately, the student must achieve an average score above 95 in 25 units, on the condition that they were examined extensively (5 units each) in both English and Mathematics.

The Nazareth Baptist School (NBS) was established in 1949 and is a K-12 school with 1000 students. It has a nationwide reputation for outstanding achievements, and only four weeks ago, a group of its 9th graders won 3rd place in a national science contest called ?Gildor? in which they were required to create a device that would distance birds from airplanes as they fly.

With all this national recognition and achievement, NBS?s only real challenge is its aging facilities and crowded premises.