The Calgary Olympic Development Association (CODA) and the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) opened The National Sport School (NSS) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1994. The mandate of the NSS was to provide student-athletes with an opportunity to complete their high school education while being committed to a highly intensive training regime at a National or International level. The NSS was therefore designed to facilitate student-athlete endeavours in both athletics and academics. A longitudinal study was commissioned to determine if the goals and objectives of the school were being met and to examine the relationship between the NSS structure and academic and athletic performance. Data has been collected annually via athlete, parent, and coach questionnaires; a battery of physiological tests; athletic competition results; academic provincial exams; and teacher interviews. The questionnaire results were categorized into several areas, and subsequently, cross-tabulation and frequency analyses were used to identify the important trends in the data. Overall, the NSS concept is viewed favorably for its promotion of athletic achievement while maintaining academic requirements. Benefits of the NSS identified via the analyses include increased training opportunities, a more flexible timetable, a smaller student-teacher ratio, flexible due dates, and working with peers with similar goals. Academically, the NSS students are at or above provincial standards in all subject areas on a consistent basis. Results indicate that school and academic requirements are a lower priority than sport competitions but of higher priority than training sessions for most athletes. The surveys also indicate that the students are improving their athletic achievements since attending the NSS. In addition, physiological testing indicates that the NSS athletes are superior on a battery of six different tests. Although highly successful, the NSS is also faced with several challenges according to the data, including improving strategies for learning from a distance, increasing usage and effectiveness of weekend tutorials, and most importantly, enhancing coach involvement with the NSS. Overall, the NSS concept is highly supported but to reach its full potential all parties (students, parents, teachers, coaches, and administrators) must play an active and interactive role. It is an on-going and delicate balancing act for students to achieve academically while coping with the stresses of elite competition. The NSS provides an opportunity for both a competitive edge and an academic advantage.Keyword(s): athletics/sports, high school issues, olympic related