After the final Bedford student walks across the stage during Manchester High School West’s graduation ceremony on June 20, a new era will officially begin at the school.

What that era will consist of remains to be seen.

With Bedford students no longer filling the hallways and classrooms at the school, West administrators will meet challenges, but also find new benefits for their students.

“It is going to impact the whole school,” said Manchester School Board member Art Beaudry. “I think aside from the social part of it, I think the major impact will be in sports. We may be eliminating several sports because of low numbers.”

Beaudry said he believes the best solution would be to move Hooksett students from Central to West, but he knows it is an option that is made complicated by the city’s contract.

“That would make things better for the city of Manchester as a whole,” said Beaudry. “Central is getting overcrowded while West will struggle because they don’t have enough students. The way the contract is drafted we would have to renegotiate it.”

Hooksett School Board Chairman Paul Cournoyer said a high school study committee will gather data on the new West setup, but he believes most questions won’t be answered until the school year begins again this fall.

“West will certainly have a new identity, but the Hooksett students will continue to strive, I am confident,” said Cournoyer. “A smaller school can be a better environment, but that remains to be seen.”

After multiple years of having an under-capacity building, the new Bedford High School’s classrooms will finally be full when the new school year kicks off.

Bedford High School Principal George Edwards said administrators expect to fill the building with 1,250 students and about 90 teachers, hosting seniors for the first time.

While Edwards, who recently resigned as the school’s principal but is finishing out this school year, said he is excited about the prospect of Bedford having a full school, he is also aware of the impact that will be felt in Manchester.

“The number of students West has lost is really significant,” said Edwards. “From an academic standpoint, many of the top students have been Bedford students, so when you start to lose a good number of academically talented students, it leaves a hole.”

In Bedford, the first day of school this fall will be a monumental day for the town, and Edwards said the school will benefit from the experience of students who have been in the building since the door opened.

“I think that having the leadership of a senior class next year will be one of the things the students will feel that’ll be different and positive,” said Edwards. It’s been simultaneously exhilarating and exhausting. It’s been professionally rewarding to have the opportunitiy to work with the community and staff, but it’s also been a lot of work.”

While the low numbers and potential impact on programs is a concern, there are also positive ramifications of the loss of Bedford residents.

“There will be less students in the class, so the teachers will have more one-on-one education time with students,” said Beaudry. “Also, classes that may not have been available before because they were full will now be available. That’s a big plus.”

Cournoyer agreed that the smaller numbers could lead to a better learning environment, and also said the board is constantly monitoring the situation to find what is in the best interest of the Hooksett students attending West.

Edwards said there will be opportunities for the remaining West students to step up and fill roles they previously hadn’t in order to keep programs and classes running as they previously had.

“There will certainly be some significant changes at West,” said Edwards. “Hopefully the city will be able to implement some strategies to offset the loss of so many students and continue running the school successfully.”