Commonly known as Pisay Ilocos, the Philippine Science High School-Ilocos Region Campus (PSHS-IRC) was established through the initiative of former 1st district of Ilocos Sur Congressman Salacnib F. Baterina through Republic Act 9036. After the PSHS System Board of Trustees approved its establishment in San Ildefonso, Ilocos Sur through a resolution on February 6, 2002, the local government unit of San Ildefonso, Ilocos Sur donated a 5-hectare lot for the construction of the school in 2022 and a supplemental lot of 2913 square meters in 2015.
The 8th campus to be established by the PSHS System across the country, PSHS-IRC formally opened on July 14, 2003 with 33 students and supported by 12 faculty members and administrative personnel. The pioneer batch of PSHS-IRC scholars graduated in 2007 and, since then, it has produced hundreds of graduates who went on to pursue STEM courses in universities here and abroad.
In response to the thrust of the Philippine government to shift to K+12 Basic Education Program, PSHS-IRC, along with the other campuses of the PSHS System, started offering its 6-year curriculum in 2012. The curriculum is composed of three programs: Foundation Years (Grade 7-8), Advancement Years (Grade 9-10), and Specialization Years (Grade 11-12). The first batch that had undergone the 6-year curriculum graduated in 2018.
Over the years, infrastructure development has totally changed the face of the campus. It now boasts two four-storey residence halls (Boys’ and Girls’); an administrative building; a fabrication laboratory; three academic buildings; and its Advanced Science and Technology Building, which houses classrooms, science and computer laboratories, an amphitheater, a library, and a planetarium (the first of its kind in Region 1).
PSHS-IRC also has its own sewage treatment facility, a canteen, faculty housing units, a motorpool, and a sports complex with a covered basketball court, a multipurpose gymnasium, and a grandstand with soccer field and oval.
PSHS-IRC has been ISO-certified since 2018 and was awarded in 2021 the Level 2 Philippine Quality Award (Recognition for Proficiency in Quality Management), the first-ever secondary high school in the country to receive the award in the history of PQA.
