St. George's School (Vancouver)
| St. George's School | |
 Without Fear or Favour |
|
| Address | |
| 4175 West 29th Ave. Vancouver, British Columbia, V6S 1V1, Canada |
|
| Coordinates | 49°14′50.34″N 123°12′1.07″W / 49.2473167°N 123.2002972°WCoordinates: 49°14′50.34″N 123°12′1.07″W / 49.2473167°N 123.2002972°W |
| Information | |
| Headmaster | Dr. Tom Matthews |
| Principals | Bud Patel (Senior School), Greg Devenish (Junior School) |
| School type | Independent All-boys |
| Endowment | $7,000,000[1] |
| Grades | 1-12 |
| Language | English |
| Mascot | St. George / the Dragon |
| Team name | Saints / Knights / Dragons |
| Colours | Red, Black, and White |
| Founded | 1930 |
| Enrolment | 1,100 |
St. George's School (informally, Saints), of Vancouver, Canada is an independent boarding and day university-preparatory school for boys.
Contents |
[edit] History
St. George's was founded in 1930 by a group of Englishmen recently arrived in British Columbia. Captain John Harker, serving from 1943 to 1962, was its second and longest-serving Headmaster. As much as possible, Harker tried to inculcate in his charges the heritage of his old school, Rugby. Much of this public-school spirit remains today.
The original school operated out of a large country manor house. It has since expanded dramatically, and the school now maintains two campuses; the Senior School, on land leased from UBC in 1925, and the Junior School, converted from the former Convent of the Sacred Heart, a historic property purchased in 1979. It continues to expand to this day, with the senior campus most recently renovating much of its classroom space, along with the auditorium and the main entrance.
[edit] Students
The student body at St. George's comprises 1,100 boys, with approximately 750 boys in the Senior School and the remainder in the Junior School. The Junior Schools runs from grades one to seven. A sizable portion of the student body boards at the school; most of these students are from Asia. Like similar schools throughout the Commonwealth, it maintains a system of prefects and mandates the wearing of uniforms. The graduating class wields the bulk of student authority and school leadership, and contributes its head boy, deputy head boys, and a host of other prefects. Past head boys and other prefects have included Rhodes Scholars, diplomats, prominent lawyers and businessmen, and professional athletes. The uniform, as is frequently the case in similar Canadian schools, includes an emblazoned blazer, grey flannels, and the wearing of the appropriate school tie. The school ties vary depending on extracurricular achievement, as well as prefect ties. Those who have attended since the first grade are termed "Lifers".
[edit] Academics
St. George's offers a variety of academic options that include enriched and advanced-placement classes. Its boys participate in many regional, national, and international academic contests, in mathematics, the sciences, and the humanities and social sciences. St. George's also emphasizes the building of moral character, and the formation of strong, upstanding traits.[2] There is also a mandatory outdoor education program for students from grades 1-10.
[edit] Performance
The school has been ranked highly by the Fraser Institute, a Vancouver-based market liberal think tank. It was ranked in 2007 as one of the leading schools in Canada.[3] In addition to significantly exceeding the provincial average, its boys consistently attain superior results in Advanced Placement subjects. The school sends its graduates to the leading institutions of post-secondary learning in Canada, as well as to the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries.
[edit] Sports
The school mandates that its boys have a recreational or varsity games choice starting from Grade 8. Boys in senior grades may opt out for one term based on past games attendance. Saint Georges sports teams have done extremely well in the past 10 years, due in no small part to the commitment and motivation of the students coupled with the passion, dedication, and knowledge of the coaching staff.
St. George's has a wide variety of sports teams, including:
|
[edit] Outdoor Education
Students are required to participate in outdoor educational programs both in the junior school and the senior school. These activities range from half day trips (grade 1) to full, week long excursions (grade 10). The junior experiences focus on an education aspect: students learn about first nations people and about the environment. The senior trips are more personal-based learning; activities in the wilderness such as hiking, kayaking and canoeing focus on leadership and interpersonal skills. There is also a focus on environmental care and education. In grade 10, students have the option of applying for the 'Discovery 10' program, a year long program similar to the TREK program offered at Prince of Wales Secondary School. This program is limited to 22 students who participate in a modified Social Studies and PE program, focusing on first nations history, environmental studies, and outdoor leadership. The students spend approximately 50 days out of class on trips (hiking, canoeing, kayaking, rock-climbing).
[edit] Clubs and activities
The school offers a variety of extra-curricular clubs:
- Amnesty International
- Anime and Manga
- Business
- History Club
- Graphic Novel
- Improv
- Debating
- Destination Imagination
- Food for Thought
- Game Programming
- Heart2Heart Canadian Youth Society
- Investment
- Lego Club
- Mah Jong
- Math
- Media
- Model United Nations (MUN)
- Multicultural
- Robotics
- Reach for the Top
- Wood Working
- Ceramics
- Political Debate Club
- Photography
- T-Shirt design and printing (Silk screening)
- Guitar
- Language clubs (Russian, German, Japanese, Mandarin)
- Art
The boys publish a school yearbook, the Georgian, a student newspaper, the Echo, as well as a literary and artistic journal, the Opus. There are also various student-organised events such as music nights, socials, and mixers with sister schools.
[edit] Notable alumni
[edit] Notes
- The junior school campus (Convent of the Sacred Heart) is a heritage site.
- St. George's "sister" school is Crofton House School; it also has well-established ties to York House School and Little Flower Academy.
- The school has a rivalry with Vancouver College; for example, the Saints' and VC rowing crews compete annually in a regatta in April, the "Saints College Boat Race".
- ^ "St. George's School - Vancouver, Canada". http://topprivateschools.ca/school.asp?school_id=59. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
- ^ St. George's
- ^ Cowley, P. ; Easton, S. T. (2007) (PDF). Report Card on Secondary Schools in British Columbia and Yukon: 2007 Edition. http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/admin/books/chapterfiles/70BCESC07COM3.pdf#. Retrieved 2007-05-17.
