Trinity College School

For other institutions named Trinity College, see Trinity College (disambiguation). For other institutions named Trinity School, see Trinity School (disambiguation).

Trinity College School
Beati mundo corde Blessed are the pure in heart
Address
55 Deblaquire Street North Port Hope, Ontario, L1A 4K7, Canada
Information
Religious affiliation	Anglican
Headmaster	Stuart K. C. Grainger
School type	Co-ed Private Boarding/Day
Grades	5 - 12
Language	English
Campus	100 acres (0.40 km2) in a rural Ontario setting
Mascot	Trina the Polar Bear
Team name	Bears
Colours	Black, Maroon, and White
Founded	1865
Enrolment	600
Homepage	www.tcs.on.ca

Trinity College School (TCS) is a coeducational, independent boarding/day school located in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada. TCS was founded on May 1, 1865, more than 2 years prior to Canadian Confederation. It includes a Senior School for grades 9 to 12 and a Junior School for grades 5 to 8.

Among its notable alumni (Old Boys) are The Honourable Mr. Justice Ian Binnie, William Bridges (general), Reginald Fessenden, Peter Jennings, Archibald Lampman, Yann Martel, Mark McKinney, Lew Cirne, Peter Raymont, Ian Brown (journalist), David Macfarlane, Sir William Osler, Sir Casimir Cartwright van Straubenzee and Charles Taylor (philosopher). Conrad Black lasted less than a year when he attended Trinity College School before being expelled for insubordinate behaviour.

Headmasters of TCS: The Rev. C.H. Badgley, M.A., 1865–1870; The Rev. C.J.S. Bethune, M.A., D.C.L., 1870–1891, 1893–1899; The Rev. A. Lloyd, M.A., 1891–1893; The Rev. R. Edmunds Jones, M.A., 1899–1901; The Rev. Herbert Symonds, M.A., D.D., 1901–1903; The Rev. Oswald Rigby, M.A., LL.D., 1903–1913; The Rev. F. Graham Orchard, M.A., D.D., 1913–1933; Philip A.C. Ketchum, Esq., M.A., B.Paed., LL.D., 1933–1962; Angus C. Scott, Esq., M.A., 1962–1983; Rodger Wright, 1983–2004; Stuart K.C. Grainger, 2004–present

Houses

The Senior School runs on a house system, all ten named after former headmasters and other notable members of the school community. Although TCS is co-educational, both boarding and day houses are single sex.

There are six boarding houses: Bickle, Bethune, Brent, Burns, Ketchum, Scott; and four day houses: Hodgetts, Rigby, Orchard and Wright.

History

Trinity College School Campus

Trinity College School was first founded in the town of Weston, Ontario. William A. Johnson (founder) officially opened the school in his home on May 1, 1865. The school was located in the rectory above the Old Mill on east banks of the Humber River. At the time there were only 9 students and faculty. More and more people became interested in the school setup by Johnson, so its expansion was inevitable. At first, the school was moved to a building at the north-west corner of Rosemount Avenue and King Street in Weston, Ontario. Since a bigger structure was needed, sites at Guelph, Whitby, Niagara, and Norold were all considered.

However, prominent citizens in Port Hope, Ontario were very much interested in hosting the school in their town. They offered to pay the rent for the School's premises for 3 years, a deal which was accepted. In September 1868 Trinity College School opened in Port Hope. The following 30 years were good ones for the School. During that time, under the direction of Headmaster Charles Bethune, Trinity College School grew from the motley collection of wooden sheds and buildings which existed initially at the site of Port Hope into a prosperous, thriving academic community.

Unfortunately, on a wintry night in 1895 an explosion of a coal oil lamp in one of the master's rooms started a fire which destroyed almost the entire School. Fortunately, no one was hurt and the School was rebuilt in only eight months.

James Augustus Ellis (architect) designed the TCS hockey rink (1911) on Ward Street.

A second fire occurred in 1928. Again, virtually all of the School was destroyed. Rebuilding the School was not an easy task this time. Although TCS had received promises of funds to help with the rebuilding from the Old Boy community, on the heels of the fire came the Great Depression and many Old Boys had to renege on their promises.

Newly appointed Headmaster Philip Ketchum found himself in charge of a school on the brink of bankruptcy and he had spent the first few years of his tenure "cap in hand" trying to raise the funds to pay off a very onerous mortgage. Through the generosity of a handful of Old Boys, the debt was finally retired.

Since that time, Trinity College School has yet to experience any similar hardships. The last 50 years of the School history read like a chronicle of successes and expansion. The School's physical plant has tripled in size, the student body has doubled and, under the leadership of Headmaster Rodger Wright, the first female student was admitted to TCS in the fall of 1991 to great success.

TCS continues to be on the leading edge of education in Canada, particularly in the use and promotion of computers in the curriculum. During the summer of 1997, the entire campus was cabled in order to make the School's computer network, and the Internet, universally accessible.

Present

Junior School Grades 5-8

The academic school year at TCS is divided into three distinct terms (Fall, Winter and Spring), and different extracurricular programmes are offered for each. Extracurricular activities at the school include athletics, arts and music, and community service. A recreational sports programme is also available, allowing students the opportunity to participate in a non-competitive sports environment.

Academics are the major focus at TCS and are vigorous and challenging, to ensure only the smartest and strongest students survive.Many will struggle but only the best will continue. The school offers a wide range of courses geared towards all realms of post-secondary education. Advanced Placement courses allow Grade 11 and 12 students to study first year university course material, and perhaps earn a university credit after taking a standardized examination in May.

Nicknames, mottos and traditions

Trinity College School Coat of Arms Above Entrance to LeVan Hall

The TCS athletics teams have been known since the 1980s as the Bears.

The school motto is Beati Mundo Corde, Latin for "Blessed are the Pure in Heart." The school sports colours are black and maroon but the school's uniform and coat of arms incorporate the school's corporate colour of blue.

Bigside Boys Rugby Team

Every year starts off with the annual "New Students Fun and Games" in which the old students mix and mingle with the new students in a variety of activities across campus culminating in the favourite "Mud Pit" in which the Headmaster, faculty, and students take part in by diving into a mud pit to declare their entrance into the new school year.

The Bears have most recently proven to be strong competitors in Men's Rugby and Women's Soccer and Softball. These teams won CISAA in the '08 school year.

Both the bigside (varsity) boys football and bigside boys soccer team won CISAA in the '09 school year.

The bigside boys rugby team also had great success in the '10 school year coming first in CISAA and third in OFSAA.

Bibliography

• Trinity College School (Port Hope., Ont.). Old Boys' Association (1948). Trinity College School Old Boys at war, 1899-1902, 1914-1918, 1939-1945. Port Hope. http://www.archive.org/details/trinitycollegesc00trinuoft. 
• Trinity College School (Port Hope., Ont.). Old Boys' Association (1947). Trinity College School Record October 1946- August 1947. Port Hope. http://www.archive.org/stream/trinitycollegesc5016trin/trinitycollegesc5016trin_djvu.txt. 

External links

• Trinity College School