Shawnigan Lake School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Shawnigan Lake School | |
| Address | |
| 1975 Renfrew Road Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia, Canada |
|
| Information | |
| Headmaster | David Robertson |
| School type | Private Day and Boarding |
| Grades | 8-12 |
| Motto | Palmam Qui Meruit Ferat |
| Founded | 1916 |
| Enrollment | 429 |
| Homepage | www.sls.bc.ca |
Shawnigan Lake School is a private boarding school, located in Shawnigan lake, British Columbia. It was founded by C.W.Lonsdale in 1916.
Contents |
[edit] Location
Shawnigan Lake School is on the shores of Shawnigan Lake on a wooded 290-acre campus. It is located just a few minutes away from Shawnigan Lake, the village, and is 45 minutes north of Victoria, British Columbia on Vancouver Island.
[edit] History
Shawnigan Lake School, an independent (private) school for boys, was founded in 1916 by Christopher Windley Lonsdale (1886-1952). A clergyman's son, Lonsdale was born in Cumberland and educated at Westminster School, London. He immigrated to British Columbia in 1907. Two years later, having worked at a variety of jobs on the lower mainland and northern Vancouver Island, he settled in Duncan, where he operated a dairy business.
During the Edwardian years, Duncan attracted many genteel settlers from the United Kingdom, Eastern Canada, and the overseas empire. Many of these immigrants were alumni of prestigious British public schools and understandably they wished to provide a similar education for their sons. Appreciating this fact, Lonsdale gave up his milk route in 1915 and opened a small day school near Shawnigan Lake, south of Duncan. Despite its limited facilities, "Mr. Lonsdale's School" proved to be a successful venture - so successful, in fact, that Lonsdale was encouraged to open a large, purpose-built boarding school. Located on 140 acres of heavily-wooded, lake-side property, Lonsdale's "Shawnigan Lake Preparatory School for Boys" was launched in 1916.
Shawnigan Lake School (SLS) was modelled on Westminster School, London (established 1540). SLS was divided into "houses", each under the supervision of a housemaster and student prefects. The school colours of Westminster were adopted, as were many of its rituals and traditions. Spiritually, the school adhered to the tenets of the Church of England; academically, it emphasized classical studies, liberal arts, and applied sciences. Like Westminster and its counterparts throughout the British Empire, SLS also promoted sports and organized games, as a means of developing boys' character.
The school opened with an enrolment of fewer than a dozen students: within a decade, it boasted almost a hundred pupils, a well-equipped gymnasium, and a growing reputation for scholarly excellence. In December 1926 the school was all but destroyed by fire. Undaunted, Lonsdale ensconced his boys in the Cadboro Beach Hotel in Victoria for the remainder of the term and set about raising funds for a new building programme. Thanks largely to the support he received from students' parents in the Cowichan Valley area, he succeeded, and in 1927 the school re-opened.
On 17 February 1928, Shawnigan Lake School was incorporated as a non-profit foundation. The objects of the foundation, according to its charter, were to
- "Maintain the school as a fabric founded to endure in all future time and ordered to the intent that it shall exercise a continuing influence upon the lives of the boys and so contribute towards the welfare of the Dominion of Canada...."
Soon after, the school added a new chapel, playing fields, dormitories and laboratories. Enrolment increased to over two hundred - a number that included the sons of some of the most prominent families in the West.
The following years, however, were difficult for the school. The international financial crisis of 1929 made it impossible for the school to maintain its fee structure, while the threat of Japanese invasion in 1942 prompted many parents to remove their sons from the Pacific coast. Although the school survived both the Great Depression and World War II, it was apparent by the early 1950s that SLS was on the decline. Enrollments had fallen and many of the school buildings were in great need of repair. The headmaster's health was also failing and in 1952 the SLS Board of Governors persuaded him to retire.
C.W. Lonsdale's successors - Peter Kaye, a financier from Vancouver, and E.R. ("Ned") Larsen, an SLS Old Boy - revitalized the school, modernized its facilities, philosophy, and curriculum, and placed it on a sound financial footing. Enrolments and endowments increased accordingly as the school regained its enviable scholastic and athletic reputation.
In 1989 the school decided not only to allow boys but also now has four girls dormitories to accompany the boys five.
Currently the school is undergoing construction to replace some older dorms. Copemans and Groves have already been completed and Construction on Lonsdales house is currently being completed.
[edit] Residences
The two original houses, “Lake’s” and “Ripley’s”, were founded in May 12th 1927. “Lake’s” was named after Harry J. Lake, its first Head of House, who later became a colonel in the Canadian Army. “Ripley’s” was named after Alec B. Ripley, who was its first Head of House, and who later became a lawyer in California.
In September 1927 the third house was built. “Groves” was named after Captain J.J.D. Groves, a Governor of the School. “Copeman’s” was founded in September 1929 and named for J.Y. Copeman, a Victoria lawyer and for many years Chairman of the Board of Governors. “Lonsdale’s” was founded in September 1968 and named for C.W. Lonsdale, first and founding Headmaster. “School” House was the inaugural girls’ residence in the School, founded in September 1988. Named after its unique position in a refurbished wing of the School’s main building. “Kaye’s” was founded in September 1989 as the second girls’ House. Named after G. Peter Kaye, second Headmaster of the School. “Renfrew” was established September 1996 in order to expand the number of girls. “Duxbury” was founded in September 1999 and named for Frank Duxbury, a teacher who was a leader in the School, to staff and students, during the 1950’s and early ’60s. These residences brought the school to its current total of nine houses.
The last few years have brought a new program of residential renewal. In September 2004 a new “Groves’” residence was unveiled, followed by a new “Copeman’s” a year later. In November 2005 construction started on the new replacement for “Lonsdale’s” house.
[edit] See also
Rough Diamond : An Oral History of Shawnigan Lake School (ISBN 0-9696005-0-X) by Jay Connolly.
