Trinity College School

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For other institutions named Trinity College, see Trinity College.

For other institutions named Trinity School, see Trinity School.

Trinity College School
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 in a rural Ontario setting
Motto	Beati mundo corde (Blessed are the pure in heart)
Mascot	Bear
Team name	Bears
Colours	Black, Maroon, and White
Founded	1865
Enrollment	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 1st, 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 Sir William Osler, Archibald Lampman, Peter Jennings, Mark McKinney, Conrad Black, Reginald Fessenden, Charles Taylor (philosopher) and Yann Martel.

Previous headmasters of TCS include Rodger Wright (1983-2004), Angus Scott (1963-1983), Dr. Philip Ketchum (1933-1963) and Dr. Graham Orchard (1913-1933).

1 Houses
2 History
3 Present
4 Nicknames and Mottos
5 External links

[edit] Houses

The Senior School runs on a house system, all ten named after former headmasters and other notable members of the school.

Four of the Houses are for day students:

Hodgetts (Male)
Orchard (Male)
Rigby (Female)
Wright (Female)

There are six boarding Houses, three male and three female:

Bickle (Male)
Bethune (Male)
Brent (Male)
Burns (Female)
Scott (Female)
Ketchum (Female)

[edit] History

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. 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. 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.

This was the first fire, the second 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 "never looked back." 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, in the fall of 1991, the first female student was admitted to TCS.

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.

It is with enthusiasm and unbounded energy that the faculty and students of this great and wonderful Canadian institution look forward to the twenty first century.

[edit] Present

The academic school year at TCS is divided into three distinct terms (Fall, Winter and Spring), and different extra-curricular programmes are offered for each. Extra-curricular 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. 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.