Northern Secondary School (Toronto)

Northern Secondary School
Address
851 Mount Pleasant Road Toronto, Ontario, M4P 2L5 Canada
Coordinates	43°42′38.17″N 79°23′24.42″W / 43.7106028°N 79.3901167°W / 43.7106028; -79.3901167Coordinates: 43°42′38.17″N 79°23′24.42″W / 43.7106028°N 79.3901167°W / 43.7106028; -79.3901167
Information
School type	Public high school
Motto	The Pride, The Spirit. "Hail Dear Old Northern"
Founded	September 1930
School board	Toronto District School Board
Superintendent	Sandra Tondat
Area trustee	Shelly Laskin
School number	930768
Principal	Gillian Gibbons[1]
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1,806 (Fall 2016)[2]
Colour(s)	Red, Gold, and Blue
Mascot	Red Knight
Team name	Red Knights
Website	www.northern-secondary.com

Northern Secondary School is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It teaches grades 9 through 12. It is a part of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). Prior to Amalgamation of Toronto in 1998, it was within the Toronto Board of Education (TBE).^[3] The closest TTC subway station is Eglinton.

Northern has long-standing rivalries with nearby high-school North Toronto Collegiate Institute and also with Central Technical School, Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute and Leaside High School.

History

Founded in 1930, it was originally known as Northern Vocational School, until the twenty-fifth anniversary when the name was changed to Northern Technical-Commercial, which lasted for three years until the present name, Northern Secondary School, came into use because a definite district had been assigned for matriculation students.

Northern was the first Ontario school to have a student council.^[4] The school is a pilot site of a Toronto Police Service program that places on-duty police officers in schools.

Architecture

Northern Secondary is built in the Gothic Collegiate style, has a floor space of about 121,317 square feet^[5] and contains one hundred and fifteen rooms.^[6] C.E.C. Dyson was the school's original architect.^[7] Although little is known about him, he was the school board's architect from 1921 until 1949.^[8] Northern is known for the grotesques which exist on the exterior, throughout the entrance foyer and inside the auditorium.

Further evidence of the Gothic Collegiate style can be found in the vaulted ceilings of the hallways, and the arched doorways and windows featured throughout the building. As stated on a plaque inside the main entrance, during the 60s a major addition was built which significantly altered the rear of the school. These renovations changed little about the original parts of the building. Although once grand, over the decades, the facility has fallen into considerable disrepair and is in need of extensive renovation.^[9]

An exterior grotesque

A vaulted hallway ceiling

An arched side entrance

Northern Secondary School

Academics

Northern's gifted program / enriched program and its comprehensive range of elective courses, including a diverse art department, bring students in from across the city. The school runs a selective admissions process, as well as optional attendance lotteries.^[10] There is also a large variety of AP and gifted courses available at all grade levels.^[11]

Each year, Northern's students obtain over $1 million in university scholarships.^[12][13]

Northern's students have won numerous national & international awards in multiple academic disciplines. These include the NASA space settlement competition, the World Debates at Oxford, England, and the Canadian Association of Physicists national contest.^[14]

The school has over 50 active clubs, associations and committees, as well as over 120 teachers, resulting in a 15 to 1 student teacher ratio.^[15]

Sports

The school has over 50 varsity athletic teams.^[16] Northern's football team, the Red Knights, have won numerous titles in Toronto's high school league (including two Metro Bowls, and the first Toronto Bowl). A number of top players have gone on to join the Canadian Football League.^[17]

Numerous alumni of the school have also gone on^[18] to play in the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, the Israeli Premier League, as well as the Rugby World Cup.

In popular culture

The school has been used as a location for several films including Carrie (2013 film) and Resident Evil: Apocalypse, which were filmed inside the school.^[19] The academic decathlon scene of Billy Madison was filmed in the school's auditorium.^[20] The 2009 documentary Fight for the Planet was also filmed at the school.^[21]

Numerous commercials have also been filmed on the school's premises.

Charity

Northern has a long history of supporting national & international charities, with over 40 years of participation in the United Way fundraisers for poverty alleviation. The school has been the top fundraiser amongst Toronto high schools for a number of years.^[22]

Notable Alumni and Staff

Alumni of the school include^[23] Academy Award winners, members of the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, holders of the Order of Canada, as well as Grey Cup & Stanley Cup champions, and a Spitfire pilot who played a key role in World War II's Stalag Luft III escape, better known as "The Great Escape." Suits star Patrick Adams.

• List of Northern Secondary School alumni

Painter Lawren P. Harris taught at then Northern Vocational.

See also

• List of high schools in Ontario

References

External links

• Northern Secondary School
• Northern Secondary School at the Toronto District School Board