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Shawnigan Lake School is a private boarding school, located in Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia, Canada. It was founded by Englishman, Christopher Windley 'C.W.' Lonsdale in 1916, and partially modelled on his own English public school, Westminster School.

Location

Shawnigan Lake School is on the shores of Shawnigan Lake and occupies a wooded 290-acre (1.2 km) property. 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.

History

Shawnigan Lake School was founded in 1916 as an independent (private) school for boys by Christopher Windley Lonsdale. Lonsdale the son of a clergyman was educated at Westminster School in London, he immigrated to the lower mainland in 1907 and in 1909 moved to the Cowichan Valley where is operated a dairy business.

During the early 1900’s the Cowichan Valley attracted many settlers from the Commonwealth and Eastern Canada, many of these settlers were alumni from traditional British public schools, and wished to have a similar education for their sons.

Shawnigan Lake School is modelled on Westminster School, London, England the school is divided into 9 "Houses", each under the supervision of a housemaster and student prefects, School colours of Westminster were also originally adopted, as were many of its rituals and traditions such as the `Pancake Greaze` which took place on Shrove Tuesday and which at Westminster has been celebrated since 1753.Spiritually, the school adhered to the tenets of the Anglican Church; academically, it emphasised classical studies, liberal arts, and applied sciences. Like Westminster and its counterparts throughout the British Empire, Shawnigan has also promoted sports and Fine Arts, as a means of developing students character.

On December 16, 1926, in a devastating fire burned the whole school to the ground, Lonsdale undaunted took the opportunity to build the school of his dreams, Lonsdale then housed the students in the Cadboro Beach Hotel in Victoria for the remainder of the school term and set about raising funds the replacement of the school building.

Within a week of the fire, he had hired and architect by the name of Douglas James from near by Duncan, BC, to design a new multi-use facility. Construction began February 16, 1927, and was occupied on May 13, 1927, this building is known on campus as the main building and is till in use today.

Current Campus

Currently Shawnigan Lake School has approximately 35 buildings on its 290+ acre site ranging from classrooms, staff housing, athletic and maintenance buildings.

Main Building: Currently located in the centre of the property was built 1927. In a devastating fire that destroyed most of the original buildings on campus, the founder, C.W. Lonsdale, rather than giving up, took this as an opportunity to build the school of his dreams. Within a week of the fire, he had hired Duncan architect, Douglas James, to design a new facility. Construction began February 16, 1927, and the new building was occupied on May 13. This building is currently occupied by the accounting, admissions, school administration and socials studies departments.

Hobbies Building:

Originally built in 1937 and completely rebuilt in the late 90's, this building hosts the school's fine art programme. This building has a woodshop, several art rooms, a pottery room, a computer lab and a photography lab.

Marion Hall: Built in 2002 This is a A 500-seat dining hall and food services facility. It uses local timber extensively and has etched concrete flooring.

Olsen Building: Built in 2001 and named for Bruce Charles Olsen former student and board of governors member, this building currently houses the languages department.

Craig Building: Generously donated by Mr and Mrs Cyril Craig in 1962, and formerly known as the Craig Block, the building was moved to its current location beside the Olsen building in 2001.

Shaw Centre for Science: Located on the North west shore of Lake Omar, generously donated by the Shaw family and Jim Shaw, this state of the art building which host the Science department was opened in 1999.

John Lecky House: Donated by the Lecky family this facility was opened in September 2003, the facility being part of John Lecky's dream of "Brining the World to Shawnigan", it is used to house visiting schools as well as Rugby Canada, and Rowing Canada during their frequent training camps a Shawnigan.

Current Houses

The school is primarily a boarding school with 90% of its students attending the school as boarders. The school currently has 9 boarding houses on campus, five residences for boys and four residences for girls. Each boarding house has a house director (formerly called the housemaster) as well as an assistant house director, whom are assisted by student house prefects in the management of house duties and issues.

Lake's House: Is one of the two original houses, “Lake’s” was founded in May 12, 1927. “Lake’s” was named after Harry John Lake, its first head of house, who later became a colonel in the Canadian Army. Col. Lake's uncle, Sir Percy Lake, was first Chief of the Canadian General Staff and served as Chairman of the Board of Governors, while the Colonel's father was Sir Richard Lake, sometime Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan.

Ripley's House: Is one of the two original houses,“Ripley’s” was named after Alexander 'Alec' B. Ripley, who was its first head of house, and who later became a lawyer in California.

Groves' House: Founded in September 1927, “Groves’” was named after Jocelyn James Douglas Groves, its first head of house, rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the British Army. Groves’ was converted to a girls' residence in 1992. Groves’ House was rebuilt in 2005.

Copeman's House: Founded in September 1929 and named for John Y. Copeman, a Victoria lawyer, who was Chairman of the Board of Governors for many years. The original building, which housed 90 boys and had its own kitchen and dining room, burned to the ground in one night in the autumn of 1968. The building which replaced it was replaced with a further new structure in 2005.

Lonsdale's House: Founded in September 1968 and named for Christopher Windley Lonsdale, Shawnigan's first and founding headmaster. “Lonsdale’s” moved into a new building in March 2007.

Strathcona Lodge School House: Founded in 2007 and named to mark Shawnigan's long association with Strathcona Lodge School, a defunct girls’ school in Shawnigan Lake which closed its doors in 1977. Shawnigan has since adopted the former 'Old Girls' of 'Strath' as honorary Shawnigan alumni to incorporate earlier generations of women from Strathcona Lodge School alumnae within the ranks of Shawnigan's current alumni.

Kaye's House: Founded in September 1989 as the second girls’ house, it was named to honour G. Peter Kaye, the school's second headmaster, whose sons and grandsons also attended the school.

Renfrew House: Established in September 1996 in order to expand the space for girls wishing to enrol at the school.

Duxbury House: Founded in September 1999 and named for Frank Duxbury, a teacher who was senior master at the school during the 1950’s and early ’60s.

Former Houses

School House: Founded in September 1988 as the inaugural girls’ residence in the School, named after its unique position in a refurbished wing of the School’s main building, School House was replaced in 2007 by Strathcona Lodge School House. Luckily Whittall is still the best house!

Headmasters

School Athletic Championships

Rowing

Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup - Henley Royal Regatta- 2008
Canadian Champions - Sr. Men's Eight - 2008
Canadian Champions - Sr. Men's Four - 2008
Canadian Champions - Jr. Men's Eights - 2007
Canadian Champions - Jr. Men's Eights - 2006
Canadian Champions - Sr. Women's Four - 2005
Canadian Champions - Sr. Men's Four - 2005
Canadian Champions - Sr. Men's Eight - 2005
Canadian Champions - Sr. Men's Four - 2004
Canadian Champions - Sr. Women's Four - 2004
Canadian Champions - Sr. Men's Eight - 2004
Canadian Champions - Jr. Men's Four - 2003
Canadian Champions - Sr. Women's Pair - 2002
Canadian Champions - Jr. Men's Eights - 2002
Canadian Champions - Sr. Men's Four - 2001

Rugby

Boys CAIS National Rugby Champions - 2008
BC Boys AAA Rugby Champions - 1998
BC Girls AA Rugby Champions - 1996

Academics

Shawnigan's academic programme is university preparatory; the curriculum is based on British Columbia Ministry of Education standards. Shawnigan Lake School also provides an Advanced Placement Programme to its students which is administered by the College Entrance Examination Board in Princeton, New Jersey.

Fine Arts

The Fine Arts play a vital role in the development of all Shawnigan students. Within the Arts, emphassis is placed on personal growth and the development of life-long skills. Students are encouraged to try a variety of Fine Arts, selecting from a list of twenty options. Students must choose one activity for the duration the year.

Athletics

The athletics programme at Shawnigan Lake School is an extension of the School's mission statement: "through athletics, we lead young people in the pursuit of personal excellence.” Shawnigan's goal is to develop the athletic potential of each student. Every student enrols in one sport each term. The school's programmes stress sportsmanship and respect for others at all times. Rugby and rowing are the cornerstones of the school's sports programme, each with its own traditions of excellence and opportunity.

Notable Alumni

Artist

• Robert Stewart Hyndman - Artist

Athletes

• George Hungerford - Gold Medal Olympian - Rowing
• John Lecky - Silver Medal Olympian - Rowing
• Kristopher McDaniel - Team Canada Rower

Business

• Jim Shaw - CEO Shaw Communications

Entertainment

• Jon Kimura Parker - Order of Canada, Concert Pianist
• Tara Spencer-Nairn - Actress, Corner Gas

Military

• Rear Admiral Michael G. Stirling - Canadian Navy
• Rear Admiral Richard H. Leir - Canadian Navy
• John Mackie - World War II RAF fighter pilot.

Politics

• The Hon. Henry Pybus Bell-Irving - Lt. Governor of British Columbia
• Peter Ladner - Vancouver City Councillor
• Stephen D. Owen - Former Member of Parliament

Scholars/Scientists

• Graham Anderson - Scholar
• Dr. John W. Madden - Rhodes Scholar
• Dr. Steve Deering - Computer Scientist
• Dr. Barry F. Cooper - Canadian Political Scientist
• Dr. Alexander S. Morton - Philanthropist and Rhodes Scholar

Notable Staff

• Tom Brierley - Cricketer
• Robert Ivan Knight - Founder/First Headmaster of Qualicum College
• Mark A. Hobson - Wildlife Artist
• James Robertson Justice - Actor
• Leonard Wilde - Founder/First Principal of Neuchâtel Junior College

Affiliations

CAIS - Canadian Association of Independent Schools
NAIS - National Association of Independent Schools
TABS - The Association of Boarding Schools

References

1. "C. W. Lonsdale". Our History. Shawnigan Lake School. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
2. The Homeroom: Shawnigan Lake School
3. ^ Shawnigan Lake School, Our History
4. Robertson, David (1999-07-01). "The Shaw Centre for Science" (PDF). The Report Card. Shawnigan Lake School. p. 6. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
5. External Programmes - Shawnigan Lake School at www.sls.bc.ca
6. ^ "Race Results". 2008 Henley Roayl Regatta. Henley Royal Regatta. 2008-07-07. Retrieved 2008-07-07. Cite error: The named reference "SLS_Regatta_2008" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
7. "Race Results". CSSRA 62nd Annual Regatta. Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association. 2007-06-03. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
8. "Race Results". CSSRA 61st Annual Regatta. Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association. 2006-06-04. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
9. ^ "Race Results". CSSRA 60th Annual Regatta. Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association. 2005-06-05. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
10. ^ "Race Results". CSSRA 59th Annual Regatta. Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association. 2004-06-06. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
11. "Race Results". CSSRA 58th Annual Regatta. Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association. 2003-06-01. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
12. ^ "Race Results". CSSRA 57th Annual Regatta. Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association. 2002-06-02. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
13. "Race Results". CSSRA 56th Annual Regatta. Canadian Secondary Schools Rowing Association. 2001-06-03. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
14. Upper Canada College ~ BOYS' Rugby Tournament
15. British Columbia Secondary Schools' Rugby Union
16. Shawnigan Lake School, Victoria BC private boarding school fine arts programme
17. Shawnigan Lake School, Vancouver Island BC private boarding school sports athletics
18. Robert Stewart Hyndman - Misplaced Pages, the 💕 at en.wikipedia.org
19. https://www.law.ubc.ca/files/pdf/alumni/magazine/Alumni_Mag_spr07.pdf
20. rcaug2003
21. Rowing Canada - Hwt. Men - 2007 Team
22. Mad about Mozart at www.canada.com
23. Tara Spencer-Nairn Biography at Cornergas.com
24. http://www.boardoftrade.com/events/presentations/BellIrvingobitVanSun24sep02.pdf
25. archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/GALLANTRY-AWARDS/2006-08/1155633126
26. Meet the Teachers
27. David Orchard: Media Coverage
28. Qualicum College
29. vol 12 num 2
30. Expert Tour Leaders - Birding & Naturalists
31. Neuchâtel Junior College - History & Governance

• Rough Diamond: An Oral History of Shawnigan Lake School (ISBN 0-9696005-0-X) by Jay Connolly.
• The Handbook of Canadian Boarding Schools, by Lafortune, Sylvie, Thomson, Ashley, p. 115

External links

• Shawnigan Lake School Website
• Shawnigan Lake School Profile By TopPrivateSchools.ca

• Boarding schools in British Columbia
• Private schools in British Columbia
• High schools in British Columbia
• Preparatory schools in British Columbia
• Educational institutions established in 1916
• Members of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference