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Brentwood College School is an independent school in Mill Bay, British Columbia, Canada. It has over 400 students, the large majority of whom board. Brentwood's oceanfront campus comprises 75 acres (304,000 m²), bounded by water on two sides, and the village of Mill Bay on the remaining two.

Brentwood's motto, dating from the school's founding, is De Manu in Manum (Latin for "From hand to hand"). To this end, the school crest depicts a hand holding a torch, the symbol of learning and civilization.

Mission

To develop team players and creative individuals; to support our students as they discover their unique strengths and find joy in contributing to the good of the community; to inspire the leaders of the future: this is the mission of Brentwood College School.

History overview

Brentwood College is a Western Canadian private school. Brentwood was first founded in 1923 as a boys school. The original location was in Brentwood Bay near Saanich on Vancouver Island, from where its name was derived. The original school was destroyed by a fire in 1947, leaving only the chapel intact. The new and current school is located westward directly across the bay from the original site, in Mill Bay. The new version of the school was resurrected through the efforts of David D MacKenzie and opened in September 1961. In 1972, Brentwood College opted to become the first all boys' boarding school in Canada to gradually integrate girls, starting with 20 grade 12 students, becoming officially co-ed for the fall session.

Old school 1923 - 1947

Brentwood College was founded in 1886 by Jake at Brentwood Bay, B.C., by a group of distinguished Victoria business and professional men, led by P.F. Curtis. From the initial enrollment of fifty boys and a faculty of four, the school operated for many years on the shores of Brentwood Bay and gained an enviable reputation through outstanding academic and athletic results.

While many significant milestones chart our historical journey, Brentonians remember with pride the achievements of our founders and pioneers, including Brentwood's first Olympian, Ned Pratt (Class of 1930), LCdr. John H Stubbs (Class of 1930) a WWII hero and commander of HMCS Athabaskan, Alastair Gillespie (Class of 1941) a senior member of Pierre Trudeau's cabinet and Philip (Pip) D P Holmes (Class of 1941) WWII hero.

In 1947, fire consumed the Brentwood Bay campus. Only the Brentwood Memorial Chapel, where our annual Service of Remembrance is still held, survived. Although the original school was forced to close, Old Brentonians remained loyal to the spirit of their alma mater and dreamed of rebuilding their school.

New school 1961 - 1971

In 1960, some of the old school alumni met David D. MacKenzie, the re-founding headmaster, and were tremendously encouraged by his enthusiasm. As a result of their collective financial commitment, and in particular David Mackenzie's enduring dedication, the new Brentwood College campus reopened in September 1961 on the shores of Mill Bay, directly westward across the bay from its original location in Brentwood Bay. The new campus featured a central complex with the dining area for over 200 in the basement, offices and meeting rooms on the main floor and dormitories on the upper floors. An adjoining building housed classrooms with a gymnasium attached at the far right end. Several separate buildings served as accommodation for the 180 or so boarders.

From 1961-1968 the dining room was in the basement of the central complex, and was often packed to capacity with 180 or so boys plus instructors and house masters. The dining area had in the order of 17 standard four foot by eight foot tables with wooden benches along each side and two chairs at the ends. The kitchen held an array of stainless steel, quasi-industrial, cook ware on a fairly large scale, complete with gas fired cooking surfaces, automatic dish washing equipment, and mass production toasters. About 5 employees, usually local women, were hired to do the cooking. The most memorable, and perhaps oft repeated, dishes were curried chicken with rice, fish sticks, Salisbury steak, liver and onions, macaroni with cheese, bacon or sausages and eggs with toast and potatoes. More rarely roast beef or t-bone steak was served with an assortment of vegetables. Usually milk, juice, tea and water were the standard fair for drinks. Deserts ranged from various types of pudding to canned fruit with fresh fruit on occasion. The morning break offered cake with the usual assortment of drinks. In retrospect the meals were likely the best one could expect under the circumstances in regard to budget and the mass preparation technology of the day. Overall it is amazing everything was so well organized from 1961-68 and a tribute to many long unseen and for the most part unappreciated hours of effort, on the part of the school staff as a whole. The new, much improved, dining room, located at the north end of campus, was ready for the 1968-1969 session and still serves that role today.

Classes were efficiently organized and taught by domain experts, usually of 55 minute duration, with the first class at 8:00. A mid-morning break was at 10:00, followed by two more classes, then lunch at 12:30. The afternoons were dedicated to sports activities, mainly rugby, starting at 13:30. The bulk of students were inculcated into the gentlemanly, rough and ready, sport of rugby, starting with rules of the game and preliminary exercises. These included ball handling skills, strategy and tackling practice combined with endurance training. The most memorable (and often joyfully derided) exercises were conducted by Nick Prowse, which he called “Heine Muellers”. Needless to say at the end of the sports sessions one might be considered lucky to have escaped with only a few bruises, cuts, complete exhaustion, and possibly an enhanced understanding of the universe. Dinner was served at 18:00 in the dining area, then a prefect enforced study session ensued in ones respective dormitory or study area until 21:30. Prefects were appointed by housemasters from the grade 12 group, as limited proxies, for house master authority.

Co-ed transition 1972 - 1980

In 1972, Brentwood College opted to become the first all boys' boarding school in Canada to gradually integrate girls, starting with 20 grade 12 students, becoming officially co-ed for the fall session.

Current campus

Campus layout

The campus is functionally arranged and spread out over the waterfront, with a pier and ramp enabling access for sailing, rowing and docking for float planes and motor boats. The campus has ample room for expansion, sagaciously provided for by the more than doubling of available land area purchased incrementally since 1976. This has put the school in position to challenge some of its larger Eastern Canada rivals over coming decades.

On a clear day it is easy to see the other side of the bay, a few kilometres away. As can be seen in the campus photograph, tennis courts and rugby fields adjoin the residences, main school classroom block and specialized buildings. Some recent additions include a world class fine arts theatre, complete with facilities for a wide range of arts training, including acting, dance and singing. Numerous exceptional quality productions are put on and hosted by the students, during the school year, with very high demand for tickets.

Specialized buildings

With the purchase of adjoining land in 1976 the Woodward Sportsplex, Maintenance Facility and a residence for the Head of School were constructed to the north of campus. More residences were added to accommodate a doubling of the school population, as a result of more than 200 boarding girls in attendance. With the increased diversification of programs into more Arts education, a new performing arts centre was added to the south of campus.

• Academic Annex
• Maintenance Building
• Residence of the Head of School
• Ross Academic Centre
• Woodward Sportsplex
• T Gil Bunch Centre for the Performing Arts

Houses

The new school has expanded considerably in the intervening period from 1961, with the construction of first class dormitories in several independent houses spaced out across the park like campus. The residence houses each have their own house master and prefects (appointed from the grade 12 class).

• Alex House
• Allard House
• Ellis House
• Mackenzie House
• Privett House
• Rogers House
• Whittall House

Leadership

One of the greatest strengths of Brentwood is its exemplary leadership. All of the volunteers on the Board of Governors are unpaid, and serve from a sense of personal responsibility, to make the school one of the best of its class globally. Emphasis is placed on developing life long skills, in relation to the students future role as a valuable contributor, in a social context.

Curriculum

Brentwood offers an amazing combination of preparatory activities designed to take advantage of the school's waterfront locale and allow the individual student to select their own personal development program appropriately.

Extracurricular activities

Brentwood values highly its Tri-Partite program consisting of academics, sports, and the arts. Brentwood has a long tradition as the leading high-school rowing power in Western Canada. It hosts an annual regatta which it claims as the largest high-school rowing event in western North America. The school is also known for its rugby( 1st XV came in 3rd in B.C. in 2005 and 2006) and performing arts traditions. The school is noted for its outstanding Outdoor Pursuits program, involving sea kayaking, whitewater kayaking, hiking, rock climbing, biking, and survival skills.

School events

• Brentwood Regatta is held in the spring and is one of the largest regattas on the west coast.
• Brentwood Receptions are held in every major Western Canadian city and also Seattle.
• Brentwood Founders' Day is held every fall, usually in early November.

School publications

• Brentonian Magazine - Brentwood's bi-annual magazine with editing and production by Lara McDonald. The magazine is usually about 60 pages, or so, and covers many areas of interest to current students and alumni, alike.

Notable alumni

• Lieutenant Commander John H Stubbs (1930) - WWII hero, commander of HMCS Athabaskan
• Brentwood's first Olympian, Ned Pratt (1930)
• Hon. Alastair Gillespie, P.C. O.C. (1941) - senior member of Pierre Trudeau's cabinet
• Colonel Philip (Pip) D P Holmes (1941) WWII hero - Airforce: Bomber Command
• Dr. Wade Davis (1971) - ethnobotanist, author and activist
• Brentwood's first Olympic Gold Medallist, Blair Horn (1979)

External links

• Brentwood College School website

• Boarding schools in Canada
• High schools in British Columbia
• Private schools in British Columbia
• Preparatory schools in Canada
• Educational institutions established in 1923