St. George's School (Vancouver)

St. George's School

"Sine Timore Aut Favore"
Without Fear or Favour
Address
4175 West 29th Avenue
Vancouver, British Columbia, V6S 1V1
Canada
Coordinates 49°14′48.34″N 123°11′56.76″W / 49.2467611°N 123.1991000°W / 49.2467611; -123.1991000Coordinates: 49°14′48.34″N 123°11′56.76″W / 49.2467611°N 123.1991000°W / 49.2467611; -123.1991000
Information
School type Independent all-boys
Founded 1930
Headmaster Dr. Tom Matthews
Principal Gary Kern (Senior School)
Principal Greg Devenish (Junior School)
Grades 1-12
Enrollment 1,160
Language English
Colour(s) Red, Black, and White             
Mascot St. George / the Dragon
Team name Saints / Knights / Dragons
Endowment $14,000,000[1]

St. George's School (informally, Saints), of Vancouver, British Columbia is an independent boarding and day university-preparatory school for boys.

History

St. George's Junior School

St. George's was founded in 1930 by a group of Englishmen recently arrived in British Columbia. Captain John Harker, serving from 1943 to 1962, was its second and longest-serving Headmaster.

The original school operated out of a large country manor house. It has since expanded dramatically, and the school now maintains two campuses; the Senior School, on land leased from UBC in 1925, and the Junior School, converted from the former Convent of the Sacred Heart, a historic property purchased in 1979, which had formerly served as a Catholic all-girls school. The school continues to expand to this day, with the senior campus most recently renovating much of its classroom space, along with the auditorium and the main entrance.

Students

The student body at St. George's comprises 1,100 boys, with approximately 750 boys in the Senior School and the remainder in the Junior School. A sizable portion of the student body consists of boarding students. As in other independent schools, it maintains a system of prefects and mandates the wearing of uniforms. School Captain and other prefects are elected by faculty and their fellow students to provide student leadership with the School. Past School Captains and other prefects have included Rhodes Scholars, diplomats, prominent lawyers and businessmen, and professional athletes. The uniform, as is frequently the case in similar Canadian schools, includes an emblazoned blazer, grey flannels, and the wearing of the appropriate school tie. The school ties vary depending on extracurricular achievement, as well as prefect ties. Those who have attended since Grade 1 are called "Lifers".

Academics

St. George's offers a variety of academic options that include enriched and advanced-placement classes. Its boys participate in many regional, national, and international academic contests, in mathematics, the sciences, and the humanities/social sciences. St. George's also emphasizes the building of moral character, and the formation of strong, upstanding traits.[2] There is also a mandatory outdoor education program implemented for students from grades 1-10.

Sports

Senior School Campus

The school mandates that its boys have a recreational or varsity games choice starting from Grade 8. Boys in senior grades may opt out for one term based on past games attendance. St George's sports teams have done extremely well in the past 10 years, due in no small part to the commitment and motivation of the students coupled with the passion, dedication, and knowledge of the coaching staff.St. George's has a wide variety of sports teams, including:

Outdoor education

Students are required to participate in outdoor educational programs both in the junior school and the senior school. These activities range from half day trips (grade 1) to full, week-long excursions (grade 10). The junior experiences focus on an education aspect: students learn about first nations people and about the environment. The senior trips involve more personal-based learning; activities in the wilderness such as hiking, kayaking and canoeing focus on leadership and interpersonal skills. There is also a focus on environmental care and education. In grade 10, students have the option of applying for the 'Discovery 10' program. This program is limited to 20 students who participate in a modified Social Studies and PE program, focusing on first nations history, environmental studies, and outdoor leadership. The students spend approximately 55 days out of class on trips (hiking, canoeing, kayaking, rock-climbing).

Clubs and activities

Great Hall

The school offers a variety of extra-curricular clubs:[3]

The boys publish a school yearbook, the Georgian, a magazine, the Saint, as well as a literary and artistic journal, the Opus. There are also various student-organised events such as music nights, socials, and mixers with sister schools.

Notable alumni

Year of Graduation Name Description
1936 (Prince of Wales Secondary School, 1937?-1940?) S. Courtenay Wright Nuclear physicist, Enrico Fermi Institute and University of Chicago (1949-present). Co-founder, JASON science and technology advisory group, authored JASON nuclear warning report with Freeman Dyson.[4]
1947 Peter J.G. Bentley, O.C., LL.D. Past President and CEO and current Chairman of Canfor, past director and current honorary director of the Bank of Montreal, member of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, Chairman of Sierra Mountain Minerals, a director of the Vancouver General Hospital and University of British Columbia Hospital Foundation, past Chancellor of the University of Northern British Columbia.
1972 Peter Lam Chairman of the Lai Sun Group and Media Asia Entertainment Group. Deputy Chair of Lai Sun Garments and Executive Director of eSun Holdings and Crocodile Garments.[5]
1976 Arthur Griffiths Former Assistant to the Chairman of the Vancouver Canucks. Owner of the Vancouver Canucks from 1988 to 1997. Led the initiative to build GM Place. Helped Vancouver secure the 2010 Winter Olympics bid.
1976 John Weston Member of Parliament for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country.[6]
1977 Alan Best Canadian filmmaker.
1999 David Carter Canadian field hockey Olympian
2000 Jay Malinowski Lead singer and co-founder of the reggae-pop band Bedouin Soundclash.
2002 Donovan Tildesley Canadian Paralympic Swimmer and flagbearer at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China.
2004 Michael Wilkinson Attended the London 2012 Summer Olympics as a rower for team Canada, participating in the men's four boat class.
NA Tablo Lee Seon-woong who goes by Tablo (Hangul: 타블로), is a South Korean-born Canadian rapper, record producer, songwriter, author, and entrepreneur.
NA Nicholas Tse Nicholas Tse (Tse Ting-fung), Chinese: 謝霆鋒, (born 29 August 1980) is a Hong Kong actor, singer, songwriter, musician, entrepreneur, and martial artist.

References

  1. ↑ "St. George's School - Vancouver, Canada" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  2. ↑ St. George's
  3. ↑ http://www.stgeorges.bc.ca/Page/SENIOR-SCHOOL/Clubs
  4. ↑ Wright, S. Courtenay. "What is JASON?". Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  5. ↑ http://www.stgeorges.bc.ca/Page/CONNECT/Georgians/The-Georgian-Honours
  6. ↑ http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=45cbc920-725e-4eea-a998-f319dd67bb37

Notes

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