Victoria High School (British Columbia)

Infobox Education in Canada
name= Victoria High School


imagesize=
motto= Palma non sine pulvere
motto_translation= No reward without effort
streetaddress= 1260 Grant St
city= Victoria
province= British Columbia
postalcode= V8T 1C2
areacode= 250
phone= 388-5456
fax= 388-6702
email=
url= [http://vichigh.sd61.bc.ca/ http://vichigh.sd61.bc.ca/]
schoolnumber= 6161018
schoolboard= School District 61 Greater Victoria
superintendent=
trustee=
affiliation=
principal= Mr. Stephen Bennett
viceprincipal=
administrator=
staff= 60
fundingtype= Public
schooltype= high school
grades= 9-12
language=
area=
mascot=
teamname= Totems and Tigers
colours= Black and Gold
campus= Urban
founded= 1876
enrollment= 927
enrollment_as_of= 30 September 2007

Victoria High School is a high school located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is the oldest high school in the province, and is often cited as "the oldest public high school north of San Francisco and west of Winnipeg."

ARCHITECTUREIt has notable architecture. The foundations of the school are made of 4 foot by 4 foot blocks of granite, which is impressive considering how heavy these stones are. The building has two ornate facades, including some very large windows which offer prime views of downtown Victoria and Fernwood. The building is U-shaped, with a large if not cavernous auditorium inside the U. Recent additions to the school have turned the two spaces in between the auditorium and the rest of the building into inaccessible courtyards. The school has two gymnasiums, one of which is from 1914. It is notable for having a wooden running track suspended 20 feet above one of the gym's floors. There is a rifle range in the attic, and there is a very old tradition that the graduating students sign their names there.Victoria High School is also unique in that it has three massive underground floors for storage and boiler rooms. There are also supposedly two tunnels under the school.

History

The school opened on August 7, 1876 in a log cabin with two classrooms. This same cabin had been the first common (or public) school in British Columbia when it was used as a primary school starting in 1853. It was located on the grounds of the current Central Middle School building. In 1882, the high school moved to a new building, later known as Boys' Central School, and due to continued growth, in 1902 a third Victoria High School was opened.

In 1903, Victoria College (the precursor to the University of Victoria) started as an annex to the high school.

On May 1, 1914, the fourth Victoria High was opened at the new location, Grant and Camosun, with Victoria College on the top floor. When the University of British Columbia opened, Victoria College suspended operation until 1920 and when it reopened at nearby Craigdarroch Castle.

When the province renamed all of the high schools "Secondary School", Victoria High School was the only school to retain High School as part of its name.

Central Junior Secondary continued as a Junior High School (grades 8-10) and as of 2002, a middle school offering French immersion (grades 6-8), and refers to itself as the oldest public school in British Columbia.

Peter L. Smith, himself a graduate of the school and son of Henry L. Smith, longtime principal of Vic High (1934-1955), wrote a history of the school to mark its centennial celebrations in 1976: "Come Give a Cheer: One Hundred Years of Victoria High School."

THE FLAG Victoria High School has two War Memorials in the school's main entrance, one for World War 1, another for World War 2. After World War 1 a large flag (three stories high) was commisssioned. It had blue and red maple leafs on it, each representing a student or staff member who died in the war, respectively. It was then lost until 2005, when it was found in the school's basement. For Remembrance Day it was hung from the school's fourth floor.

Former Principals:Keith McCallion 1989-1994Dennis Harrigan 1994-2002Keith Forshaw 2002-2006Stephen Bennett 2006-?

External links

* [http://vichigh.sd61.bc.ca/ Victoria High School]
* [http://vichigh.com Vic High Alumni Association]