Religious affiliation(s) Anglican Grades JK-12 Enrollment 900 Province Ontario Founded 1867 | Principal Deryn Lavell Gender Girls Phone +1 416-483-4325 Motto In Cruce Vinco | |
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School type Independent, Day & Boarding Address 298 Lonsdale Rd, Toronto, ON M4V 1X2, Canada Similar Branksome Hall, Havergal College, Upper Canada College, Saint Clements School, Crescent School Profiles | ||
The Bishop Strachan School (BSS) ('Strachan' pronounced /ˈstrɔːn/) is an Anglican day and boarding school for girls in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school has approximately 900 students, including 80 boarding students, ranging from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 (approximately ages 4–17). The School is named after John Strachan, the first Anglican bishop of Toronto, and was founded by John Langtry in 1867. The founders' intention was to educate girls to be leaders.
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The campus is situated within the Forest Hill neighborhood of Toronto. The main building was designed by Henry Sproatt.
The boarding program starts in Grade 7, and boarders come from many parts of Canada and the world. The Senior School offers a wide range of courses in both traditional subjects as well as courses such as Film and Design Technology. It offers Advanced Placement courses in some subjects.
The bishop strachan school
Student life
When students enter BSS, they are placed in a house with 8 to 10 other students from their grade. There are 12 different houses in the school: Pyper, Acres, Dupont, Grier, Griffith, Lamont, Langtry, Macnaughton, Marling, Nation, Rosseter, and Walsh. The school has approximately 80 boarders from Grades 7 to 12 from over 21 countries. Each boarder is a member of a boarding House (St. Hilda's or St. Monica's), as well as a day house. The boarding program includes regular evening study (including tutorial support). There are 16 prefects elected by the school and the grade 11 class to serve in their graduating year, with positions such as Head Girl, Head Boarder, Head Ambassador and Grad Prefect and 12 other non-portfolio positions who work with various aspects of school life.
The school offers programs in the arts and a variety of musical ensembles. It stages a classical production and a musical annually with Upper Canada College. BSS also offers a co-educational summer academy during July.
History
The Bishop Strachan School first opened September 1867 at Pinehurst, near the Art Gallery of Toronto (currently the Art Gallery of Ontario), then relocated in 1868 to a cottage on Front Street, and then relocated to Wykeham Hall at Yonge and College Streets in 1870. There is a historical marker on the College Park building at the SW corner of Yonge and College Streets. In September 1915, The Bishop Strachan School opened as a large gothic-style structure, made of Credit Valley limestone, at its present-day Forest Hill location at 298 Lonsdale Road. This new addition included new classrooms, a fitness centre, a full gymnasium and underground parking. The new wing creates a functional courtyard for playgrounds while reducing the mass of the building along the residential streetscape. To preserve the highly valued outdoor playing field and tennis courts, the fitness centre, gymnasium and parking are located below ground and connected to the main building via a skylit corridor link. This new structure pays homage to the original architecture, while bringing the school into the realm of 21st century architecture.