St. Michaels University School

Location

SMUS is located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. The Senior and Middle School campus is located on Richmond Road in Saanich, a suburban municipality of Greater Victoria. The Junior School campus is situated on Victoria Avenue in Oak Bay.

SMUS history

In 1906, University School was founded by Cap. R. V. Harvey, the Rev. W. W. Bolton and J. C. Barnacle. Four years later, in 1910, K. C. Symons founded St. Michael's School. St. Michael's School was unusual for its relatively large number of local day students for the period (as contrasted with University School's large number of boarders).

Facing some financial difficulties and the death of its headmaster in 1970, University School merged with St. Michael's in 1971 to become St Michaels University School. In 1973,the school enrolls grade 1 and 2 students for the first time in its history. In 1978, girls were enrolled as day and boarding students in grades 10–12 for the first time, and the school began the process of becoming fully coeducational in 1985. A major expansion of the campus also began in 1985. In 1993, SMUS's boarding houses were renamed after the school's six founders: Bolton, Harvey, Winslow, Timmis, Symons, and Barnacle.

SMUS is known for offering numerous AP (Advanced Placement) courses at its senior school, with popular courses including AP Physics, AP Microeconomics/Macroeconomics, AP Calculus AB, and AP Human Geography.

School Performance

The average amount of APs taken by SMUS students ranks first in country across all schools as of 2012. The record for most APs taken and completed by a single student is 14. In terms of average mean grades, SMUS students achieved an average of 3.68, which was higher than the global average of 2.92. Of the 650 exams across 25 different AP subjects taken by 245 SMUS students, 81% of them received grades of three or higher on the five point scale, which was also higher than the worldwide rate of 59% achieving grades of three or higher.

Leadership Program

SMUS emphasizes the importance of global leadership skills. Students from kindergarten to grade 12 are given opportunities to explore their potential as leaders. The school offers students the chance to go on service trips to countries like the Dominican Republic, India, and Kenya. While there, students work with local people and non-profit organizations to construct schools and orphanages. The aim of these activities is fostering in students a lifelong desire to help improve the lives of others. SMUS hosts a variety of service events such as Keep The Beat, a music festival at the senior school in support of War Child Canada, and an annual basketball game at the middle school benefiting the World Partnership Walk, an anti-poverty campaign.

Motto

The motto of University School was "Mens sana in corpore sano," which means, "A healthy mind in a healthy body." St. Michael's School had the motto "Nihil Magnum Nisi Bonum," or, "Nothing is great unless it is good."

The current motto of St. Michaels University School is "Vivat!", or "Long live the school!" This ties into the school's song, "Vivat - Universitas!", written by Capt. R. V. Harvey originally for University School. The school uses "Vivat" when trying to cheer on a team.

Campus

Richmond Road Campus:

Accreditation and Memberships

St. Michaels University School is accredited or a member of the following organizations:

Notable alumni

Entertainment:

Politics:

Sports:

Business:

Science and Technology: