Brentwood College School
| Brentwood College School | |
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| File:Brentwood College School Crest.gif | |
| Address | |
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2735 Mount Baker Road , | |
| Information | |
| School type | Private Day and Boarding |
| Motto | De Manu in Manum (From Hand To Hand) |
| Founded | 1923 |
| Head of School | Andrea Pennells |
| Staff | 66[1] |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 350 boarders and 80 local day students[2] |
| Language | English |
| Area | 47 acres (190,000 m2) |
| Colour(s) | Red and Black |
| Mascot | Big Torch |
| Website | www.brentwood.bc.ca |
| Last updated: 2009 | |
Brentwood College School is a co-educational boarding school that focuses on preparing students for the challenges of post-secondary education. This school is located on Vancouver Island in Mill Bay, British Columbia, Canada. The wireless oceanfront campus has modern facilities with SMART Boards in every classroom, two computer labs, a raked lecture theatre, and six science labs. Students use the school's waterfront access for outdoor activities such as sailing, rowing, canoeing, kayaking as well as marine biology and oceanography studies.
Mission
Brentwood College School nurtures, challenges and inspires scholars, athletes and artists as global citizens, stewards and leaders of integrity.
Historical Overview
Brentwood was first founded in 1923. 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 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.[3]
The Campus
As can be seen in the campus photograph, tennis courts and rugby fields adjoin the residences, main school classroom block and specialized buildings. The campus has a rowing boat house (with two docks, an indoor training tank, and a rowing ergometer room), a sportsplex (with a gymnasium, male & female fitness areas, three squash courts and a physio room), a health centre, seven residential houses (four boys houses and three girls houses), a laundry facility, two main academic buildings, a school store, as well as several interspersed faculty and staff houses.
In 1995, the T. Gill Bunch Centre was built, a 20,000 sq ft. performing arts centre housing a theatre with 431 seats with facilities for a wide range of arts training, including acting, dance and singing. Numerous productions are put on and hosted by the students, during the school year. Currently under construction is a new dining hall and student services centre, projected to be completed by the fall of 2009. The student services portion of the building will house recreational space, laundry facilities, a business centre and outdoor courtyard and will be situated on the southern waterfront area of campus.
Curriculum
Brentwood offers university preparatory education from grade 9 to 12. Brentwood has been ranked consistently as one of the top academic schools in British Columbia. Students are expected to achieve superior academic results, explore their intellectual curiosity, and build their knowledge through Brentwood's tri-partite programme (Academics, Arts, and Sports). All graduates attend post-secondary education (78% to their first choice of university). The most popular countries for post-secondary education are Canada, Scotland, England, and the United States.
Along with regular courses that are tested via the British Columbia provincial examinations, Brentwood offers several Advanced Placement courses and the American SAT prep tutorials for students who wish to continue their post-secondary education in the United States.
All courses run for one school year and have two major internal cumulative exams: the Christmas exams (administered at the end of the first term before winter break) and the final exams (administered at the end of the third term and before the closing ceremony), which may be substituted by a provincial exam if the course is a provincially examined subject and if the exam is deemed adequate in covering all materials taught in class (for information regarding the school terms, see below under "school routine").
Brentwood offers a 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. Academic counseling is mandatory and progressive throughout a Brentonian's high school years. Because it is a university preparatory school, the counsellors guide all students towards their post-secondary goals in almost every aspect such as choosing appropriate school programs, writing effective personal statements, recommendation letters, and entrance exams.
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18 Advanced Placement Courses
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Athletic Programs
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Extracurricular Activities
Brentwood values highly its tri-Partite program consisting of academics, sports, and the arts. It hosts an annual regatta, one of the largest high-school rowing events 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 2nd in 1998) and performing arts traditions. The school is noted for its Outdoor Pursuits program, involving sea kayaking, whitewater kayaking, hiking, rock climbing, biking, and survival skills.
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Arts & Music Programs
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Recreational Athletic Programs
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Clubs and Organizations
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School Routine
The school year usually begins early September and ends on the last day of June with the closing ceremonies. The year is divided into three school terms, each lasting for roughly three months and ending with a major break (winter, spring, and summer). There are also three midterm breaks that last about a week approximately halfway into the terms. Students are required to take at least five full-year courses along with at least two fine arts extracurricular and a sport that can be changed each term. A typical school day consists of breakfast, room inspections done by house prefects, two class blocks, a short "cookie break," another two classes, and then lunch. After lunch, depending on the day of the week, students attend their fine arts or sports commitment(s) followed by dinner, and a two-hour silent study period known as "prep." Students attend school six days a week with Saturdays being shorter school days consisting of two class blocks followed by lunch and sports. Saturdays are also formal house inspection days when the entire house is cleaned by house members and inspected by either the houseparent or other faculty members or visiting alumni.
Uniforms
Like many other private boarding schools, Brentwood requires students to wear uniforms. There are technically two uniforms that are worn depending on the day of the week: a formal attire commonly called one's "number ones," and a semi-casual attire called "number twos." For both boys and girls, the number one uniform is a black blazer with the school's crest of the torch, a white dress shirt and black or grey dress socks (girls wear black knee socks) and dress shoes. Boys wear a black and red-striped tie (two of the three school colours) while girls where Mackenzie tartan ties (although wearing the black/red tie is usually acceptable). Boys wear grey slacks and girls wear the Mackenzie clan tartan kilt. While number ones are mandatory on certain days, number twos are optional and can be substituted with number ones. The number two attire consists of a dark navy blue, red, or white golf shirt with the embroidered school crest, black or grey socks, dress shoes, black slacks (or the tartan kilt) for girls and black or grey slacks for boys.
Prefects
Similar to traditional British schools, Brentwood employs leadership roles known as prefects. High ranking prefect roles are usually appointed to a student in his or her final year (grade 12), but minor prefect roles may be given to responsible grade 11 students as well. Students who wish to become a prefect must apply for positions during a designated time period in their grade 11 year. Depending on the position, they may have to submit supplemental materials such as a written personal statement or receive an interview. The following are the major prefect roles:
Head Prefect: the highest prefect position who represents the entire student body. He/she is a grade 12 student who embodies the ideal Brentonian by demonstrating superior academic, athletic, and artistic achievements as well as someone who is well-respected by the student body. He/she is appointed by the students, faculty, and the head of school.
Assistant Head Prefect: the second highest position, usually the runner-up student(s) for the head prefect position. Assistant head prefects also illustrate superior achievements within the tri-partite programme. They help the head prefect in voicing out student concerns to the head of school and help making executive decisions regarding various aspects of the school.
House Captain: the highest prefect position within a house. He or she is appointed by the students of his or her house and the Houseparent. The house captain, together with the house prefects are responsible of running the house.
Assistant House Captain: the second highest house position.
Sports Captain: Sports captains only represent the four boys' houses. This is because, for inter-house events, girls are designated to one of the four boys' houses as their competitive house in order to promote a coeducational environment. The sports captain is someone who is passionate about competition and sports. He/she also demonstrates a high level of house and school spirit as well as sound organization skills. He/she is responsible for organizing inter-house competitions by cooperating with the sports captains of other houses.
House Prefect: the title given to responsible grade 12 students who demonstrate a sound sense of duty and commitment in school and within their houses. House prefects administer and supervise daily house and cafeteria duties and chores, which are carried out by house members in younger grades. Depending on the house, there may be unofficial or specialized house prefects such as laundry prefects or the now obsolete pocket money prefects. House prefects act as role models for the younger grades. They are paired with a couple students in younger grades and act as a "big brother" or "big sister" figure to them.
Note: there is no hierarchical power given to one type of prefect over another.
School Organizations
SEC (Student Executive Council): the SEC is the student government and is composed of the selected head prefect, assistant head prefect(s), the seven house captains, the SAC president, the head of school, the deputy head of school, the houseparents, and other senior faculty members. Meetings are usually held once a week and deal with various school-related issues. The SEC is in charge of regulating and organizing most major issues regarding the school. The house captains may address issues that have been voiced by the members of their respective houses, thus alerting the head of school about issues and concerns that members of the Brentwood community may have.
SAC (Student Activities Committee): The SAC is in charge of organizing non-academic school activities such as charity events, open houses, dances, and weekend activities. Any student can participate and one president is elected every year to represent the SAC as well as the general student body at SEC meetings and decisions.
Brentwood Blog: Formerly known as This Week and later Our Week, the Brentwood Blog is the main source of campus news and a window into Brentwood life for parents and prospective students. It is released weekly and can be found on the Brentwood College School main website. Typically a chosen group of about six student writers, usually from grade 10 and up, contribute, writing articles ranging from events that occurred recently at school, to pieces that illustrate everyday Brentwood life.
SPARC (Student Peer Assistant Resource Counsellors): SPARC is an organization that is mainly in charge with the overall well-being of the student body. SPARC is composed of students who are trained to counsel and aid fellow students on various aspects of Brentwood life. They also organize several local charities such as food drives and soup kitchens. Members of SPARC are also responsible for hosting Brentwood's health and sex education.
Scholarships
Currently, the school offers bursaries, financial aid, and The Governor's Entrance Scholarship to eligible Canadian students. Approximately 20% of students receive some type of financial assistance.
Brentwood Rowing
Brentwood College has been continuing to gain a sound reputation in the rowing world, producing numerous national champions and olympians such as recent 2008 Beijing Olympic medalists Scott Frandsen (Class of 1998), Dave Calder (Class of 1996) in the Men's Heavyweight 2- event, and Malcolm Howard (Class of 2001) in the Men's Heavyweight 8+ event. Many of its top rowers have been recruited to American universities with well-established and historical rowing progammes such as UC Berkeley, University of Washington, Yale University, Harvard University and Princeton University.
Brentwood has hosted its own regatta annually since the early 1970s, inviting high schools and junior clubs across Canada and the United States to participate in a 1500 metre sprint. During the regatta which is held in April for three days, the campus is converted to a lively and eventful meeting place of high school rowers and their supporters. The Brentwood regatta claims to be the largest high school sporting event in western North America, attracting over 1500 athletes.
The school continues to win many events at local regattas, the national high school regatta, and at the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. In 2007, Brentwood sent its promising men's heavyweight 8+ to the Henley Royal Regatta in England, defeating one of the most historic school in the world and high school rowing powerhouse, Eton College, but narrowly losing to Shrewsbury School at the finals to win second place for the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup.
In 2008, for the first time, Brentwood College competed in the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, MA. The crews performed well resulting in an invitation back for the head race in 2009.
Brian Carr is the current head coach.
School events
- Brentwood Regatta is held in the spring and is one of the largest regattas on the west coast.
- Brentwood Regional Gatherings are held in every major Western Canadian city and also Seattle.
- Founders' Day is held every fall, usually in early November.
School publications
- Brentonian Magazine - Brentwood's bi-annual magazine.
- Brentwood Blog - Brentwood's weekly summary of campus happenings and notable events.
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)
- 2008 Beijing Olympians Connor Grimes (Class of 2001), Scott Frandsen (Class of 1998), David Calder (Class of 1996), and Malcolm Howard (Class of 2001).
References
- ^ About Brentwood College School - Private Canadian Boarding at www.brentwood.bc.ca
- ^ Students of Brentwood College School - Canadian Boarding School at www.brentwood.bc.ca
- ^ Prowse, Nicholas R.B. Kindled from the Ashes: A Short History of Brentwood College. Victoria: Brentwood, 2002.