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Grades
Gr. 8 — Gr. 12
Gender
Coed
Class Size
17 students
Tuition
$35,500 to 90,000/year
Language of instruction
English
Associations
CAIS, FISA, ISABC, TABS, NAIS
Enrolment
100 day students, 440 boarding students
Curriculum
Traditional
EBROCHURE
N/A

Next open house
N/A
Application Deadline
Rolling (Day students), Rolling (Boarding students)

School address

1975 Renfrew Road, Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia, V0R 2W1 (MAP)

Busing not available

Our Perspective

How we see Shawnigan Lake School

Shawnigan was founded in 1916 with just six students and cast in the mold of the leading English grammar schools. Its direct model was Westminster School, whose history stretches back to 1179. As such, it provides, aesthetically at least, a contrast to Brentwood, which neighbours the school. Both, as well as Brookes to the south, have some of the most stunning campuses that you could hope to find. The setting of Vancouver Island simply adds to the luster. The founders of Shawnigan Lake felt that all of those things—buildings, vistas, space—were important aspects of learning, and that a school’s setting should be inspiriting. And, certainly, it is. What the campus might lose in terms of warm and cuddly, it gains in a sense of tradition, organization, and consistency. The centennial celebration included school founder C. W. Lonsdale’s 1932 Packard convertible, adding a touch of the Great Gatsby. Still, there is a nice mix of modernity as well, perhaps most obviously in Genius Hour, a program developed by Wendy Milne, assistant head of academics. It’s a cross-grade, cross-curricular program in which students are challenged with creating their own project and seeing it through to completion. The only provisos are that each project involve collaboration, have a clear guiding question, and involve research. All of that—cross-curricular, cross-grade, hands-on, collaborative—are hallmarks of the Shawnigan approach. And, in Genius Hour and beyond, the results are impressive. The student who will do best is one who is a self-starter, operating at the top of his or her peer group, and able to dive in, making the most of the breadth of opportunity provided.

School's Perspective

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How Shawnigan Lake School sees itself

The school administration answered our questions

Who are you, as a school?

"Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Beginning in Grade 8, our unique Shawnigan Journey purposefully guides students through a distinct, unparalleled and bold educational experience. Through empowering involvement in unique experiential, service, academic, fine art and athletic programs, Shawnigan graduates have the capacity, compassion and courage required to create exceptional lives for themselves and others."

School gallery

No additional photos or videos

School Facilities

Athletics facilities

Shawnigan Lake School - Athletics facilities 2

Shawnigan Lake School - Athletics facilities 3

Arts facilities

Shawnigan Lake School - Arts facilities 2

Shawnigan Lake School - Arts facilities 3

Campus

Residences

School Videos

School leadership

Top-down influence on the school’s direction and tone

Message from school leadership

Richard D A Lamont, Head of School
MSt (Oxon)

Welcome to Shawnigan! Our responsibility as staff here at Shawnigan is to support and inspire our students – with our values-based education at the heart of our teaching – so that they can achieve their potential and live fulfilling lives.

Shawnigan Lake School’s mission and values are inseparable from the fact that we are first and foremost a co-educational boarding school; a welcoming community whose aim it is to prepare our young men and women equally for independent and inspiring futures through the means of a well-balanced, holistic education.

Five hundred students, representing over thirty nations, come together each year to live and study in this unparalleled setting on the edge of Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver Island. We encourage all students to develop an understanding of and commitment to the people, the place and the heritage of Canada, British Columbia and Shawnigan. At the same time, we challenge ourselves each year to be relevant, purposeful and of service in a changing and increasingly global world.

The conversations, connections, sense of community, and friendships forged through these shared experiences are, I believe, part of the magic of our School.

I look forward to meeting you.

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THE OUR KIDS REPORT: Shawnigan Lake School

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THE OUR KIDS REPORT:Shawnigan Lake School

Pages in this report:

School address

Our Perspective

School's Perspective

The school administration answered our questions

Who are you, as a school?

School gallery

Photo-tour of facilities

Athletics facilities

Arts facilities

Campus

Residences

School leadership

Message from school leadership

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THE OUR KIDS REPORT:
Shawnigan Lake School