Royal St. George's College
Encyclopedia
Royal St. George's College is an independent school
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...

 for boys located in The Annex
The Annex
The Annex is a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The traditional boundaries of the neighbourhood are north to Dupont Street, south to Bloor Street, west to Bathurst Street and east to Avenue Road...

 neighbourhood of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The school admits boys from Grades 3 through 12. Founded in 1961 as an Anglican choir school in the tradition of the great collegiate and cathedral choir schools in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Royal St. George's admitted its first students in 1964. It is the only pre-university school in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 authorized to use the "Royal" designation, and houses the historic Chapel of St. Alban-the-Martyr
Saint Alban
Saint Alban was the first British Christian martyr. Along with his fellow saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three martyrs remembered from Roman Britain. Alban is listed in the Church of England calendar for 22 June and he continues to be venerated in the Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox...

.

In July, 2011, Mr. Stephen Beatty '86 succeeded as the College's seventh headmaster.

History

St. George's began as the vision of a group of Anglican clergy and laity in the 1950s interested in establishing a permanent home for the rich tradition of choral music for boys' voices in Canada. Led by Dr. Healey Willan
Healey Willan
Healey Willan, was an Anglo-Canadian organist and composer. He composed more than 800 works including operas, symphonies, chamber music, a concerto, and pieces for band, orchestra, organ, and piano...

 CC, who served as first Warden of the College, the founders looked to the model of the diocesan Summer choir camp run by the late Mr. John L. Bradley- third Warden- and Mr. John Cook for inspiration. In 1961 the Ontario Legislature passed a private member's bill, sponsored by the Hon. Alfred H. Cowling MPP, incorporating the school as St. George's College. At the time, the founders were in negotiations with the Church of St. George's-on-the-Hill to utilize their facilities for the school. While the location changed, the name stuck and at the invitation of Bishop Frederick H. Wilkinson of Toronto the parish of St. Alban the Martyr and the resident St. Andrew's Japanese Congregation began joint use of the Howland Avenue property with the school.

Dr. John 'Jack' Lennox Wright, the founding headmaster, welcomed the first classes of students in 1964. The Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, Archbishop Howard Clark
Howard Clark (bishop)
Howard Hewlett Clark, was Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada from 1959 to 1971.Born in Fort Macleod, Alberta, Clark attended the University of Trinity College in Toronto. He was first appointed Curate of St. John the Baptist Norway in Toronto, Ontario in 1930. In 1932 he was made Curate of...

 CC, formally dedicated the school. Other founders immediately joined the teaching faculty including, the Rev. Kenneth Scott, Mr. John 'Bear' Allen, and others.

Mr. Allen succeeded as second headmaster in 1978. He expanded the school's outlook inclusivity and facilities while remaining faithful to the founding vision.

In 1988 Mr. John R. Latimer assumed leadership of the school, and led the celebrations marking the Silver Jubilee of the College in 1989. These events culminated in a visit to the school by HRH the Duchess of Kent
Duchess of Kent
The Duchess of Kent is the title given to the wife of the Duke of Kent.Five women have held the title:* Jemima , daughter of Thomas Crewe, 2nd Baron Crewe, first wife of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent...

 who proclaimed the 'Royal' designation on behalf of HM Queen Elizabeth II.

Following Mr. Latimer's departure in 1996, Mr. Hal Hannaford became headmaster and the school continued to enlarge and improve its historic facilities as well as welcome an ever-diversifying student population, while maintaining an internationally renowned choir & instrumental music programme and a vibrant Anglican chaplaincy.

Mr. Hannaford's removal to Montreal made way for Mr. Steve Griffin to succeed to the mastership of the College. In February, 2010 Mr. Griffin resigned and Mr. Paul O'Leary was appointed interim headmaster. Mr. Stephen Beatty assumed the headmastership in July 2011.

The College's motto, Scientia Pietate, suggested by founder Professor J. B. E. Garstang- son and partner of renowned archaeologist Professor John Garstang
John Garstang
John Garstang was a British archaeologist of the ancient Near East, especially Anatolia and the southern Levant....

- translates approximately 'Through Knowledge & Duty' and complements the school code 'Respect, Responsibility, and Voice' and the famous words of William of Wykeham
William of Wykeham
William of Wykeham was Bishop of Winchester, Chancellor of England, founder of Winchester College, New College, Oxford, New College School, Oxford, and builder of a large part of Windsor Castle.-Life:...

 'Manners Maketh Men', appropriated by Dr. Wright as a personal credo

School Life

Students are divided between Junior (Grades III-VIII) & Senior Schools (Grades IX-XII) during their careers and complete the Provincial requirements for Secondary School graduation, as well as enjoying elective enrollment in Advanced Placement programmes.

Traditionally, the College has been strong in Music, Liberal Arts, and Drama, though these programmes are complemented by rigorous scientific education in modern laboratory facilities and equally strong Math and Computer Science course offerings. Languages, including French, Spanish and Latin are offered. Visual Arts are taught in both Junior & Senior settings. Students attend live theatre, participate in urban community service opportunities, and travel internationally representing their school as musicians, athletes, public speakers and socially conscious global citizens.

Despite a small and urban campus, Athletics at the College have always played a vital part in student life. Teams include Rugby, Hockey, Ball-Hockey, Soccer, Softball, Skiing, Volleyball, Cross-Country, Golf, Basketball, Bicycling as well as Racquets. Judo is also popular. A fitness centre allows the boys to take increased responsibility for their own physical health. Students swim at the nearby St. Alban's Boys' and Girls' Club.

A typical day for a student involves either Assembly, held in Ketchum Hall, or Chapel, regular academic classes, music- instrumental, or choral, outdoor play and organized games and some other extra-curricular activity.

A variety of clubs exist including Student Council, the Environment Club, the String Ensemble, the Newspaper of the College, known as The Grifter, the Speaking Union, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award , is a programme of activities that can be undertaken by anyone aged 14 to 24, regardless of personal ability....

, Jazz Band, the Servers' Guild, various intramural sports leagues, Tech Crew and various yearly dramatic productions.

Every Thursday the entire school meets together in the Chapel for Choral Evensong, sung by the choir and led by the Chaplain, a licensed minister of the Anglican Church of Canada. There are several community Eucharists celebrated as well, according to the liturgical calendar. For spiritual and social resources, in addition to the Chaplain, the College engages a social worker to help address the needs of all community members. Because St. George's is of an Anglican foundation it welcomes students of all backgrounds, without proselytization, and requires the respectful participation of all boys in the nurturing of the spiritual life.

Student leadership is expressed most potently in the Student Council, the Junior School Captains, the Stewards, and the lead boys in the graduating class, the Prefects, under the Head Prefect.

Students compete with each other on four teams, or houses, named for the four great cathedrals of England which collectively supply the school colours. These Houses are Canterbury (red), Westminster (white), Winchester (gold), and York (blue).

Chapel

Archbishop Arthur Sweatman
Arthur Sweatman
Arthur Sweatman was a Canadian Anglican bishop and the third Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.- Early life :...

 of Toronto envisioned the Cathedral of St. Alban-the-Martyr replacing the de facto use of St. James' Church
Cathedral Church of St. James (Toronto)
Cathedral Church of St. James in Toronto, Canada is the home of the oldest congregation in the city. The parish was established in 1797. The Cathedral was begun in 1850 and completed in 1853, was at the time one of the largest buildings in the city...

, whose parishioners were unwilling to compromise with their bishop over the use of their church as diocesan seat. St. Alban's was designated the cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto
Anglican Diocese of Toronto
The Diocese of Toronto is an administrative division of the Anglican Church of Canada covering the central part of southern Ontario. It has the most members of any Anglican diocese in Canada. It is also one of the biggest Anglican dioceses in the Americas in terms of numbers of parishioners, clergy...

 in 1883 by an act of the Ontario Legislature, while still in the planning stages. The chancel & crypt of the projected building were completed, according to the plans of Richard Cunningham Windeyer, in 1891, but subsequent construction stalled and was only partially continued by Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram FAIA, , was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partnerships in which he worked.-Early life:Cram was born on December 16, 1863 at Hampton Falls, New...

 and Vaux Chadwick in the first decades of the twentieth century. The patronage of Sir Henry Mill Pellatt of Casa Loma
Casa Loma
Casa Loma is a Gothic Revival style house in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that is now a museum and landmark. It was originally a residence for financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. Casa Loma was constructed over a three-year period from 1911–1914. The architect of the mansion was E. J...

 and Edward Marion Chadwick was essential to the project. The chancel became the school chapel when the College leased the St. Alban's property, at the suggestion of Bishop Fred Wilkinson.

The completed chancel features the only double hammerbeam roof in Canada as well as some of the best heraldic stained glass in the country.

A second phase of building was begun in 1912 with the laying of a foundation stone by HRH Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a member of the shared British and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha royal family who served as the Governor General of Canada, the 10th since Canadian Confederation.Born the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and...

 and his daughter, HRH Princess Patricia. The ground they broke would eventually become the foundation for the Senior School, known as Founders' Hall.

In addition to the Chapel, a See House, or bishop's residence was built in 1885 by architects Frank Darling and S. George Curry
S. George Curry
Samuel George Curry was a Canadian architect who practiced in Toronto as the junior partner of several of Toronto’s leading architects, among them Frank Darling and from 1892 Darling's partner John A. Pearson, Henry Sproatt, Francis S. Baker, Ernest Rolph and W. F...

, which now serves as the College's administrative hub. Also, a school building was erected about 1897 by the Wells-DePencier family of Davenport to house the short-lived St. Alban's Cathedral School. This building now houses classrooms and the school's assembly hall, named for founder and second Warden P. A. C. Ketchum.
St. Alban's School was directed by Marmaduke Matthews, the founder of the Wychwood Park
Wychwood Park
Wychwood Park is a neighbourhood enclave and former gated community in Toronto, Canada. The small community is located north of Davenport Road and just west of Bathurst Street. It was founded as an artists colony in the late nineteenth century as a private project by painter Marmaduke Matthews...

 estate in Toronto, as well as the Ontario College of Art & Design
Ontario College of Art & Design
OCAD University is Canada's largest and oldest educational institution for art and design. It is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on McCaul Street beside the Art Gallery of Ontario...

.

External links


Alumni

Graduates of the school, Old Georgians, can continue a lifelong involvement with RSGC through the Alumni Association which meets monthly to plan support events for the school and to foster goodwill among graduates. Some Old Georgians have joined the Board of Governors of the school, while others teach, offer professional mentorships, or make financial contributions. Old Georgians are welcomed back to the school at several annual events, including the Alumni Dinner, the Carol Service, and the Ball-Hockey Tournament.

Notable Old Georgians include:
  • Damian Abraham ('99) lead singer, F---ed Up, Host of The Wedge
    The Wedge
    The Wedge can refer to:* The Wedge, an Australian television comedy series on Network Ten.* The Wedge, a Canadian television series airing on MuchMusic.* The Wedge, a surf spot located on the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach, California....

  • Dr. Jonathan Baillie ('90) zoologist
  • Brent Barclay ('87) TV producer
  • Matt Beam ('89) writer
  • Dr. Rob Beanlands ('77) cardiologist & academic
  • Stephen Beatty ('86) Headmaster, Royal St. George's College, Toronto
  • Douglas Bell ('78) journalist
  • Sean Black ('93) Olympic Boxer & model
  • Alexy Boggian ('74) Swiss politician and environmentalist
  • Jim Brebner ('83) film director
  • James Carl ('79) sculptor
  • Dr. Cam Clokie ('81) surgeon & academic
  • Terry Collins ('73) media advocate
  • Thomas D'Arcy
    Thomas D'Arcy
    Thomas D'Arcy, is a Canadian singer and songwriter born in Guernsey, Channel Islands. He has been part of such bands and indie rock acts as The Carnations, All Systems Go!, Small Sins , Another Blue Door, The I-Spies and The Suspenders, among others.-Career:D'Arcy's family immigrated to Toronto,...

     ('98) Alternative musician
  • Alex Dobson ('93) Opera singer
  • Jonah Falco ('01) drummer, F---ed Up
  • Andrew Ferns ('93) producer and director
  • Robert Gleadow ('03) Opera singer
  • Ed Hanley ('89) Fusion musician, tabla player for Autorickshaw
  • Professor Campbell Harvey ('77) academic
  • Dr. Patrick Baillie ('81) Forensic psychologist / Lawyer
  • Neil Hetherington ('91) CEO, Habitat For Humanity Toronto
  • David Hewlett
    David Hewlett
    David Ian Hewlett is an English-born Canadian actor best known for his role as Dr. Meredith Rodney McKay on the science fiction television shows Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis.-Early life:...

     ('87) actor
  • Michael Lambert
    Michael Lambert (snowboarder)
    Michael Lambert is a Canadian snowboarder who currently resides in Toronto. Michael competes in the Alpine disciplines, Parallel GS and Parallel Slalom...

     ('04) Olympic Snowboarder
  • Eli Langer
    Eli Langer
    Eli Langer is a Canadian visual artist. Langer rose to prominence in 1993, while 26 years old, in the Toronto art world with a solo exhibition at the Mercer Union Gallery in Toronto. The exhibition consisted of 8 paintings and 50 drawings addressing various issues of childhood sexuality...

     ('86) visual artist
  • Jeffrey Latimer ('83) theatrical producer
  • Michael Latner ('74) developer & philanthropist
  • +Michael Le Gresley ('79) industrialist & engineer
  • Marc McAree ('83) environmental law specialist
  • John Millen ('79) Olympic Bronze Medallist for Sailing
  • Graeme Morphy ('83) TV production designer
  • Vincenzo Natali
    Vincenzo Natali
    Vincenzo Natali is an American-Canadian film director and screenwriter, best known for writing and directing science fiction films such as Cube, Nothing and Splice.-Early life:...

     ('87) director & screenwriter
  • Andrew Nikiforuk
    Andrew Nikiforuk
    Andrew Nikiforuk is a Canadian journalist who has won multiple National Magazine Awards. His work has appeared in Saturday Night, Maclean’s, Canadian Business, Report on Business, Chatelaine, Alberta Views, Equinox, and Canadian Family and in both national newspapers...

     ('76) journalist
  • John Northcott ('80) journalist
  • John Ortved ('99) writer
  • Bruce Patterson ('86) Deputy Chief Herald of Canada
  • Christian Pavey ('94) handyman/television personality
  • Andrew Podnieks
    Andrew Podnieks
    Andrew Podnieks is a Canadian author and ice hockey historian. He's of a Latvian descent. He has written more than 45 books about hockey. Additionally, he has contributed extensively to international hockey research at the International Ice Hockey Federation, the Hockey Hall of Fame, Hockey Canada,...

     ('80) Hockey historian
  • the Right Reverend Phillip Poole ('70) suffragan bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto
    Anglican Diocese of Toronto
    The Diocese of Toronto is an administrative division of the Anglican Church of Canada covering the central part of southern Ontario. It has the most members of any Anglican diocese in Canada. It is also one of the biggest Anglican dioceses in the Americas in terms of numbers of parishioners, clergy...

     & President of the International Compass Rose Society
  • Tim Pyper ('99) Organist & composer
  • Gabe Radford ('93) Classical musician
  • George Rutherford ('71) Head of School, Holy Trinity School (Richmond Hill)
    Holy Trinity School (Richmond Hill)
    Holy Trinity School is a private, co-educational, university preparatory institution located in Richmond Hill, Ontario affiliated with the Anglican Church of Canada. There are approximately 800 students currently enrolled from junior kindergarten to grade 12...

  • Reza Satchu ('87) financier
  • Mark Schatzker ('92) author & journalist
  • Dr. Kevin Thomson ('93) environmental scientist
  • the Honourable Peter Thomson
    Peter Thomson (race car driver)
    Peter John Thomson is a Canadian rally race car driver with Thomson Motorsport and a venture capitalist. Peter is married to Diana Thomson. Peter and Diana have one daughter....

     ('85) race car driver
  • Mark Wilkins
    Mark Wilkins (racing driver)
    Mark Wilkins is a Canadian professional racing driver who currently drives a Daytona Prototype for AIM Autosport in the Rolex Sports Car Series....

     ('02) race car driver
  • the Reverend Timothy Jones ('71), writer, grief counsellor, teacher

Notable Former Faculty

  • the Reverend Dr. Andrew S. Barlow, psychologist and educator
  • the Reverend Dorian Baxter
    Dorian Baxter
    Dorian Baxter is an Anglican minister in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada who uses the music of Elvis Presley in his services, using the name The Reverend Elvis Priestly.-Background:...

    , founder of Christ the King Graceland Independent Anglican Church of Canada
  • +John Lambert Bradley, Founder, Churchman, musician
  • +Lloyd Bradshaw, Organist
  • Canon Dr. Giles Bryant, Organist and Choirmaster Emeritus
  • the Reverend Canon Michael Burgess, priest
  • Robin Fulford, playwright
  • Melva Treffinger Graham, conductor and musician
  • +David McMaster, educator & coach
  • Dr. John Tuttle, Organist
  • John Viljoen, artist
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