Earl Haig Secondary School (EHSS), formerly Earl Haig Collegiate Institute is a public

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

with 2,048 students in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

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, Canada. In addition to being a public secondary school, the school is also host to the Claude Watson Arts Program, an auditioned arts program integrated into the secondary school

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; plural, : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to ...

. Opened in 1930 by the

North York Board of Education The North York Board of Education (NYBE, commonly known as School District 13), officially the Board of Education for the City of North York is the former public school board for the former city of North York in Ontario, Canada. In 1998, the pro ...

, the school is named after

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

The 1st Earl Haig, who was commander of the British Expeditionary Force during the majority of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. The school was established in 1928, shortly after Earl Haig's death.

History

The original school was designed by the Toronto architectural firm of Craig and Madill and construction started in November 1929. The building officially opened in 1930 as ''Earl Haig Collegiate Institute''. Additions were made in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. In 1961, the school changed its name from Earl Haig Collegiate Institute to Earl Haig Secondary School. It is currently the largest high school in the

Toronto District School Board The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), formerly known as English-language Public District School Board No. 12 prior to 1999, is the English-language public-secular school board for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The minority public-secular franco ...

and the oldest high school in the former City of

North York North York is one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly north of York, Old Toronto and East York, between Etobicoke to the west and Scarborough to the east. As of the 2016 Census, it had a po ...

. The Claude Watson Arts Program began in 1982. The program consists of dance, drama, music, film arts, and visual arts. In 1996, the original building was demolished in sections to make way for a new building. This new building was designed around the original auditorium, Cringan Hall. Carruthers Shaw and Partners Limited, the same company that designed buildings at Queen's University and Upper Canada College, designed the new building and Bondfield Construction were contracted to build the school. The new building was officially opened in September 1997 at a cost of $30,800,000. Earl Haig Secondary School Exterior

Claude Watson Arts Program

The Claude Watson Arts Program was founded in 1982 and is integrated with Earl Haig. A separate program from the open collegiate secondary school, enrolment in the Claude Watson program requires an audition and is available to Toronto students outside of Earl Haig's eligible attendance area. In addition to the secondary school there is Claude Watson School for the Arts for Grades 4 to 8. This elementary arts school operates on the site of the former Spring Gardens Public School property. Each student takes a full academic course load and, additionally, majors in one of five arts disciplines: dance, drama, music, film arts or visual arts. The curriculum of the Claude Watson Arts Program at Earl Haig Secondary School is similar to that of the arts-only school

Etobicoke School of the Arts The Etobicoke School of the Arts (ESA) is a specialized public arts-academic high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in Etobicoke, it has been housed in the former Royal York Collegiate Institute facility since 1983. Founded on September ...

Wavy Hall

Wavy Hall is the name given to the glass hallway close to the main entrance of Earl Haig. The hallway was built as part of the school reconstruction in 1996. Wavy Hall is one of the most prominent architectural features of the school, and is the most immediately recognizable part of Earl Haig. It leads to Cringan Hall (the auditorium) and the music rooms.

References

External links

Earl Haig SS Website
* List of Earl Haig Notable Alumni {{Authority control High schools in Toronto Schools in the TDSB Educational institutions established in 1929 1929 establishments in Ontario Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig

History

Claude Watson Arts Program

Wavy Hall

See also

References

External links