Glenlyon Norfolk School (GNS) is an independent, co-ed, university preparatory day school in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
and
Oak Bay
Oak Bay is a municipality incorporated in 1906 that is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of thirteen member municipalities of the Capital Regional District, and is bordered ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. It was formed in 1986 with the amalgamation of Glenlyon School and Norfolk House. The school offers instruction from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12. The school offers the
International Baccalaureate
The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...
at all three levels: the
Primary Years Programme
The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) is an educational programme managed by the International Baccalaureate (IB) for students in grades Kindergarten to Fifth grade. While the programme prepares students for the IB Middle Y ...
,
Middle Years Programme
The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) is an educational programme for students between the ages of 11 to 16 around the world as part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) continuum. Middle Year Programme is intended to pr ...
and, at the high school level, offers the
IB Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into ...
. Of the 2,124 schools that participate in the IB programme in
North America and the
Caribbean, Glenlyon Norfolk School is one of only 25 schools to offer the programme at all three levels.
GNS is a member of the
International Baccalaureate Organization
The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...
,
Round Square
Round Square is an international network of schools, based on the educational concepts of Kurt Hahn, and named after a distinctive building at Gordonstoun. Founded by a group of seven schools in the late 1960s, by 1996 it had grown to 20 member ...
, the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS), Independent Schools Association of British Columbia (ISABC), and National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).
The current Head of School is Mr. Chad Holtum.
GNS was ranked by the
Fraser Institute
The Fraser Institute is a libertarian-conservative Canadian public policy think tank and registered charity. The institute describes itself as independent and non-partisan. It is headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Calgary, T ...
in 2017/2018 as #9 out of 251 British Columbia Secondary Schools.
History
In 1913, a pair of enterprising British women founded Norfolk House School, an all-girls school on what is now the Pemberton Woods Campus. Miss Atkins and Miss McDermott were dedicated to a rigorous education in academics, arts, and values. 20 years later, Glenlyon Preparatory School for boys was established on the Beach Campus location by Major Ian Simpson.
In 1986, the schools joined together. In 2013, GNS celebrated its 100-year anniversary since the founding of Norfolk House.
GNS's nearly 700 students occupy two campuses: the Beach Drive Campus, and the Pemberton Woods Campus. The Beach Drive Campus is located near Willows Beach in Oak Bay and is home to students in Junior Kindergarten through to Grade Five. The campus is focused around the former home of Sir
Francis Rattenbury
Francis Mawson Rattenbury (11 October 1867 – 28 March 1935) was a British architect although most of his career was spent in British Columbia, Canada, where he designed the province's legislative building among other public commissions. Divorc ...
. Until 2003, the Beach Drive Campus was known as the Junior Boys Campus, reserved for boys from Kindergarten to Grade 7, while girls in grades Kindergarten to Grade 12 attended classes on the Pemberton Woods Campus. In 2003 the school restructured its approach to co-ed learning, and for the first time, female students were allowed on the Beach Drive Campus. The Beach Drive Campus became a primary campus with Grades K to 5 in single-gender classes sharing a co-educational environment. The Pemberton Woods Campus became a Grades 6 to 12 campus with Grades 6 to 12 in co-ed classes. In 2012, the school became fully co-educational from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12.
The Pemberton Woods Campus, home to students Grades 6 through to 12, combines the old Norfolk House Campus with a number of new buildings built after the amalgamation.
Each Campus has its own Principal (Ms. Crystal Shea in the Junior School, Mr. Russell Marston in the Middle School and Mr. Doug Palm in the Senior School), while the entire school is administered by the Head of School, Mr. Chad Holtum.
In 1996, the school was accepted as an
International Baccalaureate
The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...
World School and began offering the IB Diploma to students in Grades 11 and 12. This was followed by authorization to offer the IB Middle Years Programme in 2004 and the IB Primary Years Programme in 2007, making GNS one of a few schools in Canada to offer the full IB continuum.
In June 2007, the Board of Directors approved a plan for comprehensive campus transformation. In 2009, an artificial turf field was installed. In the spring of 2013 Denford Hall, seating over 350, was completed. The WONDER Campaign was launched in 2018 to refurbish the school's two campuses, at Beach Drive and Pemberton Woods, which was supported by a $5 million donation by Gordon Denford.
[Jeff Bell]
Victoria developer gives $5M to Glenlyon Norfolk School
at timescolonist.com, dated 5 December 2018, accessed 10 May 2019
On Friday, May 24, 2019, the school celebrated the official opening of the school's new Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten facilities and the re-dedication of the Boathouse, one of the buildings originally designed by Francis Rattenbury.
[Travis Paterson]
Rattenbury residence to be restored next as Glenlyon Norfolk School opens new buildings
at oakbaynews.com, dated 29 May 2019, accessed 29 July 2019
On September 9, 2020, the Main Building on the Junior School campus was opened.
In September 2021, GNS opened a 24-bed boarding house in the renovated Oak Bay Guest House on Newport Avenue, callled Gryphon House.
On December 14, 2021, the school celebrated the opening of the David Graham Learning Commons, a renovation of the Middle School Library.
Debate
GNS's Senior Campus is known for a successful debate program. The school occasionally sends debaters to the Worlds and regularly sends students to the Junior and Senior National debate tournaments and seminars.
Athletics
Glenlyon Norfolk identifies three girls sports and three boys sports as the ‘major’ sports of the School: Girls Field Hockey, Basketball, and Football; Boys Rugby, Basketball, and Football. In these 6 sports, the explicit goal is being competitive at the Provincial level.
Since 1986 (the year of amalgamation) the Gryphons have won Vancouver Island Championships and Independent School Championships 38 times in 14 different sports and
Provincial Championships as follows:
Boys Rugby (‘95) ('17), Tennis (’98, ’03), Climbing (’99), Girls Football (’03, ’05, '10, '11), Boys Football (’05,'07,'09,'10,'11,'12,'13, 14, 15), Boys Basketball (’07), Golf (’07, ’08).
Clubs
Clubs include: Tech Team, debate, photography, Round Square and the Pride and Equality Club.
Brother Schools
Setagaya Gakuen School - Tokyo Japan
Heads of school
*1987–1997: David Brooks
*1997–2001: Charles Peacock
*2001–2004: Barbara Emmerson
*2004–2015:
Simon Bruce-Lockhart
*2015–2020 : Dr Glenn Zederayko
*2020– : Chad Holtum
[
]
Notable Graduates
Chris Wylie, Canadian data consultant and whistleblower associated with the Cambridge Analytica
Cambridge Analytica Ltd (CA), previously known as SCL USA, was a British political consulting firm that came to prominence through the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal. It was started in 2013, as a subsidiary of the private intellig ...
data scandal. He claims to have dropped out at age 16 but spent grades 9-11 at GNS. [https://www.timescolonist.com/local-news/how-a-victoria-kid-ended-up-at-heart-of-facebook-data-mining-story-4660418]
References
External links
*
Google Satellite Map of Pemberton Woods Campus
Google Satellite Map of Beach Drive Campus
{{Authority control
Boarding schools in British Columbia
International Baccalaureate schools in British Columbia
Private schools in British Columbia
Round Square schools
Educational institutions established in 1913
1913 establishments in British Columbia