Prince of Wales Secondary School is a public secondary school located in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

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 ...

History

Prince of Wales is named in honour of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

, the

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the Canadian throne. The ostrich feather and crown symbol, and the Ich dien motto of the school are identical to those of its namesake. Prince of Wales opened for classes in September 1920 at its original site, which is now

Shaughnessy Elementary School The Vancouver School Board (VSB; officially School District 39 Vancouver) is a school district based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. A board of nine trustees normally manages this district that serves the city of Vancouver and the Uni ...

. In 1960 it moved to its current location, which had previously been a golf course.

Programs offered

Mini School Program

Prince of Wales Mini School is a district mini school program of 140 students that seeks students from Vancouver who have demonstrated above average academic achievement and involvement in school and community. Each year, students attend outdoor education trips to strengthen the community and learn new skills.

Electives

Prince of Wales offers a variety of electives that appeal to student interests, which range from applied skills such as home economics, stagecraft, technical education, and business education, to fine arts (graphic design, filmmaking, photography, art, choir, music). Many students pursue these electives for personal interest, or they choose these courses because they will be studying in this fields for their post-secondary programs. For example, many students take senior level accounting, marketing, and economics courses offered at PW and go on to study Commerce / Business in their post-secondary program.

TREK Outdoor Education Program

The TREK program is offered for grade 10 students from schools throughout the Vancouver School District with an interest in outdoor activities and environmental education. The program admits 112 students each year, who are get to go on various outdoor trips throughout their school year. The program finishes most of the regular grade 10 academic curriculum while being able to participate in outdoor activities, including both overnight and day trips that teach basic outdoor skills, minimum impact camping, hiking and backpacking, ocean kayaking, canoeing, rock climbing, back-country (telemark) skiing, cross-country (Nordic) skiing, snow shelter building & winter camping, avalanche awareness, cycle touring, outdoor cooking, and map & compass navigation, and in-class focus on sustainability and the environment.

GOLD Program

The Gifted Over Learning Disabled (GOLD) Program is a district program designed for gifted students who have also been identified as having a learning disability. The acceptance rate is very low with an average of only about 8 students per year. Students in the program have at least one GOLD block as part of their regular timetable with GOLD English also being offered at the grade 8 level. The curriculum of the program includes communication skills, decision making, subject and personal support, self-awareness and self-advocacy.

Timetable

*Prince of Wales formerly operated on a linear timetable of Day 1 / Day 2 rotation, from early September to late June. Each day has four (4) blocks with 1 hour and 15 minutes of instruction in each block. Classes begin at 8:55 a.m. and end at 3:03 p.m. Due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

during the 2020-2021 schoolyear Prince of Wales operated on a quarter system with two classes per quarter. Classes were in session from 8:40 to 12:32 or from 1:18 to 3:03 depending on whether you had morning classes or afternoon classes. During the first quarter one class was online and one was in person and it would switch every two weeks but that later changed to switching every week. In the last two quarters both classes were in person. Currently during the 2021-2022 school year, Prince of Wales operates on a semester system like other schools in the Vancouver School Board, with 4 classes every semester. Classes run from 8:40 to 3:06.

Notable alumni

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, First female Prime Minister of Canada. *

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, film director/screenwriter. * Bruce Fairbairn, music producer for

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and

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, Canadian country music award-winning singer. *

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, broadcaster, political analyst. *

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, pioneer of women’s soccer in Canada and first woman to be inducted for soccer into Canada's Sport Hall of Fame. *

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, actor, voice actor and screenwriter with roles in ''

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from ''

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'' and as star/producer of '' Whistler''. *

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. * Jenny Pat, Hong Kong-born, Chinese-Canadian international art dealer, visual artist, and television personality. *

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, Actor and Comedian.

References

{{VancouverSchools High schools in Vancouver Educational institutions established in 1920 1920 establishments in British Columbia