Vancouver Technical Secondary School, often referred to as Van Tech, is a
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
secondary 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 '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
located on the East Side of
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 ...
. Vancouver Technical currently offers Advanced Placement, Summit, Flex Humanities, and French Immersion programs.
History
Vancouver Technical School opened in September 1916 as a boys-only school and was located in the basement of King Edward Highschool on 12th and Oak. It was the province's first
vocational school
A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...
and was led by J. George Lister, who would later be called the "Founder of Technical Education in BC. The school then moved to the Labour Temple, located on the corner of Homer and Dusmuir.
As enrollment grew, plans were developed for a modern technical school along
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
. The building was designed by architects Townley and Matheson to include large technical shops, laboratories, cafeteria, auditorium, gymnasium, and swimming pool. However, the swimming pool was never completed due to lack of funds. The school moved to the new building in 1928, where it is located to this day. Girls were admitted into the school starting in 1940 and were given their own wing on the East side.
Major seismic upgrades to the school's five buildings began in 2005 and was completed in 2008 at a cost of $40 million. The seismic upgrades reduced the available floorspace, leading to the relocation of classroom and workshops. Classrooms and workshops were relocated or replaced during the upgrade as there was less floor space available. this reduced the school's capacity from 2,100 students to 1,700. The auditorium's interior was also renovated during the upgrade, with the funds being raised by students' parents.
One of the school's founders (and principal from 1930 until 1944), James George Sinclair, is also the great-grandfather of 23rd
Canadian Prime Minister
The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as such ...
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
.
Mini Schools
Vancouver Technical offers a wide range of mini school programs.
Summit is a five-year mini school program as of 2018, which focuses on enriching the four academic courses: Math, Science, Social Studies and English. The Summit program offers accelerated sciences and mathematics, with students completing Chemistry 11 and Pre-Calculus 11 in grade 10. Students in the Summit program engage in many extra-curricular activities including a three-day camp at the beginning of the school year, and opportunities to travel to Europe.
Flex Humanities is a mini-school that integrates Philosophy, World Literature, History, Fine Arts, Film and Media Studies, and Integrated Arts and Technology from grades 8 – 12. In grade 12, the students have the opportunity to participate in a major culminative field study; in past years, this trip has involved Quebec City/Montreal or New York.
Facilities
With its seismic upgrade from 2005 - 2008, many classrooms were moved around and their 500 wing was demolished. With this, Vancouver Technical was a recipient to a $1,000,000 artificial turf field that was approved in 2006. Tennis courts were built off Slocan St. and Vancouver Technical is set to receive Vancouver's first regulation Track and Field Training Facility.
Sam Sullivan
Sam Sullivan (born November 13, 1959) is a Canadian politician who had served as the MLA for Vancouver-False Creek. Previously, he served as the Minister of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development with responsibility for Translink in the ...
, former mayor of the city of Vancouver, former MLA for Vancouver False Creek
*
Bowinn Ma
Bowinn Ma, MLA is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2017 provincial election.John Ferguson (1938–2007), NHL player/coach
*
Dean Malkoc
Dean Malkoc (born January 26, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent four seasons in the National Hockey League between 1995 and 1999 with the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, and New York Islanders. The rest of his ...
, NHL player for the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, and New York Islanders
*
Julia Grosso
Julia Angela Grosso (born August 29, 2000) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Italian Serie A club Juventus FC and the Canada women's national team. She attained international prominence after scoring the ti ...
, Soccer player for Canadian women's national team and 2020 Olympic Gold Medallist
Popular culture
*Exterior shots of the school were used in
the CW
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
's television series ''
Smallville
''Smallville'' is an American superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produced by Millar Gough ...
'' to represent Smallville High School,
Clark Kent
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publish ...
's '' alma mater'' during adolescence. The school was also used as a filming location in ''
Scary Movie
''Scary Movie'' is a 2000 American slasher parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and written by Marlon and Shawn Wayans (who both also star), alongside Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Starring Anna Far ...
'', ''
Paycheck
A paycheck, also spelled paycheque, pay check or pay cheque, is traditionally a paper document (a cheque) issued by an employer to pay an employee for services rendered. In recent times, the physical paycheck has been increasingly replaced by ...
'', ''
Supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
Psych
''Psych'' is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks for USA Network. The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observ ...
'', ''
Supergirl
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...
She's the Man
''She's the Man'' is a 2006 American romantic comedy teen sports film directed by Andy Fickman and starring Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, Laura Ramsey, Vinnie Jones, and David Cross. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Twelfth Night,'' the f ...
'' starring
Amanda Bynes
Amanda Laura Bynes (born April 3, 1986) is an American actress, known for her work in television and film throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Bynes began her career as a child actress, working on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series ''All That'' ...
and
Channing Tatum
Channing Matthew Tatum (born April 26, 1980) is an American actor. Tatum made his film debut in the drama ''Coach Carter'' (2005), and had his breakthrough role in the 2006 dance film ''Step Up (film), Step Up''. He gained wider attention for ...