Georges P. Vanier Secondary School is a

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 ...

in Courtenay,

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, for ...

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 to ...

. The school was named after Georges P. Vanier, one of Canada's most popular Governors General.

History

The school opened in January 1968, completing a move of students from the old Courtenay Senior High School. Vanier was built to have a capacity of 1200 students. The school population grew to more than 1700 in the early 2000s, with the addition of 36 portable classrooms. This led to the opening of

Mark R. Isfeld Senior Secondary School Mark R. Isfeld Senior Secondary is a public high school in Courtenay, British Columbia, part of School District 71 Comox Valley. History The school opened as Courtenay Junior Middle School in 1995, but was renamed in October 2001 in honor of Maste ...

, which became the third district secondary school in the early 2000s. Vanier has primarily been the regional secondary school in the Comox Valley School District, serving students from

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and Denman Islands, the City of Courtenay, and the communities of Dove Creek, Merville, Black Creek, Saratoga and Miracle Beach communities up to the Oyster River, which separates the Comox Valley School District from the Campbell River district. In 2016, the school started a $33.8 million upgrade.

Facilities

The school facility has a natural setting on located next to the Comox Valley Sports Centre, community track and playing fields. The grounds include three playing fields and access to a community all-weather field and a community daycare primarily built for teen mothers. The school includes the Vanier Studio Theatre, a full teaching cafeteria, and a large technology education wing that includes shops for house construction, auto mechanics, small engines, metalworking, electronics/robotics, woodwork and drafting.

International exchange

Vanier has established links with four sister schools, one in Italy, one in Wales and two in Japan.

Athletics

Georges P. Vanier Secondary competes in Zone E (Vancouver Island) of

BC School Sports {{unreferenced , date=April 2008 BC School Sports is the governing body for high school athletics in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was originally organized in 1965 as the British Columbia Federation of School Athletic Associations (B ...

. The sports teams are:

Fall

* Volleyball (Boys and Girls) * Cross Country * Swimming * Soccer (Senior Boys)

Winter

* Basketball (Boys and Girls) * Gymnastics * Wrestling * Ski and Snowboarding

Spring

* Track and Field * Mountain Biking * Soccer (Senior Girls) * Rugby (Boys and Girls) * Golf * Ultimate Frisbee The school won the BC provincial championships in senior girls rugby in 2018-2019

National Championships

Robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...

, 2004, 2010 *

World Championships, 2010 * Improv, 2009, 2010 *Improv, Destination Imagination Global Championships, 2018

Notable alumni

* Kim Cattrall, actress *

Colin Hansen Colin Hansen (born 1952) is a former provincial politician for the Canadian province of British Columbia from 1996 to 2013. Hansen's most recent cabinet position was Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier from June 10, 2009 to March 13, 2011. He ...

, BC finance minister *

Barry Pepper Barry Robert Pepper (born April 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor. He played Private Daniel Jackson in ''Saving Private Ryan'' (1998), Corrections Officer Dean Stanton in '' The Green Mile'' (1999), Roger Maris in '' 61*'' (2001), Joseph L. Gallowa ...

, actor *

Simon Nessman Simon Nessman (born November 6, 1989) is a Canadian model from Courtenay, British Columbia. Early life Nessman was born in Courtenay, British Columbia, the son of Carolyn Ireland and Ron Nessman. He is the youngest of four children. Nessman wa ...

, model *

Cameron Levins Cameron Levins (born March 28, 1989) is a Canadian long-distance runner. He won the bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Levins had the best-Canadian finish ever of fourth in the marathon at the 2022 World Champions ...

, Olympian *

Geoff Kabush Geoff Kabush is a Canadian cyclo-cross cyclist and cross-country mountain biker. At the 2000 Summer Olympics, he finished in 9th place in the cross-country race. He then competed in the same event at the 2008 Summer Olympics, finishing in ...

, Olympian

References

Courtenay, British Columbia High schools in British Columbia Educational institutions established in 1968 1968 establishments in British Columbia {{BritishColumbia-school-stub __FORCETOC__