Havergal College is a privateday and boarding school for girls from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school was established in 1894 and named for Frances Ridley Havergal, a composer, author and humanitarian.
Today, the 22-acre (8.9 ha) campus is located at 1451 Avenue Road, at the corner of Avenue Road and Lawrence Avenue in midtown Toronto. Facilities include an Upper School, an athletic centre with a pool and fitness center, music studios, a theatre, computer labs and a Junior School.
In 2012, Havergal's elementary school was ranked first by the Fraser Institute amongst Toronto schools, receiving a "perfect score of 10".[1] In 2015, Havergal's secondary school was ranked second by the Fraser Institute amongst 749 Ontario secondary schools.[2]
Havergal was founded in 1894 as a Church of England Ladies' College, under principal Ellen Mary Knox. She held a first-class in the final honour examination at the University of Oxford, a Cambridge University diploma in teaching, and a First Division Government certificate. Havergal was the sister school of Ridley College for the first several decades of the schools' history.
In the spring of 1894, a school for girls at 350 Jarvis Street was about to close its doors, and a group of men led by The Honourable H. Blake formed an organization for taking over the building and making it the home of what became Havergal College. The group of men who founded Havergal College had great faith in the future of Canada and wanted to provide a sound academic education for their daughters. Being members and strong followers of the Anglican Church of Canada, they established the continuing policy of having its beliefs and teachings in their school. Miss Ellen Mary Knox was the First Principal of the school. She was a graduate of Oxford University, a teacher at Cheltenham Ladies College in England, a devout member of the Church and Principal of Havergal College for 30 years. The school cared about the education of women long before most women began to take themselves seriously.
Gymnastics display at Havergal's Jarvis Street campus, 1908
In 1898, a new building was constructed for the school at 354 Jarvis Street.[4] By 1903, Havergal College had 120 boarders and 200 day girls, a staff of 20 resident teachers (chiefly from English universities) and a number of nonresident visiting teachers.[5] The former Havergal Ladies' College building at 354 Jarvis Street is now the Margaret McCain Academic Building at the National Ballet School of Canada.[6]
Symbols
Havergal has several symbols. The Havergal Crest, comprising maple leaves, laurel branches, a torch, and a lamp of learning, symbolizes the school motto of Vitai Lampada Tradens — passing on the torch of life. The marguerite was chosen as the school flower "because it grew so cheerily wherever its luck found it, and because it looked up so steadily at the light that its heart was pierced with purest gold, its petals the purest white." (First Principal Ellen Knox)[7]
Havergal College's official mascot is the HaverGator,[8] an alligator dressed in the Havergal school uniform. The HaverGator, known as "Allie Gator" amongst Havergal students, represents the Havergal Athletics program and school spirit.
Upper School (US)
The Upper School refers to both the Middle School and the Senior School (together, grades 7 to 12) and is located at 1451 Avenue Road. The building was completed in 1926.
Upper School curriculum
The Liberal Arts program exceeds the expectations of the Ontario Ministry of Education. All courses are college-preparatory and are at the advanced level. A credit is granted with the successful completion of a course for which a minimum of 110 hours has been scheduled. Many students choose to write Advanced Placement exams. Upon graduation, students receive the Ontario Secondary School Diploma.[9]
Languages
The Languages Department at Havergal offers courses in French, Spanish, Latin, and Mandarin.[10]
Technological education
Students learn the fundamentals of web design, video and multimedia production, animation, and graphic design. Courses provide the opportunity to explore current industry-standard software, including PhotoShop, InDesign, GoLive, Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Soundtrack, LiveType, Motion, Dreamweaver, Flash, and Microsoft Office.[11]
Advanced Placement
The Advanced Placement (AP) Program gives students exposure to university-level material and, in some cases, credit towards university courses, and helps students acquire the skills and habits they will need for success at university.[12] Havergal offers Advanced Placement courses in biology, calculus, Mandarin, statistics, French, seminar, and research.[13]
Boarding school
The boarding school is a residence for approximately 50 students (Grades 9 to 12), representing countries all over the globe.[14] Fully integrated in the life of the school and with Day Students, boarding students participate in life skills programming, recreational programming and The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, in addition to the curricular and co-curricular programs. The Boarding School also hosts exchange students who visit for several weeks each term from partner schools located in six countries worldwide.[15]
Bullying controversy
In May 2020, the school was the defendant in a lawsuit filed by a student of the school and her mother alleging 'relentless' bullying, both digitally and in person, that the school did not prevent, seeking $38 million in damages.[16]
This is not the first time the school has been the subject of lawsuits about failing to prevent bullying, with a $5.5 million lawsuit filed in November 2019 after the school allegedly expelled the victim in question, following her parents complaints.[17] A report by York University psychology professor Debra Pepler found bullying to be a "significant, systemic problem" at the school (the report was commissioned by the victim's father).[18] As part of the latter case, allegations of racism were made (the victim in question is of Asian heritage).[19]
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