Canterbury High School is an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board high school in the Urbandale neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is an arts magnet school which draws in students from the Ottawa area to their specialized arts program. History The school opened in 1969 as a comprehensive high school. It was the last in a series of ten high schools built by the Collegiate Board to deal with a growing population of teenagers. At the time of its opening, it was considered an extremely modern school, employing all the latest ideas in education. Most notably, many of its walls were movable (no longer a feature), allowing for an easy reorganization of space. It also had one of the largest libraries and auditoriums of any Ottawa area school. From 1969 to 1976, Canterbury offered a technical program based in aerospace engineering. The school operated a 1969 Cessna 190J (CF-CHS) and a Schweitzer 2-33 glider (CF-ABE), providing unique research opportunities to students. However, the Ottawa Board of Education eventually withdrew support due to liability issues.
The school's arts program began in 1983, making Canterbury High School an arts magnet school for the Ottawa-Gatineau region. There are five different arts programs that students must audition and interview for to be accepted into: dance, dramatic arts, literary arts, music (winds and percussion, strings, or voice), and visual arts.
The school maintains an athletics program which includes wrestling, rowing, swimming, volleyball, baseball, basketball, soccer, football, water polo, curling, ultimate frisbee, ice hockey, rugby, track & field, and ringette (added in 2021-22).
Notable alumni Ashton Baumann, swimmer Mark Bell, hockey player Raoul Bhaneja, actor, musician Brian Campbell, hockey player Alexander Carson, filmmaker Penelope Corrin, actress/comedian Shean Donovan, hockey player Matthew Edison, actor/playwright Martin Gero, writer/producer Stephen Gray, rugby player Chester Hansen, musician Jessica Holmes, actress/comedian Jonathan Hobin, artist Simon Huck, PR executive/reality star Peter Hume, politician Genevieve LeBlanc, also known as Cyril Cinder, drag king Alyn McCauley, hockey player Hannah McGregor, academic Moira J. Moore, author Stephanie Moore, actress/writer Ty Olsson, actor Richard Parry, musician Michael Peca, hockey player Emma Portner, dancer, choreographer Gary Roberts, hockey player Jeremy Roberts, politician Leith Ross, singer Vik Sahay, actor Jordan Tannahill, playwright Emma Taylor-Isherwood, actress Sally Taylor-Isherwood, actress Meryl McMaster, artist Deirdre Barnes, dancer Andre Alexis, author
See also Education in Ontario List of secondary schools in Ontario
References
Keith, Janet. The Collegiate Institute Board of Ottawa: A Short History, 1843-1969. Ottawa: Kent, 1969. 2007-08 OCDSB School Profile 2006-07 OCDSB School Profile 2005-06 OCDSB School Profile 2004-05 OCDSB School Profile
External links
Canterbury Arts Centre Development Association Canterbury Collection Canterbury School Council OCDSB Website