Considering a change of schools is always daunting. Moving away from home to live at school is even more so. You are not alone in wondering what on earth boarding school is like. About a quarter of our students at Brentwood are new each year. For most of them, it is their first time away from family and friends.
Brentwood is a special place. Our unique orientation process and boarding life programme help students adjust very quickly to life on campus. The Brentwood community is warm and accepting. Within hours of arriving students begin to feel at ease, and in time Brentwood becomes a home away from home. Graduates often tell us that the years they spent living on this beautiful oceanfront campus were some of the happiest and most memorable of their lives. Brentwood is much more than a school; it is a friendly community of people who care about each other.
Boarding
Brentwood College School is a co-educational boarding school that focuses on preparing students for the challenges of post-secondary education.
Students choose to board at Brentwood because they want to be challenged: academically, athletically, in the arts, and as people.
Their families continue to be as involved in their school lives as much as geography permits. With email and phone, keeping in touch between visits home is easier than ever.
Parents receive a weekly electronic newsletter from the Head of School. They can also read the student perspective about the week's events and activities at the "Brentwood Blog" on our website.
Keeping busy with healthy activities within a positive peer group is the best offence against what is becoming an increasingly toxic culture for teenagers. It has been shown that the boarding experience helps students develop self- discipline, maturity, independence, time management, and leadership skills. Students appreciate the abundant athletic, creative, social, and leadership opportunities, and say that the boarding school experience gave them friends for life.
Campus Life
Community, challenge, opportunity, and support: these are words Brentonians use to describe life at Brentwood. They also talk about making friends for life.
Ask prospective students about the thought of going to class on Saturday morning: the response is likely to be negative. Ask Brentwood students about finishing academic classes by 1:15pm every day, and having afternoons free for athletics and the arts: their response is positive. Brentwood's schedule is unique and few Brentonians would change it. They like Brentwood's distinctive rhythm, a product of our tripartite programme.
Academic classes run from Monday through Saturday mornings. A wide range of individual and team sports are scheduled in the afternoons, alternating with the visual and performing arts, and rowing. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and cookie breaks are served in the school cafeteria. Boarders do homework in their dorms or in the library, and have time to spend with friends before and after each evening's two hour session of silent, supervised study: "prep".
The weekend begins after Saturday sports with a full calendar of social events and activities sponsored by the Student Activities Committee and the boarding houses. Special events throughout the year vary a weekly routine that includes the welcome sleep-in on Wednesday and the somewhat less popular house inspection on Saturdays. Day students are fully involved in all aspects of student life.
Activities
Much of the organized social life on campus springs from the energetic efforts of the Student Activities Committee (SAC), the Grad Committee, and the houses themselves. Through dances, open houses, coffee nights, movies, and special events, Brentwood's student leaders promote and sponsor a busy annual calendar of social, cultural, and recreational activities, both in and out of school.
The Student Executive Council (SEC) keeps everything running smoothly. This council consists of the Head Prefect, two Assistant Head Prefects, the House Captains, President of the SAC, President of SPARC, and the Grad Class President. The group meets weekly with the Head of School and Assistant Head of School - Campus Life to check the pulse of the campus.
Extracurricular Activities - Clubs and Organizations
- Chess Club
- Community Service
- Debate Club
- Foreign Language Clubs
- Model United Nations
- Photography
- Science Club
- Stock Market Analysis
- Student Activities Council (SAC)
- Student Executive Council (SEC)
- Student Peer Assistance Resource Counselors (SPARC)
- Brentwood Environmental Action Team (BEAT)
- Yearbook Publishing
Curriculum
Brentwood combines a challenging 21st century academic curriculum with traditional values and ethics. The Brentwood tripartite programme puts academics at the core of the curriculum, while creating extensive opportunities for all students to participate in athletics and the arts.
Students attend academic classes in the mornings, six days a week. They participate in athletics and the arts on alternative afternoons, then study and socialize on weekday evenings. A weekend programme of special events, dances, barbecues, movies, and off-campus outings provides students with the chance to take time out from a busy week. Add the boarding life curriculum, with its emphasis on leadership through service, and you have the framework of the Brentwood experience.
Although some Brentonians graduate at the top of their university classes, win Olympic medals, or perform at Carnegie Hall, most simply develop a lifelong commitment to critical thinking, physical fitness, and an appreciation of the arts.
Students discover a lot about themselves through their involvement in athletics and the arts. Becoming part of a team, understanding commitment to others, developing perseverance, overcoming fear and frustration, experiencing the rewards of seeing a process through: all are valuable life lessons.
A Comprehensive list of Our Programs
- Advanced Placement Courses
- Art History
- Biology
- Calculus
- Chemistry
- Computer Science
- English Language
- English Literature
- Environmental Science
- French Language
- Human Geography
- Macroeconomics
- Microeconomics
- Music Theory
- Physics
- Psychology
- Spanish Language
- Studio arts
- Athletic Programs
- Aerobics
- Badminton Basketball
- Cross Country Running
- Cross-training
- Field Hockey (girls only)
- Golf
- Ice hockey
- Judo
- Outdoor Pursuits (Kayaking, Canoeing, Hiking, Biking, Rock climbing, Survival skills)
- Rowing
- Sailing
- Squash
- Learn to Swim & Lifesaving
- Rugby
- Soccer
- Tennis
- Volleyball (girls only)
- Weight training
- Yoga
- Art Programs
- Acting and Musical theatre
- Art Foundation, Drawing, and Painting
- Audio engineering
- Choreography
- Concert Choir
- Creative Science
- Dance (Ballet, Tap dance, Jazz dance, Hip hop dance)
- Debating and Public speaking
- Digital art
- Digital and Traditional Photography
- Computer-aided Drafting and Design
- Environmental art
- Film
- Jazz Band Ensemble and Jazz Combo
- Photojournalism
- Pops orchestra
- Portfolio Program
- Private tuition: Piano, Voice, Music theory, Guitar, Harp, Percussion, Woodwinds, Brass,
- Strings
- Rock Band
- Sculpture
- Theatre Production
- Video journalism and Video production
University Placement
The match between student and university is the most important part of the selection process. Programmes, ambience, size, and location all need to be factored as the student considers where he or she will continue his or her education after Brentwood.
The university counseling team works with students, parents, and advisors to help students apply for admission to universities and colleges. Through self-evaluation, research, and counseling, students are helped to reach sound decisions regarding their future education. Almost 95% of our students proceed to university; the rest begin their post-secondary education at a college or by taking a "gap year" to work and travel.
Historical Overview
Brentwood was first founded in 1923. The original location was in Brentwood Bay near Saanich on Vancouver Island, from where its name was derived. The original school was destroyed by a fire in 1947, leaving only the chapel intact. The current school is located westward directly across the bay from the original site, in Mill Bay. The new version of the school opened in September 1961. In 1972, Brentwood College became the first all boys' boarding school in Canada to gradually integrate girls, starting with 20 grade 12 students, becoming officially co-ed for the fall session.
The Campus
Brentwood's oceanfront campus has an international reputation that matches its educational profile as one of the world's great boarding schools. Set on pristine oceanfront on the sheltered east coast of Vancouver Island, the 75-acre campus is private, but not isolated. Located just 40km north of Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia, the campus sits next to the village of Mill Bay, and is an hour's drive from four major ferry terminals and the Victoria International Airport. Stunning views on clear days to snow capped Mount Baker and Finlayson Arm create cherished memories for Brentonians.
Sustainable Buildings
Brentwood has been an energy sensitive school since the 1980s when we began using innovative heating and building control systems. Recent green initiatives have included campus-wide recycling centres, composting programs for each residence and the dining room, the use of Green Seal cleaning products, energy efficient lighting, and low flow plumbing fixtures. Brentwood is a registered ecoActive school through PITCH-IN Canada, the country’s largest non-profit organization working to preserve the environment by reducing waste.
This 20,000 square foot performing arts centre houses a theatre in addition to acting, dance, and singing facilities. This building uses a geothermal loop for heating and cooling as part of the school's commitment to sustainable energy. The T. Gill Bunch Centre was built in 1995.
The Art and Mary Jane Crooks Dining Hall and Student Centre, is our first LEED building and we hope to achieve LEED gold status, making us the fourth LEED Gold certified industrial/commercial building on Vancouver Island. Within Canada, only three schools are LEED certified.
Future green initiatives include:
- increasing recycling participation across campus,
- starting inter-house recycling and energy competitions in the residences,
- growing organic produce on campus,
- developing an oceanography program that can be conducted on our waterfront,
- strengthening our ties with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and
- continuing to teach our students about consumer ethics and the culture of disposability.
Brentwood Rowing
Brentwood has hosted its own regatta annually since the early 1970s, inviting high schools and junior clubs across Canada and the United States to participate in a 1500 metre sprint. The regatta is held every year in April for three days. The Brentwood regatta is the largest high school rowing regatta in North America, attracting over 1500 athletes and 3000 spectators.
Brentwood College has been continuing to gain a sound reputation in the rowing world. Brentwood College graduates include 2008 Beijing Olympic medalists Scott Frandsen (Class of 1998), Dave Calder (Class of 1996) in the Men's Heavyweight 2- event, and Malcolm Howard (Class of 2001) in the Men's Heavyweight 8+ event.
Learn More
Mailing address
Brentwood College School
2735 Mount Baker Road
Mill Bay, BC, Canada V0R 2P1
Contact details
Phone: (250) 743-5521
Fax: (250) 743-2911
admissions@brentwood.bc.ca
Website
www.brentwood.bc.ca
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