Study Bedroom
When the School began in 1916, the boys slept in large dormitories with approximately 10 beds in each. After fire levelled the School and a new School (the Main Building) was built, the large dormitory format continued. Initially, boys did prep in the dining room; later they did prep in their house common rooms, and later still in the Classroom Block.
After a 1968 fire, new dormitories were built for Copeman’s House, Groves’ House and the newly formed Lonsdale’s House. The design was a dramatic departure from the multiple-bed dormitory, built instead in a new, modern style: Study Bedrooms. These new “Hill Houses” opened in the fall of 1969, and they had smaller rooms, containing beds or bunk beds for 2-4 boys, and a desk for each boy. This afforded the boys much more privacy and an opportunity to decorate the walls with things such as posters or flags to make it their unique space – more like home. As you can see from the photo, they also added turntables and speakers to play music, which never would have been possible in the former larger dormitories. This was quite a remarkable change.
The two Houses remaining in the Main Building – Ripley’s and Lake’s – were renovated over a two-year period starting in the summer of 1969 to ensure that all boys would live in Study Bedrooms. The rooms offered a more comfortable haven for sleeping, relaxing, and studying, and were a welcome place to call “home” in a boarding school. All new dorms built since that time have used this model.
The information presented in this write-up is based on current information available in the School's Archives and consultation with key people who have some relevant connection to this "object." If you have further information about this "object" that you would like to contribute, please contact the School’s Advancement Office at alumni@shawnigan.ca.
The two Houses remaining in the Main Building – Ripley’s and Lake’s – were renovated over a two-year period starting in the summer of 1969 to ensure that all boys would live in Study Bedrooms. The rooms offered a more comfortable haven for sleeping, relaxing, and studying, and were a welcome place to call “home” in a boarding school. All new dorms built since that time have used this model.
The information presented in this write-up is based on current information available in the School's Archives and consultation with key people who have some relevant connection to this "object." If you have further information about this "object" that you would like to contribute, please contact the School’s Advancement Office at alumni@shawnigan.ca.
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Shawnigan Lake School is an independent co-educational boarding school for ages 13 –18 on Canada’s beautiful West Coast. Our diverse, interdisciplinary and innovative programming helps shape the next generation of global leaders.
