More than 1,000 students at the old Cowichan Secondary School on James Street gathered all their belongings on Feb. 3 and headed to the new $86.7 million Quw’utsun Secondary School, located close by on University Way.
The move, which took place during the first snow storm of the year with the RCMP blocking off the roads between the two schools to ensure the students arrived at the new facility safely, is the culmination of many years of lobbying by officials in School District 79 and politicians from all levels of government.
Teacher Art Laughland, who had taught at Cowichan Secondary School for the past 34 years and will continue his teaching career at Quw’utsun Secondary School, reminded the students as they left the old building that many of their siblings, parents and grandparents had attended the school during its more than 70-year history.
“There has been lots of history and memories made here over the years, and that means a lot,” he told the students. “You are now heading to a beautiful new school and you should be appreciative of the government and taxpayers for it. This is a big moment for all of us and it’s something that we’ll be reflecting on for many years to come. Rub the walls on your way out and give this school an affectionate goodbye. I’ll see you on the other side.”
The old school, which was built seven years before the first satellite circled the Earth, had been a centrepiece of Duncan for decades, but is now ancient and considered unsafe.
The school will be closed and the school district plans to sell the building and the property.
Former Education Minister Rob Fleming visited the old school just before Christmas in 2019 and announced to the students and faculty during an assembly in the gym that the government was going to move forward with the construction of the new and long anticipated Quw’utsun Secondary School.
At the time, the cost of the facility was estimated to be $82.2 million, with the province covering $80 million and the district kicking in $2.2 million, but costs had risen since then.
Cathy Schmidt, chair of the Cowichan Valley School District who attended the old school, as well as her parents, was there for the big move. She said the opening of the new school is the most exciting day in her job on the school board, as it is for the other school trustees in the district.
“It’s great to see 1,100 students heading off to their new place of learning for the first time,” Schmidt said. “We’ve all been waiting a long time for this.”
The new state-of-the-art three-storey Quw’utsun Secondary School is approximately 11,975 square metres and built for 1,100 students, with the ability to expand to house 1,500 students with the addition of new classrooms.
The large and spacious building, which is covered in glass, has classrooms, labs and workshops that have been supplied with the latest equipment.
Declan Winter, a Grade 11 student who will spend the next year-and-a-half at Quw’utsun Secondary School before he graduates, said he finds the new facility “really cool.”
“There’s certainly lots of glass and I’m not sure how well that will age, but the school is very modern and has everything we need,” he said.
