Fredericton High School



Fredericton High School is a high school in the city of Fredericton in New Brunswick, Canada. It is the oldest English high school in Canada, founded in 1800.

History
When the city of Fredericton was initially laid out in 1758 city planners set aside a plot of land in the downtown region that was intended to become a school. That school was incorporated in 1800 as the College of New Brunswick and intended to be a boarding school, patterned after the boys' public schools in England. In 1829 when King's College opened in Fredericton, the school was renamed to the Collegiate Grammar School, and supported by the College. In 1871, the Free School Act was enacted, and the school again changed its name, this time to Collegiate High School. At this time it became a preparatory school for King's College, which by then had become the University of New Brunswick. From 1872 to 1889 the Headmaster was the distinguished educator George R. Parkin.

In 1893, a new building was erected on the corner of York and George streets and the name of the school was changed to Fredericton High School. The graduating class of that year chose yellow and black as the official school colors.

In 1925, the school moved to another new building which was constructed on the corner of Regent and George streets. Numerous annexes were added to the building to accommodate an ever increasing number of students. Eventually a new complex needed to be built on Prospect street on the south hill area of town, and by 1972 all school operations were moved there. This new complex contains 6 buildings and includes a large outdoor sports complex (One of the largest in Canada) featuring 5 soccer fields, 1 football field and 1 outdoor running field. Other outdoor sport fields in the complex are tennis and volleyball. Inside the school contains 1 main gym, 2 side gyms, 1 auxiliary gym and a weight room. The Fredericton High School Hockey team uses the Lady Beaverbrook rink as the home rink. The school has 3 main two floors in 3 side buildings and 1 floor in the technology building. The main building known as the C building contains 3 floors. The C building contains the Mathematics Dept., Science Dept., English Dept., Social Studies Dept,. and Visual Arts. Many secondary departments are also stationed there such French Second and First Language Depts. The B building contains the Music Dept. and the Tom Morrison Theater. The Tom Morrison Theater and The cafeteria/food court area are considered to be part of both the A building and the B building as they act as the connectors to the two buildings. The A building is the fitness building. It contains all 3 gymnasiums as well as the guidance offices. The F building is a bookable building as it contains technology labs which the teachers may book at if available. Other side buildings are auxiliary. The building on Regent and George streets would become George Street Junior High School later renamed George Street Middle School.

For a time, FHS had the distinction of having the largest student body of any high school in the Commonwealth of Nations. In 1999, a second high school, Leo Hayes High School, was constructed on the north side of the city, across the Saint John River, to further accommodate the number of students. LHHS is currently a school under separate administration even though it is sometimes said to be a campus of FHS. A student may request a transfer from one school to another without hassle. Some courses are unavailable at LHHS therefore they may have some afternoon or morning courses at FHS. A bus runs every lunch hour from LHHS taking students to and from FHS. FHS currently has a student body of over 1900 students, and a staff of over 150 teachers.

In September 2006, Fredericton High School hosted the 22nd Canadian Student Leadership Conference, a national gathering of student leaders and teachers from across Canada.

School song
The schools song was written by Roberta Douglas.

Notable alumni

 * Measha Brueggergosman, Opera singer.
 * Bliss Carman Poet
 * Marianne Limpert Olympic Silver Medalist Swimmer.
 * Dan McCullough, B.C Lions Long Snapper
 * Sir Charles G.D. Roberts Poet
 * Francis Sherman Poet
 * Matt Stairs, Major League Baseball Right Fielder, Philadelphia Phillies, 2008 World Series Champion