Brentwood College School - Brentonian Yearbook (Mill Bay, British Columbia Canada)

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Philip Arnoldi and Geoff Bowes in Billy Budd BRENTWOOD RECONSTITUTED The idea of Brentwood came into being during a two week period in 1959 when Dr. Maurice Young and I were on a committee of selection for cadets for Royal Rhodes. We were both in the navy at the time and he suggested that I leave the service and restart his old school. It had been burned down in 1947 and now all that remained was the Old Boys ' Association which met o nce a year. I got a list of old boys from him, took two weeks leave from the navy and saw about 100 people in Vancouver and Victoria. From these I got commitments from ten and the Board of Governors was put into operation. We registered the name Brentwood College the day before a competitor did and the search for a school was on. We looked at many places, including the old site, which was not subdivided with houses on it. Ultimately we came up with building which had been the Queen Alexandra Solarium. It was in terrible condition, part of it having been pulled down with the wreckage remaining on the ground. However we saw the prospects in it and purchased it for $100,000. Today the plant is worth $10,000,000. The First Day The first day was the most unusual day of my whole life. I had 90 boys in hand, I had 90 mothers all in floods of tears and I had 90 fathers running around thrusting money in my hand. If I had had the good sense to take off at that moment I would have retired comfortably. The boys were quickly given over to Mr. Bunch, who arranged that they clean windows, both inside and out, and shortly young bodies were draped around the ancient building in the most dangerous of positions. During the first term we managed to operate in the two buildings which we had taken over. Where the Bursary now is was Ellis House and in what is now Alexandra House was Hope House. They served admirably, though with some vital lacks such as doors and bedroom furniture. The academic programme started in grades 8 through 11, and all proceeded reasonably smoothly. For sports we used to run up to the fields of Kilmalu Road and practise our rugby there. Because of the manure left by the cows that inhabited the fields, we became very adept at side- stepping. We played against the third XV ' s of the other schools. The second year we built what is now the classroom block and what until recently was the gymnasium. The classroom block acted as a house, the classrooms being divided into two, four boys occupying each room. Again, we lacked doors. One wonders what the boys thought of their lack of privacy. During this year we expanded the student population from 90 to 140 boys and, at this time we played rugby against second XV ' s of other schools. The next addition to the school buildings came in 1965 when Whittall House was built and then, after this in 1967, the laboratories were erected. In 1967 the school underwent an evaluation by Dr. L. Downey from UBC and, as a result of his recommendations, a considerable building programme was undertaken, being completed in 1969. At this time the auditorium, the dining room, Ellis and Privett Houses were completed. At this time, too, we

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subsequently asked the Old Boys Association whether he could call his new school Brentwood College. By this time the name was no longer registered and so the Old Boys had no authority to grant this request but gave him their blessing. Due to circumstances which shall not be related, there was a further memorable meeting of a group of Old Boys when the whole project hung in the balance, but after a long evening of discussion it was decided that the Board of Governors of the proposed school would be made up solely of Old Boys. Then came the search for a suitable site and in spite of the not inconsiderable financial problems the old Queen Alexandra Solarium for Crippled Children was purchased and the school opened with 92 boys in 1961 under rather rugged and relatively primitive conditions with no heating for the first few weeks so that the boys are reported to have slept in their track suits for warmth. And here you are — but in accommodation and with facilities far removed from the original, thanks to the loyalty, devotion and sheer hard work of the masters, the staff, the original boys of the new school, and many others who have rendered assistance and support. And what, you may ask at this point, has this to do with the present theme? It would appear to me that, but for that group of Old Boys, there might not have been a phoenix, a new Brentwood arising from the ashes, like the sacred bird of Egyptian mythology, young and vigorous and more beautiful. They indeed followed their motto De Manu in Manum and handed on the torch.

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began discussing the prospect of co- education. In 1971 Rogers House was completed and in 1972 we took our first class of girls into the school. There were only 17 that first year. and now there are 80. At this time, too, the student population had grown to well over 350, and what had formerly been Hope House and Ellis House were changed to Alexandra House and the Annex where the girls were accommodated. Brentwood had certainly come a long way in 15 years. D.D. Mackenzie The Brigade