Search the Community

Collingwood School opened its doors on September 10, 1984. The School was founded by an intrepid group of parents seeking an excellent education for their children. Their vision became a reality through their efforts, and their commitment to excellence prevails to this day throughout the Collingwood community. A Collingwood School education creates infinite opportunities for our students to excel. Our Four Strand approach—academics, athletics, arts, and service— is delivered through university preparatory programs that are collaborative, interdisciplinary, relevant, and pioneering. Our graduates will join the global community as critical thinkers who are resilient, socially conscious, and prepared to make the most of their opportunities. Knowing our students is integral to understanding them, motivating them, supporting them, and making wise choices while working with them. Every Collingwood student is known well by several adults at the School — not just their names, but importantly, their nature. These significant connections enable our faculty and staff to teach with more precision, counsel with more confidence, empathize with more insight, and direct with more meaning. Hundreds of times a year, teachers meet with their students with no other agenda than discussing their welfare and progress. Through considerable cross-referencing based on firsthand knowledge, we put rational plans in place for each student's success. These plans work because we know our students very well. Once we accept students into the School, we accept the responsibility to care unconditionally for them as if they were our children. This commitment to care is centered around teachers but extends to every member of the faculty, support staff, and administration. We have a tacit yet steadfast contract with our parents: ensure that the young people entrusted to our care are safe, valued, respected, surrounded by good role models, and given every possibility to succeed solely through their merit. Simply put, we are not just about how Amin and Ava are doing in math but also how they are doing in life. We know a school is only as good as its professional teaching faculty. We pour significant resources in recruiting, retaining, and refreshing our teachers. We look for teachers who are captivating technicians in the classroom and passionate advocates for their subject. Importantly, we also search for teachers who buy into a culture that says their influence and duty does not end at 3:15 p.m. Collingwood teachers embrace the long hours and the unglamorous parts of the job because they like the intrinsic thrill of changing young lives. Once we have the right teachers, we safeguard these incredible assets by ensuring they are adequately paid, celebrated often, and given exciting and relevant opportunities to grow professionally. We are in a vital collaboration with our parents. Like all moms and dads, we want the best — in the broadest sense — for the children entrusted to us for six or seven hours a day. This association is symbiotic and symbolic, and children need to know that home and school are on the same team. Fundamentally, Collingwood needs parental support to be active, and parents need Collingwood communication to be supportive. There can be no surprises and no confusing messages when it comes to home and school dialogue. It all comes down to timely, honest communication — most of which pivots around a reliable guidance and counseling system at Collingwood. What we do as educators are neither minor nor easy. School is only one factor in a child's development, but we know we can have a profound effect on children, and we choose to do it without fanfare or pretension. We openly concede we do not have all the answers in dealing with young people and retain faculty and staff who embrace the inherent peaks and valleys in dealing with kids. Our faculty and staff genuinely enjoy working with young people, because it is fulfilling, fun, often unpredictable, and at times noble. All children have an equal right to be valued and nurtured as individuals. As educators, our mission is to provide a secure environment that fosters children's natural curiosities and encourages them to become independent learners. Through a negotiated curriculum and in close collaboration with parents, we celebrate each child's unique contributions. The early years of a child's education are foundational in developing a love of learning, care, and compassion for others and an open and creative mind. Our dynamic early childhood educators provide many opportunities for children to construct their identities socially and emotionally while also building a strong classroom community that reinforces a child's sense of belonging. The environment is designed for the free flow of activities to spark children's imaginations and take their enthusiasm for learning to new levels. We value play, creative expression, exploring and interacting with nature, and have many opportunities to take part in excursions beyond the classroom. Our early primary program evolves through a project-based, inquiry approach that varies according to the children's interests. We realize the importance of providing a nurturing, inspiring environment, rich with opportunities for discovery for the youngest members of our school community. Students learn in a secure, vibrant, and enriching atmosphere where a strong school spirit, a sense of belonging, and pride of accomplishment prevail. With a dedicated faculty, all students participate in Academics, Arts, Athletics, and Service — our Four Strands — which are essential to a good education and a well-rounded citizen. Ranked as one of the top five university preparatory schools in British Columbia, Collingwood retains a national reputation for speech and debate, the performing arts, outdoor education, local and global service projects, and a fully developed Advanced Placement program. View full school

Collingwood School is a warm and welcoming preparatory school where we encourage care, courtesy, and consideration towards each other. The children are nurtured and encouraged to do their very best at all times. We provide a stimulating environment in all areas where our pupils can be challenged by new and exciting topics and learning adventures. Collingwood enjoys a strong academic, musical, and sporting reputation with healthy competition encouraged through the House system comprising four Houses Drake, Haig, Nelson, and Wellington. In their final year, pupils take pleasure in taking on additional responsibilities when Heads of House are appointed, along with School prefects and a Head Boy and Head Girl. Through a variety of inter-house competitions, they learn to be generous winners and gracious losers. We get to know our pupils as individuals, and they are known by every member of staff. They thrive in our school community and grow in confidence, fully prepared for the next part of their adventure as they enter their chosen senior school. We know that choosing the right school for your child is one of the most important decisions that a parent can make. Parents place their trust in us when they place their child in our care and we then have the privilege to see that child thrive and grow. A parent’s priority is the happiness, well-being, and achievement of their child and that is also our priority here at Collingwood School. Collingwood is a happy, vibrant, and truly nurturing school. The atmosphere here is one in which our children feel secure, supported, and valued. It is a place where our boys and girls are also challenged to be the best that they can be. Beyond the high academic expectations, our pupils are inspired to develop their talents in arts, music, and sports. We offer a broad education, within small classes, which caters for children from Nursery to age 11 of all abilities, and allows us to tailor the experience to suit each child’s individual needs and celebrate each child’s success. Care and consideration for each other and for the world in which we live are central to our ethos. The traditional values of courtesy and good manners also underpin our whole philosophy as we prepare our children for their future in an ever-changing world. We aim for all pupils to become responsible, independent, and resilient young citizens. We are proud of every one of our boys and girls and they are proud to be part of our school. Three words that underpin the philosophy here at Collingwood School are Care, Courtesy, and Consideration. Our aim is that when children leave our school at the end of Year 6 they are confident, polite and thoughtful. We aim to help them become well-rounded, both academically and sportingly, and self-assured with the confidence to feel excitement for the next stage of their education. We encourage children to recognize the importance of living in a community and the sharing and consideration required to work with others. Our PSHE program reinforces these values and the children are encouraged to talk during our weekly Circle Time sessions about working together. Opportunities at Collingwood help to support key principles and ideals so that the children are aware of the importance of good manners and attentiveness to others. We love hearing from ex-Collingwood pupils who invariably contact us later on in life and regale fond memories of when they were here and it’s a pleasure to see the values that were instilled in them carry on throughout their careers. Our School Aims: To bring out the best in each child by encouraging individual talents in a wide range of fields, including academic, music, sport, art, and drama. To provide a high-quality education that is enjoyable, stimulating, and fun. To ensure that Collingwood has a caring and nurturing environment within a happy and friendly community. To develop a love of learning within a structured, broad, and balanced curriculum so that each pupil is confident in his or her ability. To develop a pupil’s learning skills by encouraging a sense of curiosity, open-mindedness, perseverance, objectivity, reflection, and critical thinking. To instill values and opinions within the context of mutual respect and understanding of differing belief systems and cultures in Britain. To enable pupils of all abilities to develop knowledge, skills, and understanding in all areas of the curriculum to furnish them with as much choice as possible when selecting schools for their further education at 11+. The qualities of care, courtesy, and consideration underpin our philosophy and we promote good manners, thoughtfulness, confidence, and attentiveness towards others. We recognize the importance of being part of a community and of the sharing, trust, and consideration required to work with others. The uniqueness of every child is celebrated and the curriculum reflects the needs of every pupil through a love of physical, active, creative, and academic activities. Coupled with a positive partnership with parents we can maximize the potential in each child. View full school