Head's Welcome

Head of School's Welcome

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Welcome to Shawnigan! Our responsibility as staff here at Shawnigan is to support and inspire our students – with our values-based education at the heart of our teaching – so that they can achieve their potential and live fulfilling lives.

Shawnigan Lake School's mission and values are inseparable from the fact that we are first and foremost a co-educational boarding school; a welcoming community whose aim it is to prepare our young men and women equally for independent and inspiring futures through the means of a well-balanced, holistic education.

Five hundred students, representing over thirty nations, come together each year to live and study in this unparalleled setting on the edge of Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver Island. We encourage all students to develop an understanding of and commitment to the people, the place and the heritage of Canada, British Columbia and Shawnigan. At the same time, we challenge ourselves each year to be relevant, purposeful and of service in a changing and increasingly global world.

The conversations, connections, sense of community, and friendships forged through these shared experiences are, I believe, part of the magic of our School.

On this website, we will try to give you a sense of who we are and what we do – and we hope that your exploration of these pages will lead you to visit us in real time and to meet the people who together create this unique and remarkable community at Shawnigan.

I look forward to meeting you.

Richard D A Lamont
Head of School

Head's office

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Richard Lamont

Head of School

Bio
Larry studied at Winchester College, one of England's oldest boarding schools, and holds qualifications from the universities of London, Cambridge and Oxford and is a teacher of English Literature. He was Head of the English Department and then Head of Upper School and a member of the Senior Management Team at Marlborough College (one of the foremost co-educational boarding schools in England). During this time and as part of a teacher exchange, he worked for a term (2009) in the English Department at UWC Waterford Kamhlaba (Swaziland), which gave him his first insight into the educational model and philosophy of the United World Colleges.

From 2012 to 2018, Larry was Rektor (Head) of UWC Red Cross Nordic (Norway), a co-educational boarding school in the fjords with students from over 85 countries.

Larry has a background in experiential and expeditionary learning, and has co-led school expeditions to many parts of the world—from cultural tours of Cuba to wilderness trails in the iMfolozi and Drakensberg reserves in South Africa. He is a keen team sportsman, skier and fly fisherman and an experienced cricket and field hockey coach.

Larry was appointed to the position of Headmaster of Shawnigan Lake School in August 2017 and moved with his family—Kathini, Poppy, Phoebe and two whippets—in July 2018.

When not on campus, he can be found exploring and fishing rivers on Vancouver Island.
Sheryl Nicholas

Director of the Head's Office

250-743-6205
Melody Vouriot

Executive Assistant

250-743-6202

Email the Head's Office at: Executiveoffice@shawnigan.ca

Team Organizational Charts

Head's Reflection

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Celebrating "Chicago"
2/20/2025

Saturday, February 8, 2025

Dear Chicago cast and crew,

It was such an absolute joy to be in the McPherson Playhouse on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.

There was so much energy, imagination and creativity bubbling through the musical: the choreography of performers, the personality brought to each main character, the live orchestra (with Desi S. conducting some songs), the superbly conceived set and stagecraft, the artwork and banners in the foyer, and much more.

It was a wonderful performance.

So many audience members caught me at intermission or afterwards to say how proud I must be – as Head of Shawnigan – of the dramatics arts at Shawnigan, and of our musical cast, crew and staff.

I most certainly am.

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