News & updates

List of 5 news stories.

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  Amazing Race Kicks off Beyond the Gates

  9/12/2025
  Beyond the Gates is a crucial and unique part of the Grade 9 curriculum at Shawnigan, and we waste no time getting students involved as soon as the school year starts.

   

  This year’s BTG programming kicked off on Tuesday with the Amazing Race – a competition that incorporated many of the skills students will need and some of the challenges they may face over the course of the year.

   

  The five challenges – building tents, carrying a stretcher, plant identification, orienteering, and decoding a cipher – were designed to test them on five different BTG-related skills: endurance, problem-solving, teamwork, collaboration, and navigation. It was also a chance for the students to have fun, get to know each other, and explore the campus.

   
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  Time to Choose: 360 Fair

  9/12/2025
  With more than 30 diverse options to choose from for their 360 (arts and activities), students can really benefit from first-hand knowledge of what those choices entail.

   

  The 360 Fair, held in the Quad during the first week of every school year, gives students a chance to see and explore what their options are, usually with hands-on elements. For Astronomy Imaging & Outreach, that might include peering through a telescope at the heavens. For Rock Band, that could mean sitting behind a drum kit and banging out a rhythm. Instructors and senior students pull out the stops to bring in new participants, and this year was no exception.

   

  “The fair was amazing,” said Assistant Head Co-Curricular Mr. Nigel Mayes, who oversees 360. “Students and instructors went all out, and it was very interactive.”

   
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  Summer Sports Roundup

  9/5/2025
  Over the weekend before they returned to school in earnest, many students were back on campus for pre-season sport camps, getting reacquainted and preparing for the upcoming ice hockey, field hockey and volleyball seasons.

   

  As those athletes settle into their fall routines, it is also an opportunity to celebrate the many successes our current students, alumni and staff members achieved during the summer in a wide array of sports.

   

  At the Canada Summer Games in Newfoundland and Labrador, Emma N. helped BC’s U18 girls to gold in rugby, while alum Jonty Nicholas and coach Mr. John Tait were part of BC’s silver-medal U20 men’s rugby team. Will E. helped BC to bronze in boys’ soccer, and Logan J. was part of Saskatchewan’s boys’ rugby team.

   
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  University and AP Highlights

  9/5/2025
  As the 2025-26 school year begins at Shawnigan and at universities around the world, we are celebrating the success of those students who are moving on to the post-secondary ranks, as well as that of both graduates and returning students in AP exams.

   

  The School had 152 graduates in 2025, up from 140 in 2024. Of those grads, 139 (91.5 percent) are starting university this fall, while 13 (8.5 percent) are taking a gap year, mostly to play a sport. The most popular programs for students entering universities were – in order – social sciences, business/commerce, STEM, and health sciences. Students submitted an average of five applications per student, with 69 percent resulting in offers of admission. That was a significant jump from recent trends; 58 percent of applications resulted in offers in 2024, 59 percent in 2023, and 57 percent in 2022.

   

  Of the students who opted to go straight into university, 84 (60 percent) are attending universities in Canada, followed by the US (16 percent), and the UK (14 percent), with the remainder heading to Australia, Spain, Mexico, Japan, Switzerland and Cyprus, for a total of 68 different universities across nine countries. The most popular individual universities were the University of Victoria (16), the University of Toronto (10), the University of BC (9), UBC Okanagan (6) and St. Andrews University (6). The Class of 2025 received more than $4.2 million in offers of financial aid.

   
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  A Symbol of Gratitude and Reconciliation

  6/23/2025
  Visitors to the Shawnigan campus will be welcomed by a beautiful new totem pole donated by graduating student Hannah F. (Kiiyuukh) and her family, which was unveiled in a moving ceremony on Monday, June 16, which included a traditional blanketing ceremony for Hannah.

   

  “This pole stands as a marker, a beacon, and a statement of our school’s commitment to walking alongside Indigenous peoples,” said Indigenous Community Engagement Coordinator Mr. Clay Panga as he opened the ceremony. “It reflects our support for community and reconciliation, not just in words, but in action.”

   

  The carving was donated by Hannah and her family as a gift to the School, a symbol of gratitude for the support and love the School gave to her during a time of great loss. It was created through a mentorship program funded by the First Peoples' Cultural Council in which Hannah learned under her cousin Hjalmer Wenstob (Tleḥpik).

   
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