New Cornwall high school to continue old CCVS name

BROCKVILLE – The new high school set to open in Cornwall by September 2029 will have a very old familiar name.

Upper Canada District School Board trustees approved to name the new school Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School. CCVS is the name of one of the two high schools to close when the new school opens. The replacement school completes the choices made by trustees in 2017 when they voted to close or consolidate several schools.

At that time, the UCDSB chose a plan to consolidate St. Lawrence Secondary School and CCVS into one new central school. For years, the board struggled to find a location that was considered central and large enough to build the school. That changed last year when the board closed on three properties near the corner of Marleau Avenue and Nick Kaneb Drive in Cornwall’s east end.

At the March 4 meeting, board treasurer Jeremy Hobbs said it was important to maintain the Cornwall high school’s legacy.

Ward 8 Trustee (Cornwall) David McDonald said the board has had to adapt to there being more choices for families to send their children to.

“We are right-sizing things now with the one school model for Cornwall,” he said.

Ward 1 Trustee (Lanark) and UCDSB vice-chair Lynda Johnston spoke out against the use of “vocational school” in the new/old Cornwall school name saying it reflected a time when there were two or more tiers to Ontario’s high schools.

During the 2017 school closure discussions, it was revealed that should CCVS close or the name not continue, it would affect the Dr. Arthur and Anna Battista Scholarships at the school.

Trustees were required to deviate from current policy of school naming to approve the reuse of a name. In other school consolidations, a new name was selected to better integrate the students and staff from the old schools to the new school. This was done in Brockville, Avonmore, and in Cornwall with elementary school consolidations.

The two schools that will merge have long standing names in the history of the city.

CCVS was founded as the Cornwall Grammar School in 1806 by Reverend Dr. John Strachan, and became a public high school later. Strachan later became the first Bishop of Toronto.

St. Lawrence Secondary School opened in 1950 and was one of the only schools in the province to offer French and English instruction under one roof. The school moved to its present site on Second Street East near where the new school will be built in 1973 when the English and French