New buildings and big changes coming for English schools in Quebec City region
South shore gets its first English elementary school, while St. Pat's and QHS merge
Two brand new English schools will be built in the Quebec City region in the coming years, a first in more than half-a-century.
St. Vincent Elementary School in Sainte-Foy will be moved to a new $10.3-million building in Lévis, becoming the first public English school on the south shore.
Meanwhile the land on which St. Vincent was built in 1956 will be used to house a new high school, which will bring together students from St. Patrick's High School and Quebec High School (QHS).
More than half of the 500 students who attend St-Vincent are bussed in from Lévis, which means some children are spending more than two-and-a-half hours a day in transit.
"When you arrive at school and [you've been on a bus for an hour-and-a-half], are you that open to learning?" said principal Micheline Gagné, calling the announcement "wonderful news for the English community of Quebec."
Once the new school is built, around 2020, students who live in Quebec City will have to enrol in one of the other three English elementary schools in the city.
Equal opportunity
Deborah Cornforth, a parent commissioner at the Central Quebec School Board, said the announcement made by Education Minister Sébastien Proulx on Thursday came as a welcome surprise.
"It's been a dream of ours for two years now and never did we think it would happen so quickly," said Cornforth, whose two daughters both attend St. Vincent.
She is expecting enrolment will increase when parents on the south shore find out they won't have to send their kids on long bus rides anymore.
More students will want to attend the new English high school Cornforth said, because equipment and programs will be on the same level as those offered in French school boards.
"When you get to Grade 6, sometimes you look at the other schools around and they look a lot more enticing than the two schools we have here. So this is amazing news," said Cornforth.
Old rivalries
Cornforth said the historic rivalry between St. Patrick's and QHS isn't as fierce as it used to be. She believes joining the school's two cultures will work out for the best.
"We'll be able to offer so many more programs to our kids because we'll have stronger enrolment," she said.
The province has earmarked $2 million to plan the construction of the new high school, estimated to cost more than $50 million overall.
The vice-chairman of the Central Quebec School Board, Jean Robert, said he thinks the merge will be welcomed because the idea came from parents, not the board.
"The time is right," said Robert.
St. Pat's moved to its current building in 1919, while QHS was built in 1940.
These older buildings are difficult to renovate said Robert, because gymnasiums and classrooms are small and sometimes only outfitted with one electric outlet.
He believes when it comes time for families to choose a school, the board will have much more to offer.
As to what name the new school will bear, that ground is still too slippery.
"I'm not touching that one," said Robert with a laugh.
The Quebec government announced more than $2.3 billion in school investments across the province, including $608 million for new constructions and expansions.
The other $1.6 billion will go toward maintenance and renovations.