London Central Secondary School

London Central Secondary School is a public secondary school located at the corner of Dufferin Avenue and Waterloo Street in downtown London, Ontario. It is a member of the Thames Valley District School Board. It has approximately 1000 students in full attendance, ranging from grades nine to twelve. London Central Secondary School is noted for its academic excellence. It has recently been ranked the number one public high school in the province of Ontario, and it has been consistently ranked in the top five high schools in the province based on standardized test scores. The school mascot is the Golden Ghost.

History

Being the oldest school in the city, Central has a history that can be traced back to a Grammar School of 1826-1926 near the forks of the Thames River. When this Grammar School became too small, a Union School was erected. The Union School was renamed Central School in 1865; however, the school was razed in 1890 when other schools were able to accommodate Central students.

London Collegiate Institute was constructed on its present site in 1877; the school was destroyed by fire in 1920.

In 1922, the new London Central Collegiate Institute was officially opened. It was enlarged in 1962 and again in 1968. Central celebrated its centennial in 1977. Construction of an addition including new weight room, elevator and conference room was completed in August 1993. Further extensive renovations took place during 1995-1996 which fully modernized Central’s building, made it mostly wheelchair accessible, and incorporated a school-wide computer network for students. The school's gym has recently been renovated, replacing the original tile flooring with hardwood. Instead of just taking out the old floor and putting the new one in, the school ran into a dilemma. The old tile flooring was literally the ceiling for the basement. So instead, they placed the new wood flooring over the old tile flooring making it look as if they did in fact remove the tiles. Once the school found out they were putting the new floor over the old, students and teachers came into the gym at random times throughout the day, and drew messages to a late student, Alex Vlach, who had died from cancer earlier in the year.

From 1979 until 1999, London Central was the host to the Module scolaire de langue française (MSLF) - the first public French first language high school in London, Ont. Before the 1998-1999 school year, the MSLF became École secondaire Gabriel-Dumont and it moved into a new Le Centre Desloges (CDL) for the start of the 1999-2000 school year. Until the move the students in the MSLF had been fully integrated in life at Central, participating as Golden Ghosts in music, drama and sports. Students from the MSLF were often elected to Central students’ council, including student council president.

London Central has a long tradition as being one of the strongest public high schools in the country. Central's Reach for the Top team came second nationally last year. The music program is nationally recognizable, with both wind, string, and jazz ensembles placing in the top three in provincial competitions. Additionally, the Senior Jazz Ensemble has earned Gold Standings at the National MusicFest on numerous occasions. Additionally the London Central Secondary school chess team was the highest performing in Ontario winning every tournament they attended including the Ontario Provincials.^[3]

Programs

Music

London Central Secondary School has one of the largest and most dominant music programs in the city. About half of the student population is in the music program at Central. Opportunities for students include the Junior Band, Intermediate Band, Senior Band, Wind Ensemble, Junior Stage Band, Senior Jazz Band, Junior String Orchestra, Intermediate String Orchestra, Senior String Orchestra, Intermediate Symphony Orchestra, Senior Symphony Orchestra, Junior Chamber Orchestra, Senior Chamber Orchestra, Senior String Quartet, Chamber Choir, Concert Choir, Senior Brass Quartet, Intermediate Percussion Ensemble, and Alumni Band. The program has during the past five years won every single competition at the Kiwanis Music Festival at least once, placed in the top three in dozens of provincial competitions, and received Gold and Silver Medals at national festivals.

The department is led by one of the country's most experienced teaching staff, as well as a parents group - the Golden Ghosts Music Parents Association (GGMPA) - and a student Music Council.

Athletics

While primarily known for academic success, London Central Secondary School has also had a rich athletic history, starting with football during the early years of the school. It was written in the London Free Press that during the city championship football game the Central players seemed to move through the defense like ghosts. This is where the term Central Golden Ghosts was derived. Since then there have been successes in basketball, soccer and football. In 1998, the Central senior boys basketball team went undefeated going on to win the city championship. Most recently soccer has taken the center stage as both the boys and girls teams have won championships at the greater London area level. Football has also enjoyed great success with London Central bringing home the junior football AAA championship in 2005 & 2014.^[4]

Notable alumni

• Thalia Assuras, Anchorwoman for CBS;
• Karen Baldwin, Miss Universe, 1982;
• Murray Barr, Physician and medical researcher;
• The Essentials, a cappella group (two of five founding members Joon Nah & Joe Oliva);
• Max Ferguson, CBC Radio personality (Rawhide)
• Jessie Fleming, soccer player: Canada's Women's National Team;
• Victor Garber, Actor;
• Natalie Glebova, Miss Universe, 2005;
• Jenny Jones, daytime talk show host. She also attended Clarke Road Secondary School;
• Rebecca Liddiard, Actress;
• Edgar Sydney Little, Senator
• Luke Macfarlane, Actor;
• David Peterson, the twentieth Premier of Ontario;
• John Robarts, the seventeenth Premier of Ontario;
• Shad, Hip Hop Artist, CBC Radio Host "Q"
• David Suzuki, geneticist, environmental and civil rights activist

See also

• List of high schools in Ontario

References

1. ↑ "Welcome to London Central S.S.". hames Valley District School Board. Retrieved 7 June 2016. 
2. ↑ "Secondary School Student Enrolment" (PDF). Thames Valley District School Board. 2012-10-31. Retrieved 2013-05-05. 
3. ↑ http://ontario.compareschoolrankings.org/secondary/London_Central_Secondary_School/London/Report_Card.aspx
4. ↑ http://www.tvraa.com/displayAnnualChampions.php

External links

• London Central Secondary School website
• School Council Website