Halifax West High School


Halifax West High School is a public senior high school in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. The school serves students in grades 9–12 and is operated by the Halifax Regional Centre for Education. Its campus on Thomas Raddall Drive in Clayton Park West opened in January 2003, replacing the original 1958 building in Fairview.
Halifax West is an International Baccalaureate World School authorized to offer the IB Diploma Programme since 2007, alongside the provincial curriculum. The school also partners with the adjacent Bella Rose Arts Centre, a non-profit community theatre located inside the school.
WWW hwh.hrsb.ca

History

The original Halifax West Municipal High School opened in September 1958 on Dutch Village Road in Fairview. In the late 1990s the building experienced persistent indoor air quality problems; in 2000, authorities announced accommodation plans that included split-shift classes hosted at J. L. Ilsley High School while longer-term solutions were developed. The situation at the former site has been discussed in analyses of “sick” school buildings in Canada.
A new facility for Halifax West was constructed in Clayton Park West, with students moving into the Thomas Raddall Drive campus in January 2003. During design of the new school, space was set aside for a future theatre to serve both the school and surrounding community; the Bella Rose Arts Centre subsequently opened in 2007 following a fundraising campaign that involved local partners.

Campus and facilities

The current campus is located at 283 Thomas Raddall Drive in Clayton Park West, Halifax. The Bella Rose Arts Centre, a professionally operated community theatre housed within the school, hosts school musicals, concerts and community performances throughout the year.

Academics

Halifax West offers the Nova Scotia curriculum with courses in English and French, and an IB Diploma Programme pathway. School communications and SAC minutes indicate the school serves grades 9–12 and had approximately 1,856 students in September 2024.

Student life

The school hosted the Canadian Student Leadership Conference in September 2015, bringing hundreds of student leaders and advisors to Halifax West.

Arts

Halifax West runs annual musical theatre productions and other performing arts events, many staged at the Bella Rose Arts Centre. Recent examples include The Addams Family.
The school has produced the following musical theatre productions:

Athletics

Teams at Halifax West compete as the Warriors in interscholastic sport under School Sport Nova Scotia. Common offerings have included soccer, basketball, rugby, hockey, volleyball, football, track and field and more.

Identity

The school's mascot is Weston the Warrior and the school colours are red and black. The Latin motto Eruditione Iter Patefacite appears in school communications.

Feeder pattern

Halifax West is the senior high school for students in the Halifax West Family of Schools within HRCE.

Notable facilities

  • Bella Rose Arts Centre – non-profit community theatre located inside Halifax West High School, opened in 2007.