Shawnigan Lake School
Shawnigan Lake School is a co-educational independent boarding school in Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia, Canada, operating under the Advanced Placement program. The school was founded in 1916 by Christopher Lonsdale, an educator from Cumberland, England, and partly modelled after the Westminster School in England.
The school's Latin motto, Palmam Qui Meruit Ferat, means "Let whosoever deserves the palm bear it."
Students
As of September 2026, the student body at Shawnigan Lakes School consists of 550 students representing 27 countries, with 445 students residing on campus in boarding houses, making it a boarding school with the largest number of full-time boarders in Canada. Day students constitute 10 percent of the student body. Students come from all over the world, with 20% from International locations, 15% from the United States, 15% from other Canadian Provinces and 50% of students being from British Columbia.Current campus
Shawnigan Lake School occupies a wooded near the village Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia. There are approximately 35 buildings on the site:The Main Building, built in 1926, sits adjacent to the quadrangle, which houses the school's chapel, dining hall, and the Hobbies Building. Other facilities include classroom buildings, dormitories, a theatre, an observatory, a recording arts studio, a growing dome, a salmon hatchery, and a robotics lab.
Athletic facilities include an ice hockey arena, a rowing pavilion, two gymnasiums, tennis courts, squash courts, and seven sports fields.
School life
Student Body & Boarding houses
The school is primarily a boarding school, with approximately 90% of its students attending the school as boarders. The school has 10 boarding houses, 5 for boys and 4 for girls. In 2024, Samuel House, a dedicated Grade 8 boarding house, was established. Each boarding house has a House Director, an Assistant House Director, and is assisted by student Heads of House and House Prefects in the management of house duties and issues. Each year, houses compete against each other in an annual intramural competition for the House Cup.Shawnigan's student government consists of Round Tables from Grades 8 to 11, followed by the highest position of student leadership, School Prefects, who are appointed in their final year.
Boy Houses:
- Lake's House
- Ripley's House
- Copeman's House
- Lonsdale's House
- Duxbury House
- Groves' House
- Kaye's House
- Renfrew House
- Strathcona House
- Samuel House
Academics
Shawnigan's academic program is university preparatory. It was ranked by the Fraser Institute in 2017 as 11th out of 253 British Columbian Secondary Schools based on a score of 9.3/10 for academic achievements. The school provides 25 Advanced Placement courses offered by the College Board, as well as a Dual Dogwood Diploma program.Fine Arts
Students are required to try a variety of fine arts, selecting from a list of 32 options. Notable programs include recording arts, robotics, musicals, model UN, astronomy, woodworking, search and rescue, and various bands and music groups. The theatre program includes at least one large-scale production each year, which is usually performed in the Royal Theatre in Victoria.Athletics
Shawnigan has partnerships with Rugby Canada and Rowing Canada, with both teams using the school's training facilities on a regular basis. In 2014, Shawnigan joined the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. Sports offered at the school include rowing, rugby, hockey, squash, tennis, basketball, soccer, golf, volleyball, field hockey, and cross country. Shawnigan's sports rivalries include those with Brentwood College School, St. George's School, and St. Michaels University School.From 2009 to 2013, Shawnigan's Boys First XV Rugby Team won an unprecedented five provincial championships in a row.
School athletic championships
Rugby union
BC AA Girls Rugby Champions - 2023BC Boys AAA Rugby Champions - 2022
BC Boys AAAA Rugby Champions – 2019
BC Boys AAAA Rugby Champions – 2017
BC Junior Boys AAA Rugby Champions – 2017
Junior Boys Rugby 7s Champions – 2016
BC Junior Boys AAA Rugby Champions – 2016
Senior Boys CAIS Rugby Champions – 2016
Girls CAIS Rugby Champions – 2016
BC Girls AA Rugby Champions – 2016
BC Boys AAAA Rugby Champions – 2016
BC Boys AAA Rugby Champions – 2015
BC Boys AAA Rugby Champions – 2013
BC Boys AAA Rugby Champions – 2012
BC Boys AAA Rugby Champions – 2011
BC Boys AAA Rugby Champions – 2010
BC Boys AAA Rugby Champions – 2009
Boys CAIS National Rugby Champions – 2008
BC Boys AAA Rugby Champions – 1998
BC Girls AA Rugby Champions – 1997
BC Girls AA Rugby Champions – 1996
Field hockey
BC Girls AAA Sr. Field Hockey Champions – 2014BC Girls AA Field Hockey Champions – 2011
Ice hockey
CSSHL Midget Varsity Champions – Boy's Midget Varsity – 2016CSSHL Midget Varsity Champions – Boy's Midget Varsity – 2015
Notable people
Notable alumni
Artists
- Robert Stewart Hyndman – artist
- Peter Saul – artist
Athletes
- Eloise Blackwel – New Zealand Black Ferns
- Brett Beukeboom – Rugby Canada and Cornish Pirates
- Hannah Darling – Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medal, 2015 Pan American Games gold medal, women's rugby 7's Team Canada
- Eddie Evans – rugby player, prop for Canada national team, played 3 World Cups in 1987, 1991 and 1995
- George Hungerford – gold medal Olympian – rowing
- Josh Jackson – Rugby Canada player
- John Lander – 1928 Olympic gold medalist, coxless four
- John Lecky – silver medal Olympian – rowing
- Kristopher McDaniel – Team Canada rower
Business
- Jim Shaw – CEO of Shaw Communications
Entertainment
- Jon Kimura Parker – Officer of the Order of Canada, concert pianist
- Tara Spencer-Nairn – actress, ''Corner Gas''
Military
- Rear Admiral Michael G. Stirling
- Rear Admiral Richard H. Leir
Politics
- The Hon. Henry Pybus Bell-Irving – 23rd Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia
- The Hon. Stephen D. Owen – Federal cabinet minister and Member of Parliament
- The Hon. Nicholas Milliken – Alberta Minister of Infrastructure and Member of the Legislative Assembly
- Anthony Vincent – Canadian Ambassador to Peru
- Peter Ladner – Vancouver City Councillor
Scholars and scientists
- Graham Anderson – scholar
- Dr. Barry F. Cooper – political scientist
- Dr. Steve Deering – computer scientist
- Dr. Roger Stanier – microbiologist
Notable staff
- Tom Brierley – cricketer
- James Robertson Justice – actor
Affiliations
- The Anglican Church of Canada, diocese of British Columbia
- CAIS – Canadian Accredited Independent Schools
- NAIS – National Association of Independent Schools
- TABS – The Association of Boarding Schools
- FISA BC – Federation of Independent School Associations in British Columbia
- ISABC – Independent Schools Association of BC