# Bishop's College School

Bishop's College School or BCS is an English-language non-profit independent boarding prep school in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada for students in Grades 7 to 12. Founded in 1836, BCS is the fifth oldest private school in Canada. BCS has the highest endowment per student of any independent school in Canada. Seven BCS people have been named Rhodes Scholars. A royal charter was granted in 1853 from Queen Victoria for Bishop's College when BCS was the constituent junior division. The school was recognized as the "Eton of Canada" initially by the first Governor General of Canada, Lord Monck on a visit in 1864. It locates at the heart the historic Eastern Townships and near New England. The school is recognized as a Quebec cultural heritage site in the Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec.
BCS was first known as the Lennoxville Classical School by the Rev. Lucius Doolittle (1800–1862) (M.A., Vermont) assisted by Edward Chapman (M.A., Cambridge). Traditionally, the school catered to the sons of the Protestant elites in the United Empire Loyalists and the residents of the Montreal Golden Square Mile. A link to the Canadian Royal Family was maintained by King Edward VII, George V, George VI, Edward VIII, et alia whether during royal visits or whilst studying in Canada. In May 1989, The Duke of Edinburgh inspected BCS cadet corps and presented the school a new coat of arms. The BCS Cadet Corps #2 is the oldest continuous service corps in Canada – has been affiliated with the Black Watch. Over 120 alumni made the ultimate sacrifice in the First and Second World War.
King's Hall Compton, or KHC, its sister school, was founded in 1874 where heads of BCS such as James Williams acted as the first chairman. In 1972, the two institutions merged making it one of the first co-ed independent schools in Canada. In 1995, Nancy Layton was appointed as Head of School, which made BCS the first co-ed independent school with a female headmaster in Canada. The School's former faculty was also responsible for the founding of Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario in 1865, and Ashbury College as an affiliated institute in 1891 to accommodate BCS Ottawa-based students. BCS raised six Canadian independent schools in total, making it once known as the "school of the headmasters" during the early 20th century.
"Bishop" in the school's name derives from one of its founders, the Lord Bishop of Québec, the Right Reverend George Mountain (DCL, Oxford), the first Principal of McGill University from 1824 to 1835, and the founder of Bishop's University who intended to create a preparatory grammar school for these two universities. Today, the school's senior students may be eligible to take credit courses at Bishop's University for advanced standing. Some facilities of Bishop's University are used by BCS such as the swimming pool, golf course, rinks, library, etc. In academics, the school offers the Provincial Diplomas of Québec and New Brunswick along with optional and selective Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate curricula, under a rigorous academic environment. The school has been a member of the Round Square since 1986 and affiliated to (CAIS+) (founding member since 1981), QAIS, FEEP de Québec, TABS, the U.S. NAIS and NEPSAC, etc. The students are from around 40 countries.
The school is notable for its mandatory athletic programs, where the alumni community includes multiple Olympians and five current members of the National Hockey League (NHL).

## History
### Lennoxville Classical School, the beginnings and growth

Around 1834, the Church of England in Canada Rector of Sherbrooke and Lennoxville, the Rev. Lucius Doolittle M.A. (1800–1862, American) from New England built Elmwood, to serve as a rectory of the Sherbrooke–Lennoxville mission. It is still standing at 43 Queen Street. (Elmwood Hotel Today). With assistance from Edward Chapman (M.A., Cambridge, a professor of classics at McGill University) and financial support from the church policy supporting public education in the province, he opened a school in a wing of the rectory, in 1836 which became the Lennoxville Classical School. The school was designed for "the education of sons of English Gentlemen", as the local anglophone and Protestant elites (especially the ones in the United Empire Loyalist) settling in the Lower Canada were in need of a suitable preparatory school for their children. Lennoxville Classical School was modeled on the great public schools of Britain, especially Eton College but provided a bilingual environment and an immersion into Canadian culture under the Church of England spiritual atmosphere. The. Hon Edward Hale provided legal and finance assistance on top of the church.
Bishop's University established in 1843 as Bishop's College and was once affiliated with the University of Oxford in 1853, the school remained under the Anglican church's direction from its founding until 1947. At the beginning of the establishment, the main students of BCS came from the merchant/political families of the Ross, Gault, Stoker, McConnell, MacLernon, Price, Bronfman, Molson, MacDougall, McNaughton in the Golden Square Mile residential area of Montreal.
In 1861 the foundation stone of the first school built on the Bishop's University site was laid by the last office holder of the Commander-in-Chief, North America General Sir Fenwick Williams, of Kars, who took a great interest in the Institution and who was a personal friend of Captain Rawson, an BCS alumni who later taken place in the Anglo-Egyptian War. The new school was a handsome Gothic building, surmounted by a tower—a wing being added to it in 1864.
Notably in the Classical School Era, Sir James David Edgar (August 10, 1841 – July 31, 1899) was educated at the School, where his father James Edgar of a Peerage of Scotland decent was appointed the Second Master by the Rev. Lucius Doolittle. Sir Edgar eventually became the 7th Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada, and was given a knighthood by Queen Victoria.
The Classical School was also being investigated by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham (Lord Durham) and his chief secretary The Right Honourable Charles Buller during their famous survey tour of the two Canadas that leads to the famous Durham Report. Buller commented the education in Lower Canada and BCS as that:
   (Education in Lower Canada) is a combination of imperfection and vices where masters are illiterate and needy, the schoolhouses unfit for occupation and ill-supplied with fuel, the children unprovided with books... the only schools worthy of the bame in the Eastern Townships were kept by the clergy who took a few scholars for private tuition (BCS)

### At Little Forks, in Bishop's University

"Bishop" in the school name today comes from the Lord Bishop of Québec and Montréal, The Right Reverend Dr. George Mountain (DCL, Oxford) who was also the first Principal of McGill College from 1824 to 1835 and the founder of Bishop's University. In 1843, the Lennoxville Classical School became Bishop's College School, under the direction of Edward Chapman (Headmaster 1842), the Bishop Mountain and the principal of BU, Jasper Hume Nicolls (a fellow of The Queen's College, Oxford). The original Prospectus referenced the foundation of the college, with clause five granting BCS the affiliation with BU:
   A Grammar School (or Junior Department) to be attached to the college, with one or more masters as may be required, who shall receive their appointments in like manner (i.e., to the Principal, and Professors)—The School to comprehend a special provision for the education of youths designed for business, or commercial pursuits.
James Williams (bishop) (1825–1892) graduated from Pembroke College, Oxford in 1851 was appointed Headmaster of the grammar school in 1857. The Bishops William Hall at the Little Forks Campus is donated completely by BCS alumni to honor their headmaster, yet after the transfer of the school across the river, the building became the property of Bishop's University.
Bishop's College applied to Queen Victoria for a royal charter and received it in 1853 highlights providing education for young people in Lower Canada when BCS was a constituent part of the Bishop's College, and where then Bishop's University today was the University of Bishop's College. There was no gymnasium in those days, but the boys had bars, swings, etc., in one corner of the play-ground. From 1860 onwards, the surroundings of the school began to develop substantially. The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) located a station in Lennoxville. It would now take only 4 hours to Ottawa, 6 hours to Toronto and 8 hours to New York City from BCS by train. The student body began to grow more diverse. In 1864, the first Governor General of Canada (Then as the Governor-Generals of the two Canadas) after the Canadian Confederation, Lord Monck visited BCS with Lady Monck, a quote was left:
   The boys are more like English boys than any I have seen out here, and pride themselves on their English cheer. They seem to have the same love, and respect for their college as Eton boys have for Eton.......... Lennoxville is the Eton of Canada, and it is a charming and civilized place; the boys seem very gentlemanly, and well looked after.
BCS Cadet Corps #2, the oldest continuous service corps in Canada, was formed in 1861 as the Volunteer Rifle Company in the Fenian Raids and the for facing the threats of the North from the American Civil War by the BCS Rector/BU Principal Rev. Dr. Thomas Adams (Oxford). Beating the oldest regular force military unit in Canada, The Royal Canadian Regiment for 22 years. In 1879, the first Prime Minister of Canada Sir John A. Macdonald granted the Rifle Company the number "No.2" in its name in the newly authorized Drill Associations in the dominion schools and permitted a grant of the rifles.
During the American Civil War, the president of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis sent his two sons Williams and Jefferson Jr. to BCS and her daughter at Couvent du Sacré-Coeur, he eventually lived on BCS campus and Lennoxville with his wife.
In October 1879, BCS obtained financial independence from the Bishop's University and established the Bishop's College School Acossiation under a capital stock of five hundred dollars registered under the company act of Québec, through an act passed in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec forming a corporation that forms by the Lord Bishop of Quebec and 11 other members. The school also used historically the Latin name of "Episcopi Collegium de Lennoxville" The Mayor of Sherbrooke and the influential leader in the Eastern Townships Richard William Heneker acted as the first chair of the BCS Board. His son General Sir William Heneker KCB, KCMG, DSO subsequently attended BCS.

### Independence of the BCS Association

In 1865, some faculty of BCS including the Rev. Charles H. Badgley was summoned by the Anglican Church to establish a preparatory institute in Ontario for Trinity College, this school eventually become Trinity College School and Badgley acted as the first headmaster.
In 1874, BCS sister school King's Hall, Compton was founded by BCS Rector Bishop James Williams as Compton Ladies College who acted as the chairman.
In 1868, the first BCS band was formed as the Rifle Corps. In 1875, the first vocal music instruction at BCS begun with St. J. Brennan appeared as the first Music master.
In 1880, the school was temporarily closed due to the spread of typhoid fever. The same year, The inventor of Am Radio, Reginald Fessenden at the age of fourteen was granted a mathematics mastership and a full scholarship at University Bishop's College. He taught to the younger students (some older than himself) at the School, while simultaneously studying with older students at the college. At the age of 18, he left the school for Edison.
In 1888, a young Oxford graduate George Wollcombe, BA, started his career at Bishop's College School and Bishop's University when he was invited by the BCS Rector/BU Principal Rev. Dr. Thomas Adams (Oxford). In 1891, he was recommended by the head of Bishop's, and some Ottawa-based parents of his BCS students to start a school there. The Ottawa BCS-styled school eventually became Ashbury College today where he served as the headmaster for 42 years from 1891 to 1933. He still found time regularly to make the four-hour train journey to Lennoxville to teach his classes. He obtained an ad eundem Master of Arts from Bishop's University in 1906 without actually enrolled as a student by the arrangements of Bishop's with Oxford. Rhode Scholar Dr. C.L. Odgen Glass also graduated from BCS and BU in 1935 and served in Ashbury as the fourth Headmaster, but later returned to BCS. The BCS-Ashbury Cup, the Oxford University, and Bishop's University arms presented on the stained glass in Ashbury Memorial Chapel are signs of the traditional friendship between these institutions. There is also a record of the BCS-Ashbury Cup winners in the BCS Ross Hall (Dining Hall). Wollcombe also eventually became the headmaster of BCS later.
In 1891, there was a major fire in BCS buildings on the Bishop's University campus, architect Alfred Arthur Cox (architect) designed several buildings on campus including Dining Halls (1899), Kitchen (1899), addition to the Library (1899), new lecture rooms (1899).
BCS moved to its new campus today on Moulton Hill across the river in 1922 as BU refused to sell the land. The inauguration of the new campus was held in 1918 by the Canadian governor-general the Duke of Devonshire, The Hon. William Kenyon-Slaney, General J. K. L. Ross and others who are astounding in the imperial affairs. The BCS choir, founded in 1878, was once considered as the best boys' choir in Canada. The original BCS campus remains today as the building of the science labs, New Arts, at Bishop's University.

### On Moulton Hill: The era of the Great Wars

Bishop's prepared its students by then to pass the difficult McGill University matriculation examinations. Graduates gained admission to Oxford University and Cambridge University. A large range of students such as Norman Webster, David Wanklyn, P.T. Molson, the prior headmaster Odgen Glass, obtained the Rhodes Scholarship.
BCS Cadet Corps #2 is the oldest continuous service corps and the only cadet corps to receive battle colours in Canada in the Fenian Raids. It was formed in 1861 as the Volunteer Rifle Company. Legend has it that BCS received their colours for shooting a cow on the Canadian / US border. However, the cadet corps of Upper Canada College has a similar legend featuring a cow, so the accuracy of this story remains in doubt. In May 1989, the school's annual cadet inspection was inspected by The Duke of Edinburgh with a crowd of two thousand people.
In 1901, Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey visited Bishop's University and BCS for a speech to promote the loyalty to the empire. The Royal Military College in Ottawa often posted advertisements in the BCS Magazine during this period. Of the Lennoxville boys who attended the Royal Military College, no less than fifty percent won commissions. Alumni Andrew McNaughton was the Minister of National Defence of Canada by then and the radio inventions of Reginald Fessenden permitted the information transmission on battlefields.
There were over 800 BCS alumni and teachers who participated in World War I and World War II and a large percentage of students who served lost their lives. A stained glass window and War memorial plaques were erected as lists of honors for the Old Boys.
In 1901, the cadet corps took part in the Guard of Honour during the visit of Duke (later King George V) and Duchess of York to Sherbrooke. The Cader Corps was also inspected by the Duke of Devonshire, King Edward VIII in 1919, King George VI in 1939 and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1962. In May 1989, the school's annual cadet inspection was inspected by The Duke of Edinburgh with a crowd of two thousand people. The Duke also granted the school's new coats of arms registered under the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada.
Alumnus Sir William Price (1867–1924) was one of the organizers of Valcartier Military Camp (now CFB Valcartier) where BCS students start their year with Cadet Orientation Camp.
Moulton Hill was completely filled with grass and bushes when BCS first moved to this campus from across the river. Many of the trees and plants on campus today were personally planted in 1917 by Headmaster S.P. Smith, a graduate of St. John's College, Oxford (1920–1931), which the Smith residence took his name. This act has completely changed the landscape of Moulton Hill and provides future generation of students with access to forests, distinct eco-systems for science classes, skiing and running trials, camping facilities, etc.

### Canadian/Québécois statehood with BCS

BCS is known to support Canada and Canadian nationalism, and prior to that showing firm loyalty to Britain despite its siting in Québec, where French language identity, and for a time even separatism, is evident. Sir James David Edgar, was born in the Townships and son of the Second Master, attended BCS and eventually was named the 7th Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada. The Rector of BCS during the Canadian Confederation, the Rev. Henry Hopper Miles (LLD, McGill) was the representative of the Eastern Townships in the London Conference of 1866. The school also received the first-ever Canadian flag in a blessing ceremony a few hours before it was raised on Parliament Hill in 1965. The flag was subsequently donated by BCS alumni, a World War II veteran Okill Stuart, who coincidentally invited Prince Philip for an inspection visit to BCS. That particular flag is permanently kept in the BCS Chapel.
In 1989, HRH the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip visited the school and inspected the annual cadet inspection. More than 2000 people was attended. The Duke made a speech in the school chapel and unveiled a plaque for the United Empire Loyalists recognizing the school's past 150 years of history. The Coat of Arms and royal charter after the merger with King's Hall was also presented. The United Empire Loyalists anthem was sung for the first time in presence of Prince Philip.
Also in 1989, the author of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, John Peters Humphrey conveyed an intensive speech in a BCS Politics Class based on the recent events such as the Meech Lake Accords and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and his own opinion on Quebec Nationalism & Canadian Nationalism for the first time. He deliberately emphasized individual human rights over that of the collective group. He surprised his audience ending with an almost urgent tone advising the students at BCS to think critically and continue his legacies.

### The modernization of the school

In 1935, the Player's Club at BCS was formally founded which continues today. In 1936, the Frank W. Ross Infirmary is built corresponding with the growing health needs of the student body, the infirmary is enlarged in 2020 by alumni donations. Vere Ponsonby, 9th Earl of Bessborough visited BCS in June, 1932 and acted as the visitor of the year.
In 1941, The headmaster the Rt. Rev. Edward Bidwell left to become the Assistant Bishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Ontario. In 1955, the 18th Governor General of Canada the Rt. Hon. Vincent Massey inspected the BCS cadet corps. In 1958 the school gym/ballroom was consecrated as St.Martin's Chapel by order of the Lord Bishop of Québec, The Rt. Reverend Philip Carrington and BCS students no longer used the chapel at Bishop's University. An organ was installed behind the Cross in 1958. A stained glass window was given to BCS during the closing ceremony of St. Helen's School, Dunham, Québec. It is now installed at the top of the staircase to the chapel. BCS has grown more secular entering into the 21st century.
In 1967, the BCS Foundation was incorporated, soon to open a second branch in the United States.
In 1972, its sister school King's Hall, Compton was amalgamated with BCS under the direction of both school's boards as well as the Québec government under the Company Acts of Québec. Consequently, BCS became one of the first co-ed boarding schools in Canada.
Québec's CÉGEP system was developed in 1976, banning the High School graduates from entering into universities directly. BCS is one of only seven high schools in Québec that offering Grade 12 as an alternative to this system and one of the few English university-preparatory schools that does not need a certificate of eligibility following the language law Bill 101.
Since 1980, when Terry Fox ran his Marathon of Hope, BCS has participated annually in the Terry Fox Run. Today, this fundraising event remains mandatory for all students. BCS also participates enthusiastically in Orange Shirt Day to raise awareness of abuse in the Canadian Indian residential school system. In 1981, Few other prominent Canadian independent schools and BCS came together to form an alliance as a national network for member schools supporting collaborative initiatives in leadership, education, management and governance. The organization continues today as the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS+).
Sunday Services at BCS ended in the 2000s. BCS no longer has full-time chaplain but the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, the Remembrance Day Service, daily Chapel Assembly remains and is managed by the Prefect, the student body and the school organist. The school also invites religious figures of various faiths for speeches. The most notable daily religious practice at BCS today is the singing of the Anglican hymns from red or green hymnals. The school hymn is And did those feet in ancient time (Jerusalem) and the song Spirit, Spirit of Gentleness is sung during a BCS spirit day where students wear in purple.
The first BCS summer camp was launched in 1961.
In 2004, the Hartland de Montarville Molson Hall was erected in 2005 donated by the Molson family of Montreal and the BCS/KHC alumni association, where the current library, student center and Doolittle's Cafteria locates. The dedication was done by his grandson and a former director of the Molson Foundation, The Hon. Maximilian E. Hardinge.
In 2017, the Canadian Minister of National Defence The Hon. Harjit Sajjan and The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food The Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau (MP for Sherbrooke) visited BCS and hosted a town hall in the School Chapel, acted as the visitor of the year.
In 2018, the cadet corps was inspected by the fourteenth Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University, past BCS parent the Canadian Governor-General The Rt. Hon. David Johnston and the Canadian Cadet Service Medal was introduced to the school. Her Excellency Sharon Johnston has helped voluntarily in the board of BCS His five daughters attended BCS while Alexandra Johnston, vice-president of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is a current member of the BCS board.
In 2020, the first residence to be built in fifty years, Mitchell Family House, obtained the Prix d'excellence en architecture by Ordre des architectes du Québec in 2020. As Bishop's University changed its name in the 1950s, from then on, the name "Bishop's College" is generally referred to as BCS in Canadian Media.
In 2021, BCS opening ceremonies was addressed by Canadian Senator The Hon. Chantal Petitclerc.
Today, BCS serves approximately 240 students with over 40 faculty. The campus consists of 26 buildings set on 270 acres (1.1 km$^2$), including playing fields and woodlands. There are students from Canada, Vietnam, China, Korea, USA, England, France, Mexico, South America, Bahamas, Bermuda, Germany, Japan and Thailand among these over 40 countries

## King's Hall in Compton (KHC)

King's Hall in Compton was a girl's boarding school founded by the Anglican Diocese of Quebec in 1874 as the Compton Ladies College. It was founded by BCS Rector James Williams (bishop) who acted as the chairman. The institution was founded for a female education in the rural parts of the Anglican Diocese of Quebec and as a sister school to Bishop's College School which locates 30 mins apart. The school location was finally decided to be Compton, Quebec. The school changed its name to "King's" in memory of the coronation of King Edward VII. The Board of King's Hall was consisted of the Bishop of Quebec and 12 other members. The boarding school neglects to honor Daylight saving time.
In the 1972–73 school year, girls joined school life when BCS and King's Hall, located 20 minutes apart, amalgamated. The original junior school, Bishop's Preparatory School, or Prep was changed into Glass House, and the KHC Gillard House was re-built on BCS campus to accommodate the female students. (Gillard House was named after Dr. A. E. Gillard. She was Headmistress at KHC from 1930 to 1968) The white rose in the school logo, coats of arms demonstrate recognition of KHC. The glass passage connecting two school buildings was built in honour of King's Hall. Many of the traditions of King's Hall have been absorbed by BCS, and the KHC Old Girls joined the BCS alumnus association. Some of the girls' residences such as Glass and Gillard adopted the KHC coats of arms as their logo.

### Former KHC campus in Compton

The King's Hall campus in Compton, Quebec was sold to a hotel group when the girls who had been students there were moved to the BCS campus in 1972. In 2018, due to financial difficulties, the hotel group sold this property to an unknown Chinese consortium from Toronto which, operating under the name King's Hall, began offering short-term language immersion courses to Chinese secondary students. This new Chinese consortium has no connection whatsoever to the former educational institution, King's Hall, Compton Inc. founded in 1874 nor to Bishop's College School Inc. founded in 1836.
Artifacts preserved from the KHC campus and transferred to BCS include various books, statues, and paintings, as well as chapel pews, six stained glass windows and the bell from St. James the Less Anglican Church in Compton where KHC students attended services.

## Academics

BCS provides the academic program of the provincial curriculum of Québec (Diplôme d' études secondaires) for grade 7~11 and the New Brunswick's Canadian High School Diploma for Grade 11,12 along with optional only International Baccalaureate courses while AP courses and SAT preparation is also available.
The school's senior students may be eligible to take credit courses at Bishop's University for advance standings through the BU Bridge Program. BCS is the only school in Canada providing such programs. The T.H.P. Molson Bilingual Option program at BCS offers the students with an exceptional opportunity to learn a second language and to benefit from the unique cultural richness of Québec and Canada. It is named after BCS alumni, Rhodes Scholar Thomas Henry Pentland Molson who is from the bilingual Molson Family. The RDW. Howson Enrichment Centre provides free tutoring to the students every weeknight from Monday to Thursday.