Shawnigan Lake School is an independent and co-educational boarding school located in Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia, Canada. The school was founded in 1916 by Christopher Lonsdale, an educator from Cumberland, England, and partly modelled after the Westminster School in London, England. It is Canada's largest co-educational independent boarding school.
Originally an all-boy's school, it became fully co-educational in 1988. The school has produced many notable alumni, including several artists, athletes, diplomats, politicians, scientists, and businesspeople.
The school's Latin motto, , means "Let whosoever deserves the palm bear it."
As of September 2025, the student body at Shawnigan Lakes School consists of 540 students representing 30 countries, with 440 students residing on campus in boarding houses, the largest number of full-time boarders in Canada. Day students constitute 18 percent of the student body. Students come from all over the world, with 50 percent from British Columbia, 15 percent from other Canadian provinces, 15 percent from the United States, and 20 percent from other international locations.
Shawnigan Lake School occupies a wooded near the village Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia. There are approximately 80 buildings on the site:
The Main Building, built in 1926, sits adjacent to the quadrangle, which houses the school's chapel (built 1928), dining hall (Marion Hall), and the Bruce-Lockhart Centre for Creativity (built 1934, formerly the Hobbies Building). Other facilities include classroom buildings, dormitories and staff housing, a theatre, a music building, an astronomy observatory, a recording arts studio, a growing dome, a salmon hatchery, and a robotics lab.
Athletic facilities include the Charlie Purdey Arena, a rowing crewhouse, the Hyde-Lay Rugby Pavilion, two gymnasiums, six tennis courts, eight squash courts, and seven sports fields, including Canada Field, often used by Rugby Canada and other international teams.
The school is primarily a boarding school, with approximately 82 percent of its students attending the school as boarders. The school has 10 boarding houses: five for boys in grades 9-12 and four for girls in grades 9-12, as well as Samuel House, a dedicated Grade 8 boarding house with separate wings for boys and girls, which opened in 2024. Each boarding house has a full-time House Director and an Assistant House Director, who are assisted by other staff members, along with 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, determined by a variety of events throughout the year as well as academic achievement.
Shawnigan's student government consists of Round Tables from Grades 8 to 11, with the highest position of student leadership being School Prefects, who are appointed in their final year. The Prefects are led by the Co-Heads of School, who are elected from within the incoming Prefect group at the end of each academic year.
Boy Houses:
Girl Houses:
Co-Ed (Grade 8):
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 (AP) courses offered by the College Board, as well as a Dual Dogwood Diploma program for French Immersion students.
Students are required to try a variety of fine arts and activities, known as the 360 program, selecting from a list of 30 or more options. Notable programs include recording arts, robotics, musicals, Model United Nations, 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 McPherson Playhouse in Victoria.
Shawnigan has official partnerships with Rugby Canada and Rowing Canada, with both national 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, ice hockey, squash, tennis, badminton, 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.
(Note: championships exist pre-2001 to the founding.)
BC AA Girls Rugby Champions - 2023<br /> BC Boys AAA Rugby Champions - 2022<br /> BC Boys AAAA Rugby Champions â 2019<br /> BC Boys AAAA Rugby Champions â 2017<br /> BC Junior Boys AAA Rugby Champions â 2017<br /> Junior Boys Rugby 7s Champions â 2016<br /> BC Junior Boys AAA Rugby Champions â 2016<br /> Senior Boys CAIS Rugby Champions â 2016<br /> Girls CAIS Rugby Champions â 2016<br /> BC Girls AA Rugby Champions â 2016<br /> BC Boys AAAA Rugby Champions â 2016<br /> BC Boys AAA Rugby Champions â 2015<br /> BC Boys AAA Rugby Champions â 2013<br /> BC Boys AAA Rugby Champions â 2012<br /> BC Boys AAA Rugby Champions â 2011<br /> BC Boys AAA Rugby Champions â 2010<br /> BC Boys AAA Rugby Champions â 2009<br /> Boys CAIS National Rugby Champions â 2008<br /> BC Boys AAA Rugby Champions â 1998<br /> BC Girls AA Rugby Champions â 1997<br /> BC Girls AA Rugby Champions â 1996<br />
BC Girls AAA Sr. Field Hockey Champions â 2014<br /> BC Girls AA Field Hockey Champions â 2011
CSSHL Midget Varsity Champions â Boys' Midget Varsity â 2016
CSSHL Midget Varsity Champions â Boys' Midget Varsity â 2015
(Note: championships existed pre-1996 to the founding.)