When studying the current School Act in British Columbia, I started thinking about the history of the school act in the Province, and how slow change has happened over time to make a big impact.

By the mid-1860’s there was strong support for free “common schools”, which were established with the Common School Act in 1865 on Vancouver Island. Before this time, the schools that existed in Canada were private and only for the elite. The schools were to be operated under the two main principles of being free and non-sectarian. Later, the Public Schools Act of 1872 allowed the government to appoint a Board of Education and a Superintendent and to establish school districts.

The schools often lacked equipment, qualified staff, and were not popular with students. As noted in the film, Growing up Canadian by the National Film Board of Canada, the view of society in different decades impacted student participation in school. When the common view was that work was more important that school, it was common for students to leave after learning the basics of reading, writing, and math. High schools were particularly rare as most students in higher grades had left to work. The first high school in British Columbia was Victoria High School, in 1876. The school focused on arithmetic, grammar, geography and spelling and had entry exams on these subjects. The Public Schools Act of 1888 again changed the landscape of schooling in British Columbia, as the cost of education was shifted more to local government and more power was granted to local boards.

The resource A Highlight History of British Columbia Schools by the Royal BC Museum has more information on the history of schools in BC if you are interested.

Photo by Kylie Van Eaton.