London South Collegiate Institute

Last updated
London South Collegiate Institute
South secondary school.jpg
The front entrance to South facing Tecumseh Ave.
Address
London South Collegiate Institute
371 Tecumseh Avenue East, London, ON N6C 1T4

London
,
Ontario
,
N6C 1T4

Canada
Coordinates 42°58′8.5″N81°14′32.0″W / 42.969028°N 81.242222°W / 42.969028; -81.242222
Information
School type Public
MottoVirtus Repulsae Nescia Sordidae
(Courage will never know ignominious defeat.)
Established1922
School district Thames Valley District School Board
PrincipalRichard Tamminga [1]
Enrollment780+ (2022-2023)
Colour(s) Garnet and Grey   
Mascot Lion
NewspaperThe South Star (2023-) [2]
The Oracle (1930's, 1970's-1980's) [3]
The Confederate (1958‐69, 1971) [4]
The South Wind (1940's) [4]
Athletics25 Interscholastic teams
Website south.tvdsb.ca
Last updated: August 23, 2022
The west side of South facing Belgrave Ave. in January 2021 London South Collegiate Institute in 2021.jpg
The west side of South facing Belgrave Ave. in January 2021

London South Collegiate Institute (also known as S.C.I., South Secondary or South) is a public high school in London, Ontario, Canada.

Contents

South is administered by the Thames Valley District School Board. Approximately 600 students attend the school from grades 9-12. It offers a co-op program and a program for gifted students called the Academy Program.

The school colours are garnet and grey and the school mascot is the lion. South is known for its academic rigour, sports teams, and the strength of its arts program, which includes drama, visual arts, music, and dance.

The South Collegiate Alumni Association, established in 1999, organizes the school's reunions and alumni events, including annual homecoming events since 2007. South is one of the only high schools in Canada to host a homecoming with football games and a tailgate party. [5]

From May 24 to 26, 2013, South celebrated its 85th year at the Tecumseh Avenue location with a reunion. [6] It commemorated the 100th anniversary of its original founding on May 26, 2023. [7]

History

The South football field in 2009 South Field.JPG
The South football field in 2009

The school first opened in 1922, at the corner of Askin Street and Wharncliffe Road South, where Victoria Public School now lies, with 290 students and 10 teachers. The growing school moved to its current location on Tecumseh Avenue in June 1928, six years later.

School pride was a focus right from the early years. According to the school's website, early students recited a daily pledge: "We're here to win the day for the garnet and grey, and to London South we pledge allegiance now." The school's Latin motto, virtus repulsae nescia sordidae, means "courage will never know ignominious defeat." They are also known for the school's fight song:

Renovations

In the 1995-96 school year, the school underwent comprehensive renovations which included enclosing the school's former open central courtyard into an enclosed atrium.

Between 2005 and 2007, the rubber gym floor was replaced by a new wood floor, partly due to the success of the "Roar for the Floor" fundraising campaign. An outdoor scoreboard was also installed with money raised. In the summer of 2007, the field was revamped, with new sod, a sprinkler system, new football nets, bleachers, a paved track, new fence, and several portable classrooms removed. The field renovation costs were donated by alumnus Matt Giffen, and the field was named - in memory of his father - the James A. Giffen Memorial Field.

The school was formerly renamed “South Secondary School” for many decades, but regained its original name in 2009. [8]

Lightning strike

On the evening of June 24, 2025, during an intense thunderstorm occurring during the graduation ceremony of a local elementary school hosted at South's auditorium, lightning struck the school's chimney, forcing the evacuation and relocation of the ceremony and the closure of the school the next day, on what would be students' final scheduled day of exams for the 2024-25 school year. No injuries occurred, but the strike caused the chimney to partially collapse, and a portion of the chimney fell through the roof onto the third floor. [9] The incident, along with video of the strike captured by a witness in a car just outside the building, made national news. [10]

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

See also

References

  1. ↑ "About Us". 14 November 2023.
  2. ↑ South Collegiate Alumni Association Spring 2024 Lions' Pride
  3. ↑ South Secondary School Alumni Association Spring 2006 Lions' Pride
  4. 1 2 South Collegiate Alumni Association Spring 2012 Lions' Pride
  5. ↑ "About – South Collegiate Alumni Association" . Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  6. ↑ Home | South Collegiate Alumni Association. South1928.ca. Retrieved on 2013-10-05.
  7. ↑ "London South Collegiate Institute 100th Anniversary Update". South Alumni.
  8. ↑ "South Alumni Newsletter Spring 2013" (PDF). South Alumni.
  9. ↑ Irvine, Sean (2025-06-25). "'I didn't realize it looks like fire when it hits': Old South residents recount lightning strike that damaged South C.I." CTVNews. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  10. ↑ CTV News (2025-06-25). Lightning strike disrupts graduation ceremony at London, Ont. school . Retrieved 2025-06-25– via YouTube.
  11. ↑ "LFP Columnists | The London Free Press".
  12. ↑ "The 85-year-old former Olympian mastered basketball, football, curling | The London Free Press".
  13. ↑ "South Alumni Newsletter Fall 2010" (PDF). South Alumni.
  14. ↑ Ruud, Charles A. (2009). "The ambassador in training". The constant diplomat: Robert Ford in Moscow. McGill-Queen's Press. ISBN   9780773584327.
  15. ↑ "John Glassford ('72) - John Glassford ('72) - All-Star Football Alumnus Star Football Alumnus Star Football Alumnus" (PDF). Lion's Pride Newsletter. South Collegiate Alumni Association. Fall 2011. p. 2. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  16. 1 2 Paparella, Nick (2025-02-08). "Historic weekend for Londoner competing in Super Bowl". CTVNews. Retrieved 2025-02-10.
  17. 1 2 "South Alumni Newsletter Fall 2009" (PDF). South Alumni.
  18. ↑ "Hockey Hall of Fame - Stanley Cup Journals: 21". www.hhof.com. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
  19. ↑ Rosenbush, Steve (2013-09-27). "How Advanced Denial of Service Is Raising Stakes in Cybercrime". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2022-01-18.
  20. ↑ "Lion's Pride Winter 2003" (PDF). South Alumni.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.