The school year is back in full swing, so it‘s a good time to visit the history of Highlands School. Did you know it was once a “Normal” school? Read on to find out what that means! This article appeared in the spring 1989 edition of the HHS newsletter.
The Highlands School
The Highlands Junior High School, alive and well and bustling with 540 students today, has had its share of ups and downs.
In 1912, the Highlands was being developed at a rapid clip, and parents were pressing for a more permanent structure than the wood frame school (dir. / west of the current building) that had been hastily erected in 1910.
The Beverly School District agreed to amalgamate with the Edmonton Public School Board, on the condition a beautiful new 16 room brick school be built immediately. The Edmonton Board was on a building boom, having built 13 new schools between 1909 and 1914. It had a staff architect, John Turner, who designed many of the ornate schools still standing in the city.
Right after the approval to build, the recession of World War I struck the city. Development in the Highlands ground to a near–halt, and by 1916, only the first floor of the school had been built.
The architect himself was a victim of the recession. Turner, buoyed by the boom of 1914, decided to be a consultant rather than a staff architect. With the cutbacks imposed on the school board, Turner’s contract was one of the first to go. By 1920, most of the second floor was finally complete, and the school was connected to city water, sewer and electric systems.
Turner’s original architectural plans were followed, and the Highlands school, with its crenellated roof line and an imposing central tower, is a duplicate of King Edward school on the south side. The brick and sandstone structure has many tudor type features, although a romanesque influence can be seen in the intricate brick patterning.
The second floor was used as the Edmonton Normal School until 1923, with the adjacent Highlands Cottage School serving as an evening study centre. Over 1,000 future teachers received their training in the Highlands, with many billeted in local residences.
Normal School Students, n.d.
By 1928, with enrollment growing, the board made the Highlands School an elementary/junior high, and then the junior high school (grades 7-9) that it remains to this day.
The first principal was H.E. Balfore, and the longest-serving principals were W.J. Kelly who held sway from 1924-44, and Gordon Botsford, who ran the school from 1952 to 1969. Today, the troops are presided over by principal Mr. Pat Dawson.
The building has gone through several refits. In 1958, five new classrooms and new offices were added. A $70,000 renovation was done in 1970. Inside, traces of the school’s original grandeur can be spotted. The wood-panelled foyer has terrazzo flooring, marble stairs and leaded glass windows. The vice-principal’s office has a trap-door, giving access to the tower.
Reference sources: “Looking Back,” by M.A. Kostek.
