Albert College (Belleville, Ontario)

Albert College
File:Albert College Campus.jpg Paci Artibusque, Pacis Faveo I favour peace and the arts of peace
Address
160 Dundas Street West Belleville, Ontario, K8P 1A6 Canada
Coordinates
Information
School type	Private Elementary school and high school
Religious affiliation(s)	Non-denominational
Founded	1857 (1857)
School number	885126
Head of School	Keith Stansfield
Grades	Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 and Post-Graduate
Language	English
Campus	Located near the Bay of Quinte and downtown Belleville
Website	www.albertcollege.ca

Albert College is a co-educational independent boarding and day school located in Belleville, Ontario, Canada. It is the oldest co-ed boarding independent school in Canada, and the only private school in Belleville. Albert College currently has an enrolment of approximately 300 students from over 20 different countries. The school comprises an Early Primary Learning Centre (Pre-Kindergarten and Junior Kindergarten), a Junior School (Senior Kindergarten to Grade 6), a Middle School (Grades 7 and 8), and a Senior School (Grades 9 to 12 and Post-Graduate).

Boarding students are divided into three residences, which are Baker House, for boys in Grade 7 to 9, Graham Hall, for boys in Grade 10, 11 and 12 and Victoria Manor, for all boarding girls. Albert College is also a day school, for local students, who come mainly from Belleville, as well as the nearby communities of Picton, Napanee, and Kingston. Students are transported in school vans, or drive to school, every day and return home every evening. Albert College's facilities include a chapel, dining hall, a number of art rooms, and a science wing. Albert College's motto is "Paci Artibusque, Pacis Faveo" ("I favour peace and the arts of peace"), and its mission is, "To inspire excellence in the 5 'A's: Acadmeics, Arts, Athletics, Active Citizenship and Adventure". Albert College offers a wide range of co-curricular programs, specialized arts programs, Advanced Placement courses, and an English Foundation Year for first-year English as a Second Language (ESL) students. In addition, ESL is also offered at Albert College during the annual Summer School program. Albert College offers a number of varsity and intramural sports, including swimming, lacrosse, rugby, basketball, soccer, and others.

History

Albert College was founded in 1857 by the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) as the Belleville Seminary. The Episcopal Methodists established Albert College at Belleville, Ontario in 1866. In 1861 Albert College became affiliated with the University of Toronto, and in 1866 it received its university charter and was renamed Albert University in honour of Prince Albert. After the MEC merged into the Methodist Church of Canada in 1884, the school federated with Victoria University, stopped offering university credits and became a high school.

A plaque was erected by the Ontario Heritage Foundation, Ministry of Citizenship and Culture on College Hill United Church, 16 North Park Street, in Belleville.

Albert College
In 1854 the Methodist Episcopal Church, recognizing the need to improve the training of its clergy, began the construction of a seminary on this site. Designed to accommodate 150 residents with classroom facilities for 400 students. Belleville Seminary was opened in July 1857. Under the able direction of its principal, Reverend Albert Carman, the school flourished, producing several eminent graduates. In 1866 it was rechartered as Albert College, an affiliate of the University of Toronto, and five years later it became an independent degree-granting institution. When Victoria College in Cobourg was chosen as official university for the newly formed Methodist Church in 1884, Albert College became a private collegiate. Moved in 1926 to the present location overlooking the Bay of Quinte, it remains a distinguished school.

Albert College features several stained glass windows including a three light window (1986) by Robert McCausland Limited.

Alumni

• Ezekiel Stone Wiggins, known as 'Ottawa prophet', author, scholar, amateur Meteorologist

References

• Albert College Official website
• Albert College Profile By OurKids.net: Canada's Private School Guide
• Waldo Edward Lovel Smith "Albert College, 1857-1957" (Belleville, Ontario, Albert College, 1957)