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It is the oldest private school in Canada, having been founded in 1829 by then- Lieutenant Governor Sir John Colborne (later Lord Seaton). Teaching at the College began in 1830. It moved to its current site, at Avenue Road and Lonsdale Road in Forest Hill, in 1891. (Its exact address is 200 Lonsdale Road.) The world's first official lacrosse game occured in 1867 on the grounds of UCC, with the patrician school facing The Toronto Cricket club. UCC was formed to model the great public schools of Great Britain, namely Eton College. To this day, many still say that UCC is the "Eton of Canada."
All of UCC's 1,000 day students and 110 boarders complete the International Baccalaureate diploma programme during grades 11 and 12. The International Baccalaureate is widely considered to be the world's premier high school diploma.
UCC is Canada's wealthiest independent school, having a Canadian endowment of $38 million, which it has devoted to physical expansion, financial aid, scholarships, and advanced computer and laboratory equipment. The College has five gyms, a hockey rink, swimming pool, an advanced Learning Centre (to study the way boys learn and to help students with their studies), 10 tennis courts, 12 sports fields, an extensive library collection (100,000+ editions), a new sports activity bubble, as well as numerous support groups for the boys who attend. UCC also maintains their own archives which are widely considered to be one of the most extensive educational archives in Canada.
UCC provides in excess of $1.9 million dollars in annual financial aid to students from all over Canada and the world. In the words of current UCC Principal Dr. James P. Power, "[it is my hope] that one day the cab driver's son may work side-by-side with the brain surgeon's son...my goal is to ensure that finances are not a consideration for a boy wishing to attend Upper Canada College." Consequently, UCC has announced its commitment to doubling their scholarship endowment from $12.5 million dollars to $25 million in the coming decade.
UCC maintains separate foundations in the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Hong Kong, each of which maintains a separate endowment.
The College has a rich collection of art work, war medals and real estate. The school houses an extremely large collection of original paintings from the Group of SevenThe Group of Seven was a group of Canadian landscape painters in the 1920s, originally consisting of Franklin Carmichael, Lawren Harris, A. Jackson, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J. Macdonald, and Frederick Varley. Tom Thomson was also associated with th. Moreover, UCC is the owner of the world's first Victoria CrossThe Victoria Cross (official post-nominal letters "VC") is the highest award for valour that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces of any rank in any service and civilians under military command. Historical Background The awarded in 1854 to Old Boy, Alexander Roberts Dunn. Among the real estate holdings of the College is Canada's oldest "outdoor" school located in the town of Norval, 50 kilometres north of Toronto. The Norval Campus, as it is known, stretches more than 181 hectares along the Credit River. UCC has not released the value of the land, however with the boom in residential development in the area, many speculate the value to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Additionally, UCC's real estate portfolio includes various other sites in the Greater Toronto Area.
UCC has begun plans to launch a $90+ million building and renovation campaign to be completed within the next decade. The plans call for the creation of two new arena complexes, an Olympic-standard 50 metre swimming pool, a new racquet centre (squash, badminton and tennis), a rowing centre, and expansion of both the Prep and Upper School academic buildings.
The official visitor to the College is HRH the Duke of EdinburghThe Duke of Edinburgh is a British dukedom. There have been four creations since 1726. The current holder is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. History of title The Dukedom was first created on July 26, 1726, in the Peera - who provides the traditional link with the British royal family.
The Bishop Strachan School (BSS), located three blocks away from UCC, is UCC's official sister school, although ties between the schools have been strained over the past few years. This has lead UCC to become actively involved with other nearby girls schools, including St. Clement's School (SCS), Havergal College, and Branksome Hall.
Lower Canada College , a coeducational private school in Montreal, Quebec, is not affiliated with UCC.The current Principal of UCC is Dr. James P. Power, who assumed the role as the College's 18th principal in the summer of 2004.