Albert College is a

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

boarding Boarding may refer to: *Boarding, used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals as in a: **Boarding house **Boarding school *Boarding (horses) (also known as a livery yard, livery stable, or boarding stable), is a stable where hor ...

and

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...

located in Belleville,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. It is the oldest co-ed boarding independent school in Canada, and the only private boarding school in Belleville. Albert College currently has an enrolment of approximately 300 students from over 20 countries. The school comprises an Early Primary Learning Centre (Pre-Kindergarten), a Junior School (Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6), a Middle School (Grades 7 and 8), and a Senior School (Grades 9 to 12). Boarding students are divided into three residences: Baker House, for Grade 7 to 9; Graham Hall, for Grade 10, 11 and 12; and Victoria Manor, for Grade 7 to 12. 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, a dining hall, several art rooms, and a science wing. Albert College offers a wide range of co-curricular programs, specialized arts programs, and an English foundation year for first-year students of English as a second language (ESL). In addition, ESL is also offered at Albert College during the annual summer-school program. Albert College offers varsity and

intramural sports Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, for the purpose of fun and exercise. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' m ...

including swimming, lacrosse, rugby, basketball, soccer and others.

History

Albert College was founded in 1857 by the Methodist Episcopal Church as the Belleville Seminary. Due to its strong academic record, Albert College received its university charter in 1866 and was renamed Albert University in honour of

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

, the Prince Consort of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

. Albert University was an affiliate of the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. After the Methodist Episcopal Church merged into the

Methodist Church of Canada The Methodist Church was the major Methodist denomination in Canada from its founding in 1884 until it merged with two other denominations to form the United Church of Canada in 1925. The Methodist Church was itself formed from the merger of fou ...

in 1884, the school federated with Victoria College (University of Toronto). At that time, the school stopped offering university credits and became a high school. In 1857, the original College was located on what is now College Street East in Belleville. It was designed to accommodate 150 residents, with classroom facilities for 400 students. It was partly destroyed by fire in the spring of 1917. Construction on the present Dundas Street West site began in 1923 and the new school opened in 1926, affiliated with the

United Church of Canada The United Church of Canada (UCC; ) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholic Church in Canada. The United Chu ...

. When Albert College relocated, it admitted boys only. In 1934, girls were welcomed once again. The school was struck by fire again in 1980. This time, fire broke out in Victoria Manor, located nearby the main campus. The damage was limited primarily to the older of the two buildings that comprised the residence at the time. There were no serious injuries. A plaque was erected by the

Ontario Heritage Foundation The Ontario Heritage Trust () is a non-profit agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is responsible for protecting, preserving and promoting the built, natural and cultural heritage of Canada's most populous province, Ontario. ...

, Ministry of Citizenship and Culture, on College Hill United Church at 16 North Park Street in Belleville: Albert College features several stained glass windows in their chapel, including a three light window (1986) by Robert McCausland Limited.

References

Albert College
Official website
TABS Profile
Profile by The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS) * Waldo Edward Lovel Smith "Albert College, 1857-1957" (Belleville, Ontario, Albert College, 1957) {{Authority control Boarding schools in Ontario Private schools in Ontario Educational institutions established in 1857 Education in Belleville, Ontario Schools in Hastings County 1857 establishments in Canada West

History

See also

References