Alternative High School (AHS) is a public senior high (secondary) school in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada; which teaches grades 10 through 12. AHS is currently located at the Clinton Ford Centre, which was home to the former Clinton Ford Elementary School. AHS was launched, independent of the board, in September 1974 by a parents group. It reflected many of the "

alternative education Alternative education encompasses educational philosophy differing from mainstream pedagogy and evidence-based education. Such alternative learning environments may be found within state, charter, and independent schools as well as home-based ...

" ideas that were popular at the time. The early philosophy the school borrowed from the ideas of A. S. Neill, who founded

Summerhill School Summerhill School is an independent (i.e. fee-charging) day and boarding school in Leiston, Suffolk, England. It was founded in 1921 by Alexander Sutherland Neill with the belief that the school should be made to fit the child, rather than ...

. This involved supporting the freedom of children, and opposing the traditional structure and control of most schools. Although, AHS was never meant to be a copy of Summerhill. In 1975 AHS came under the control of the

Calgary Board of Education Calgary School District No. 19 or the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) is the public school board in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. As a public system, the CBE is required to accept any students who meet age and residency requirements, regardless of ...

(CBE).

Special programs

The school helps operate an off-campus class at the

Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre The Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre, or AARC, is a drug rehabilitation centre for adolescents and family members located in Calgary, Alberta. AARC specializes in treating young people suffering from drug addiction and alcoholism Alco ...

. Two teachers from the school help students progressively get back into the regular school system if they are of school age after they reach Level Three of treatment.

Notable alumna

* Feist, musician (1994)

External links

Official web site of Alternative High SchoolCalgary Board of Education
- School profile
Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre
- Partners with CBE and AHS to provide classroom instruction to those transitioning back into school. *
Kid Power
' (August 23, 2004) - Article in

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

, Canada's leading weekly news magazine), discusses AHS. *
Alternative High School should be a model for others
' (May 27, 2004) - Editorial in FFWD Weekly about AHS. {{High Schools in Calgary Alternative schools in Canada High schools in Calgary Educational institutions established in 1974 1974 establishments in Alberta