A Brief History of Glenlyon Norfolk School – “And the times they are a-changing!”

The amalgamation of Norfolk House School and Glenlyon Preparatory School into GNS was signed, sealed and delivered in March 1986. But it is the journey of its founding schools, where the story of Glenlyon Norfolk really begins.

Norfolk House was the older of the two schools, started in 1913 by Miss Julia McDermott and her close friend, Miss Dora Atkins. The two had been colleagues at Norwich High School in Norfolk, England. Miss McDermott left there in July 1911 to take a position at Crofton House School in Vancouver, for the upcoming school year. Miss Atkins had remained in touch and was invited by Miss McDermott to join her in Victoria to start a new girls school. Miss Atkins arrived in August 1913 and the two officially opened Norfolk House School on September 10th with 11 students, in a rented residence on Oscar Street, in Victoria.

In 1917, Miss McDermott married Frederick Forbes. Now in those days it was contrary to social norms and rarely accepted for a married lady to be a headmistress. Her main duty was expected to be towards her husband – managing the household and raising a family – and there would be no time for educating young ladies. So she left the school, leaving Miss Atkins as Headmistress for the next 39 years

Under Miss Atkins guidance, the school slowly grew in reputation and enrollment, admitting some boys in the younger classes and offering boarding for a few out-of-town students at new premises at Granite and Amphion Streets in Oak Bay.

In 1931, 4.5 acres of woodland was purchased from the Pemberton family who were prominent members of Victoria society.  On this site in April 1932, 93 students were settled into the newly constructed Main House, which became the first of several buildings and future upgrades to be built on this property that is now called Pemberton Woods.

Major James Ian Simpson started Glenlyon Preparatory School in September of that same year, 1932. He graduated from Glasgow University, served with valor in WWI, and ventured to Canada,  farming in Alberta for a brief time before deciding to follow a path in education. He taught and later served as the Headmaster of University School, a position that ended abruptly in July 1932. However, with determination and rapid organization he established his own school that opened in less than two months on September 12th.

Simpson rented property that was previously the old boarding house of Norfolk House on St. David Street.

The school, named after the area in Scotland where he was born, started out with 13 students, one assistant, a matron/housekeeper and a Scottie dog.

In 1935, the school’s increased enrollment demanded more space and it moved to 1701 Beach Drive, the former property of architect Francis Rattenbury.

Major Simpson guided the school with skill, fairness and firmness, remaining Headmaster for 32 years, before handing over to his son Hamish in 1964.

Both Norfolk House and Glenlyon schools shared similar values and based their development on their founders’ own educational experiences in England and Scotland. This ‘culture’ was strongly conveyed through their respective school mottos: “Do Thy Best and Rejoice with Those That Do Better” at Norfolk House, and “Truth and Courage” at Glenlyon. This shared culture existed in many parts of each school’s daily operation: in excellent academics that offered students opportunities for future life successes; in a strong belief in sport and activity as an integral part of that preparation; in a consistent and fair emphasis on good behaviour, deportment and good manners; and in a strong House system that provided competitive outlets, with an emphasis on participation, team loyalty, and enjoyable effort.

This shared culture helped many students to achieve wonderful things in their chosen pursuits and include: Olympic medalists, world renowned artists and photographers, politicians, philanthropists, environmentalists, musicians, actors, film directors, and many, many successful business roles in society.

Miss Atkins retired in 1956, Major Simpson in 1964. They were succeeded by Miss Winifred Scott and Mr. Hamish Simpson. Miss Scott’s goals were to raise and broaden the academic level of Norfolk House, particularly in the sciences, and add new buildings to accommodate these changes. Hamish Simpson led Glenlyon from a family enterprise to a limited company with expansion in facilities and the introduction of Primary and Grade 10 classes.

From time to time the question of amalgamating the two schools had been discussed and it was in the early 1980’s that educational circumstances, hard, hard work by a large number of Board members and volunteers and substantial parent support, provided enough momentum for the “marriage” of the two schools. This took place in 1986 under the joint Headship of Mrs. Margaret Wilmot and Mr. Keith Walker. Both returned as Junior Campus Directors at the conclusion of this very important first year of an amalgamated Glenlyon Norfolk School.

Mr. David Brooks was appointed as Headmaster to steer the school through its next ten years and his vision and enthusiasm drove the growth of the school, with new buildings and expanded enrollment and most significantly new and improved educational programmes. To this point, in 1996, the school was accepted as an International Baccalaureate World School offering the  demanding Diploma Programme.

From 1997 until 2001, Mr. Charles Peacock served as Headmaster of the school, adding in 1998 The Round Square organization to the school’s offerings. This membership greatly increased opportunities for GNS students to participate in worldwide service and cooperation projects. It was ten years later that GNS co-hosted with Collingwood School, the prestigious worldwide International Round Square Conference.

It was not long before the benefits of an amalgamated school could be seen as GNS gained many successes – locally and nationally – in choral performance, debating, science fairs, sports (particularly soccer, basketball, rugby and field hockey) music and drama. The success of these programmes with many individual achievements in academics, raised considerable awareness of the school’s commitment to a well-rounded education, within the school, locally, nationally and internationally..

Mrs. Barbara Emmerson served as Head of School between 2001 and 2004, bringing a wealth of experience and ideas to move the school further forward on its journey to becoming a top international school. In 2002, the school implemented the IB Middle Years Programme, a move that created a domino effect for further changes, beginning with reconfiguring the structure of the school in September 2003. The Beach Drive Campus became a primary campus with Kindergarten to Grade 5, in single-gender classes sharing a co-educational environment. This allowed the Pemberton Woods Campus to be a Grade 6 to Grade 12 campus, operating with co-educational classes throughout.

Simon Bruce-Lockhart succeeded Ms. Emmerson as Head of School in 2004. The authorization of the IB Middle Years Programme, the implementation of the IB Primary Years Programme, and the introduction of a ground-breaking Junior Kindergarten programme quickly followed. In 2005 the Middle School became a separate entity at the Pemberton Woods Campus and the school embarked on a comprehensive strategic planning initiative known as the Campus Transformation Plan.

One of the more challenging consequences of amalgamating Norfolk House and Glenlyon schools into GNS was the strong allegiance by alumni to their former schools, while not easily finding a close connection to the new school. This became no more evident than during the 20th Anniversary of amalgamation in May 2006. As a result, it was the decision to emphasize the history of GNS as starting from 1913. This helped to change individual perspectives and effectively the focus from three separate schools histories to one all-inclusive, shared identity.

In February 2007, the Primary Years Programme was authorized at the Beach Campus. By September 2008, the school completed the first project in the Campus Transformation Plan – the building of an artificial turf field at the Pemberton Woods Campus. In 2012-13, the Junior School became fully co-educational. GNS also took great pride in celebrating its Centenary. A 100 year history encompassing the establishment, development and successes of Norfolk House, Glenlyon and Glenlyon Norfolk Schools as one. The school year concluded with the opening of the new Hall.

In 2015 Glenn Zederayko succeeded Mr. Bruce-Lockhart as Head of school. He successfully steered the school through the formidable IB and Canadian Association of Independent Schools re-accreditation processes. In December 2018, the Hall was rededicated as the Denford Hall and gave birth to the Wonder Capital Campaign.

Chad Holtum followed Dr. Zederayko as Head of School in 2020 in a year that the Covid-19 pandemic took front and centre as an ongoing challenge. However, successful completion of the Beach Drive Campus’ amazing building programme and the exciting opening of Gryphon House as an adjunct to the Family Boarding programme highlighted 2021.

The future of GNS is looking really bright. Now that the Beach Drive Campus transformation is complete and plans are now well underway to revitalize the Pemberton Woods Campus – the times have certainly changed since those early beginnings.