A. B. Lucas Secondary School

History and construction

By early 1960, monumental growth in north London soon established the need for the construction of a new secondary school to accommodate the new families moving into the area. Suffering economic restraint, the Board of Education was hesitant to approve growth, but eventually approved the project in an effort to reduce the strain on other schools in the city.

Robert D. Schoales, a noted regional modernist, was responsible for the design of the existing structure that would be built concurrently with Westminster Secondary School in Byron. As architect for the London Board of Education, Schoales was responsible for the design of many of London's mid-century school buildings, including Knollwood Park Public School (70 Gammage Street), G. A. Wheable Centre for Adult Education London (70 Jacqueline Street), and many others. His design incorporated an L-shaped two-story brick structure, including a stilted instrumental music wing, and auditorium. Terrazzo flooring was chosen for its durability, while glazed tile was utilised as an attractive, yet cost effective decoration for the entrance foyers. In addition to consultation work with educational boards throughout Ontario, Schoales collaborated with the Ministry of the Solicitor General, providing advice in the design and construction of correctional facilities across the province.

During the construction process, the future students of Lucas (including a large number of future Westminster students) attended Wheable Secondary School while they waited for their new school to be completed. Following the organization of the schools' administrative teams, the staff and students of Wheable attended classes in the morning while the Lucas and Westminster staff and students attended afternoon shifts, ending at 5:45 pm each day. These original students recall 'not starting classes until noon hour and then boarding the buses in the dark and arriving at their country homes in the pitch black of a winter's night.'

A. B. Lucas was officially opened in October 1963, seven months following the completion of Westminster. While the building was considered impressive by both students and journalists, many of the buildings features had yet to be completed, and it would be several months before the school would become fully operational. The irritation from concrete and plaster dust constantly lingering in the air forced many students wearing contact lenses to wear only one at a time in an effort to allow the other eye to heal. Rodents meanwhile infested the lockers, using the drain holes in each locker to scavenge food from unsuspecting students' lunch boxes.

Academics and rankings

A. B. Lucas Secondary School ranked 186th out of all 738 secondary schools in Ontario in the 2017–18 Fraser Institute Ontario secondary school ranking with an overall rating of 7.2 out of 10. The school has consistently performed well, ranking 148th out of 625 in the most recent 5 years

Events

Relay for Life

On June 1, 2018, A. B. Lucas Secondary School ranked #1 in Canada by the students raising $201,000 to support cancer research with the Canadian Cancer Society for the annual overnight event, Relay for Life.

Lucas had previously also been ranked #1 in Canada in 2017 by raising $190,000.

Since 2005, A. B. Lucas Secondary School has raised a total of $1,001,000 for the nationwide event and is the first school in Canada to achieve that goal.

Notable alumni

• Craig Billington, former NHL goalie
• Trevor Blumas, actor
• Logan Couture, NHL player for the San Jose Sharks
• Jeff Hackett, former NHL goalie
• Nazem Kadri, NHL player for the Calgary Flames.
• David Lee, CFL player for Saskatchewan Roughriders
• Deb Matthews, M.P.P. for London North Centre
• Gloria Reuben, actress
• Jamie Romak, baseball player for SSG Landers
• David Shore, creator of House MD

References

References

1. "Compare Academic Ratings and Rankings of Schools". Fraser Institute.
2. "Secondary Month-End School Enrolment by Grade". TVDSB.
3. (1954). "Toward Better School Design". F.W. Dodge Corp, New York.
4. "REQUEST FOR DEMOLITION OF HERITAGE DESIGNATED PROPERTY AT 723 LORNE AVENUE (LORNE AVENUE PUBLIC SCHOOL)". City of London.
5. "WESTMINSTER SECONDARY SCHOOL; In the Beginning ......".
6. "Fraser Institute - School Ranking".