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Villa Maria (school)
Private Catholic high school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Private Catholic high school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Villa Maria |
| logo | Villa Maria Logo 2015.svg |
| image | Monklands Villa Maria Montreal 2012-09-19-a.jpg |
| caption | 'Monklands', the central building of Villa Maria, built in 1804 for Sir James Monk |
| motto | |
| location | Montreal, Quebec |
| country | Canada |
| coordinates | |
| other_name | |
| former_name | |
| religious_affiliation | Catholicism |
| established | 1854 |
| founder | Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal |
| closed | |
| authority | |
| oversight | |
| principal | |
| head | |
| grades | 7 to 11 |
| gender | Originally girls only, now co-ed |
| age_range | 12 to 17 |
| enrollment | 1750 |
| language | French and English |
| colors | Blue and yellow |
| accreditation | |
| affiliation | |
| website | http://www.villamaria.qc.ca/ |
Villa Maria is a subsidized private Catholic co-educational high school located in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce neighbourhood of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, offering both francophone and anglophone streams. Founded in 1854 as a boarding school for girls, it stopped boarding students in 1966 and opened, in August 2016, to boys in the seventh grade. Today, there are roughly 950 students in the French sector and 800 students in the English sector with an average class size of 34 students. Current tuition as of the 2024–2025 school year is $4,900 with $2,330 in extra mandatory fees. It ranked among the top 50 best high schools in Montreal, and is one of the largest private high schools on the Island.
The central part of the Villa Maria school is known as the Monklands Mansion and was the home of the governor general of Canada from 1844 to 1849. It is a National Historic Site of Canada. In 2023, the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal announced that the estate on which the school lies will be sold off, leaving the future of the school uncertain. The current lease ends in 2030, and the Congregation intends to put the land on sale the following year. The Congregation cited the declining number of nuns as one of the reasons behind its decision to sell. While Villa Maria would like to purchase the real estate, negotiations have not been successful.
Monklands
In 1795, James Monk, Chief Justice of Lower Canada, purchased an estate in Montreal that had previously belonged to the Décarie family. The first Monk residence, built in 1803, was the central section of the present-day Villa Maria.
Sir James Monk willed the property known as ‘Monklands’ to his niece, Elizabeth Ann Monk. In 1844, the family leased Monklands to the Crown as a residence for the Governor General of Canada. Modifications were made to create a more imposing residence.
Three Governors General—Sir Charles Metcalfe, Lord Cathcart, and Lord Elgin—resided at Monklands. When Elgin occupied the house, British extremists threatened to burn the structure down after Elgin signed a bill that helped those of the French whose homes had been burnt down during British raids by granting them money to reestablish themselves. However, because Lady Elgin was pregnant at the time, the rebels decided to burn down the parliament building in Montreal, instead. Soon, Lady Elgin gave birth to a son, Victor Bruce, the future Viceroy of India, in a second floor room. While Montreal was serving as the capital of the Province of Canada (1844-49), Sebastien Compain turned Monklands into a country hotel.
Monklands is one of the oldest remaining Palladian-style villas in Canada. Because of its excellent state of conservation and the historic importance of its various occupants, it was declared a National Historic Site in 1951.
School
The school introduced 4 academic profiles that students can choose from in Grade 9. Students can pursue the Science profile, STEAM profile, Entrepreneurship and Leadership profile, or Law and International Studies profile. Each profile offers specialized courses that will help students develop skills and gain insights into their potential future career paths.
The Villa-Maria station of the Montreal Metro is named after the school.
Notable students
- Pauline Fréchette (1889–1943; graduated, 1908), poet, dramatist, journalist, nun
- Veronica Lake, American actress
- Maybelle Stephens Mitchell, American suffragist
- Jessica Paré, actress
- Anna T. Sadlier (1854–1932), writer
- Celie Ellis Turner, American actress and playwright
- Françoise David, politician
References
References
- Kalbfleisch, John. (September 12, 2004). "From the archives: Villa Maria: a school with regal connections". Montreal Gazette.
- "FAQ".
- "Tuition Fee Structure".
- (2024-09-25). "Montreal High Schools Ranking 2024: Your Ultimate Guide".
- Grillo, Matt. (March 21, 2025). "Concerns over future of Villa Maria school". CTV News Montreal.
- "Monklands / Villa Maria Convent". Parks Canada.
- {{CRHP. 14406. Monklands / Villa Maria Convent. August 7, 2011
- (June 21, 2023). "Montreal congregation of nuns to sell historic Villa Maria estate".
- North, Harry. (March 15, 2025). "N.D.G. MNA urges religious order to ensure college stays on Villa Maria estate". The Montreal Gazette.
- (2015-04-26). "Villa Maria girls' school to open to boys in 2016". CBC.
- "Profiles and Curriculum - Collège Villa Maria". Collège Villa Maria.
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
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