West Lake House: Our New Academic Building

West Lake House is an important milestone in the school’s history. We are creating an environment that supports our unique approach to teaching and learning. This will be an environment where we can inspire and equip our students by delivering a challenging and engaging program that reflects the continuous pursuit of academic excellence and one that nurtures and develops leadership, creativity and social responsibility.

Thanks to our generous donors, the Light The Way campaign has raised over $20 million. However, we know that costs are rising in the construction trades, and we are in a volatile market right now. While we had a third-party cost consultant review our building and prepare a market estimate for our hard construction costs, we are seeing the tenders come in higher than expected. In consultation with our project manager, construction manager and members of the campus master plan committee, it is apparent that no one can consistently predict when the market will adjust to more regularized costs.

As we have always done, Pickering College’s approach is to make fiscally responsible decisions while moving ahead with West Lake House. Additional fundraising will be necessary for West Lake House as well as future capital projects. We know once West Lake House is built, future renovations to Rogers House will be necessary.

“West Lake House is the result of the vision and support of so many within the PC community. We appreciate the involvement of those who have contributed ideas and feedback that makes this a bright, innovative addition to the PC campus, and the many donors who have given their financial support to this building,” says Peter Sturrup, recently retired Head of School.

We are pleased to be working with Knightstone Capital Management Inc. as our Project Manager, Diamond Schmitt as our Architects and Eastern Construction Co. Ltd. as our Construction Manager.

West Lake House will be located on what is currently North Field. This fully-accessible building will be architecturally innovative and set a very modern tone, incorporating our approach to teaching and learning in its design. Using materials including metal, wood and glass, its design will maintain our strong sense of community, history, and traditions, while focusing on sustainability.

Following the Quaker building principles of incorporating light, symmetry, simplicity, community, sustainability and fine craftsmanship into the design, West Lake House will give us more learning space than we have in our existing buildings.

We are excited about what this visionary build will mean for our students, our programs and for the entire Pickering College community. West Lake House will include a new Junior School wing with classrooms for Junior Kindergarten to Grade 5 and a Junior Learning Commons; it will include an Arts wing with specially designed classrooms for music, art and drama; a new Theatre that will allow for theatre-style music and drama performances as well as full-school Morning Meetings; a Science wing with classrooms for physics, chemistry, biology and robotics; and a Senior and Middle School Learning Commons that will support collaborative creative learning, research and presentations.

The main floor will feature the spaces most accessed by the entire school and our outside community, including the theatre and our CRTC-licensed radio station 102.7 CHOP FM.

This is a significant addition to our classroom and community space. We look forward to not only welcoming students and staff to West Lake house but having parents, alumni, and the broader community join us for special events and performances.

“We are eagerly anticipating the breaking of ground, and the construction of the most significant addition to the PC campus for this and future generations of students,” says Cinde Lock, Head of School.

It is not often we have the opportunity to be a part of history. Yet, each of us holds that opportunity in our hands right now.

This is a transformational time in the school’s history. We thank those who have supported us to date and look forward to speaking with all members of our community about your support in helping us realize West Lake House.

Why West Lake House?

Giving our new academic building the name West Lake House serves to remind us that Pickering College was founded by Quakers in West Lake, Ontario. The first incarnation of Pickering College—West Lake Boarding School—opened in 1842. This name provides a connection from the Quaker roots of Pickering College and highlights the role of Quakerism as unique and defining aspect of our school.

We are committed to retaining a close relationship with our Quaker heritage providing a philosophical, moral and operational framework for planning and decision-making. In a time of rapid change and uncertainty, West Lake House will continue to connect us with tradition and stability.

In addition, this name emphasizes the Quaker influence at PC today—our values-based education— which will continue to differentiate us in an increasingly competitive environment.