The School on the Hill

The Orangeville high school had a very modest beginning in 1870 with a handful of students meeting in a little stone cottage on Second Street. Under the leadership of Principal Alexander Steele and a teaching staff of four (including for a brief time Archibald Lampman, one of Canada’s Confederation poets), the number of students gradually increased until it became necessary in 1884 to open a more spacious and modern school.

A site was selected on the gentle slope to the north of town and a state-of-the-art building was erected with what was thought at the time to be enough room to spare for the 150 students then in attendance. The Harrison steam radiators used to heat the building added to its image as one of the most modern schools in the province.

Principal Steele continued in his post until his retirement in 1914, overseeing the addition of a new wing in 1892 and an enrolment of 180 students.

However, in 1948 a disastrous fire completely gutted the building and after a three-year sojourn in local churches, a new structure was officially opened in 1951. Over the next thirty-five years, the population increased to a teaching staff of 94 and 1800 students, reaching an all-time high of 2200 in 1998 until its sister school, Westside Secondary, opened its doors.

Today Orangeville District Secondary School is a diverse composite school with almost 1600 students, 133 teaching and support staff and a proud legacy of achievement. Its alumni include Olympic athletes, national journalists, Hollywood computer animators and a Northwest passage historian. Above all, ODSS continues to be a vital link between the rural roots of Dufferin County and the multicultural face of our future.

On October 3, 2009, we are delighted to be celebrating 125 years of teaching and learning excellence.  

Leslie Godfrey, teacher of English and teacher-librarian; chair, 0DSS 125 Homecoming

adapted from material by Sidney J. Dickens (Orangeville Banner) and school archives