Claremont Enquirer
Story of the Claremont Schoolhouse
Claremont Public School
(1841-original building) (1865 - rebuilt) (1920-torn down) (1921-current building) (unsure which year the library, gym, additional classrooms and office space were added)
The History of a Small Country School
Where to start? Where to begin? There is so much history within the Claremont Public School walls.
The school was established in 1834 without a school house. I bet you did not think Claremont Public School was that old! The history of this school is briefly summarized below. It tells about important things that happened from 1838-1938 and current events. Most of the historic details below were found in primary documents which contain hand written accounts of improvements and events occurring in the school's history. You will learn that Claremont Public School has come a long way from what it was, and has changed for the best. The town of Claremont would not be the same without Claremont Public School. Our school is used as a base for this town for many events and gatherings. Claremont Public School was established in 1834. In 1841 the original school house was erected. It was owned by Nathan Betley. In 1864 a new school was built and was opened on January 1st, 1865. When the school was re-built they made it out of brick. When they opened the new school they had 40 or more students, which at the time, was a good number of students, especially for a little town. In about 1930 a basement was built, along with a furnace that heated the little school.
May 22, 1939 was the momentous visit of King George and Queen Elizabeth who came to Toronto. A few teachers and students in C.P.S. went to see the famous royal couple. During the summer of 1944, electric wiring was installed in the school which was a very important improvement. The school couldn't turn the lights on until December 10th, 1944. Also in 1944 they had a Christmas concert to raise money for the "British War Victim's Fund". Ten dollars was raised by the end of the night. In 1945 the well that had supplied the school with water for some time, was starting to cave in. So, during the Easter vacation a new well was drilled. During the summer of 1949, further improvements were made where the school was painted by some of the students and teachers.
In the 1920's the school was torn down and in its place a new 5 room school house was built. There have been some myths about how the new school was built. A fire maybe? We have added a major section on the west end of the school and added a gymnasium. But from mid-1900's to the 2000's Claremont has been a very quite school. Winning an odd competition and making an odd renovation Claremont P.S. has stayed basically the same. We achieve well scholastically and we received many accolades by highschool teachers claiming Claremont students are well prepared for grade 9. Claremont Public School has evolved in so many ways over the past 175 years. Today we have electricity throughout the entire school and we have 7 washrooms. Since the major renovation, our school has 10 classrooms, a library, a gym, and 4 work spaces.
Over the past few years we have had multiple teams win several sporting events such as the provincial cup in volleyball in 1999 and the eight year old girls division in Cross Country where the team achieved the runner up position in 2008. Our school has multiple clubs including the Community Crew, the Reading Club, and the Eco Friendly group. We also have an intermediate band, a choir, and a musical play every year. Most of our extra-curricular supplies are from multiple fund-raising events. A recent success has been our junior Battle of the Books team, winning 1st place in the Pickering City championships. Our largest fund-raising event is Springfest. At Springfest, we have a haunted house, games for children, raffles, and much more. Springfest is not just a school event. It is an event that brings the entire town together.
Claremont Public school has more to it than meets the eye. Since the beginning to the end a lot has occurred, and surely there will be more to come. Claremont is no longer the little school in the country and it is favorably recognized as an excellent school and a great place for students. There's no doubt that it will always be the hub of our town.
Researched and written by: Megan Wilson, Mac Doner, Sebastian Santacroce, Austin Porter​
