ARCHITECTURE:
Originally, this was a two-storey brick building with flat roof and high parapet, and with an L-shaped footprint; it has been much extended over the years. The entrance was never on the grand façade facing Ryan St. The building is almost identical to Burnside School, by the same architect. The two shallow wings on the right side façade have large, south-facing windows with 9-over-1 lights, flooding light into the classrooms. The windows are heightened by full-height concrete pilasters defining each window unit. The central window has a segmental arch. A metal cornice with modillions and a concrete belt-course unify the design. The main building now has bricked-up doors and windows in the rear hinting at earlier additions, now removed. The modest entrance on Belmont, which resembles a “Boys” or “Girls” door from a school of the period, is on the lower left and sits below a tall window with a multi-light, round arched transom. Several extensions include a 1955 addition at the rear that blends well with the original building, without mimicking its details.
ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS:
The original Oaklands Elementary School was one of three schools designed by Watkins. Parfitt Bros built it at a cost of $43,645 and it opened in August 1913. The first principal was Harry Charlesworth. Preston C. Coates was Vice-Principal and the other staff were W. Hamilton, Bina Brynjolfson, Evelyn Vantreight and Anna Hendry. Growth in the area was so rapid that by 1915 the school borrowed a large military tent for extra classroom space. By 1919 one class had 90 pupils with two teachers and the corridors were used as classrooms.
A four-classroom annex was built in 1920, the first of half-a-dozen additions scattered about the yard. These included an annex in 1926 designed by Percy Fox, and an auditorium in 1932 designed by C. Elwood Watkins; they were all demolished in 1999. There was yet another 10-room addition in 1956. This relieved the crowding that had led to classes operating in shifts and the conversion of basement space into classrooms. Enrolment hit its record in 1963 with 1103 students, and by 1968 Oaklands was the largest elementary school in the school district, including 120 in kindergarten.
Special guests at the 1964 Golden Jubilee celebrations included Mrs. C.B. McDonell (née Evelyn Vantreight), Mrs. R.H. McInnes (née Anna Hendry), and former principal Horace Dawson. Distinguished guest and former pupil John Gough (3000 Dean Av, Saanich), Superintendent of Greater Victoria School District 61, who wrote several geography books that became standard texts for BC schools.
A major renovation that began in 1998 included restoration of the 1912 building, as this was found to be cheaper than demolition and rebuilding. In 2001 the Hallmark Society Award of Merit was presented to architect Shiv Garyali and Victoria School District 61 for their work.