TVDSB taking immediate steps to address enrolment at Sir Arthur Currie

Sir Arthur Currie Public School on Buroak Drive in London, Ont., Sept 22, 201. (Daryl Newcombe / CTV News)

Exeter, Ont. -

Intense enrolment pressure at Sir Arthur Currie Public School in London, Ont., is causing the Thames Valley District school Board (TVDSB) to take “immediate steps” to deal with the issue, according to a release.

“The school’s capacity has been pushed to its absolute limit,” said Geoff Vogt, Superintendent of Facilities Services and Capital Planning, noting there are now 22 portables on site. Temporary parking for school staff has been set up at a nearby municipal park.

Four recommendations will take effect Sept. 22 and include:

• Main Sir Arthur Currie PS site to accommodate only Kindergarten to Grade 6 students, with younger siblings of current students eligible to register at the school
• Grade 7 and 8 students to attend a fully renovated satellite campus for Sir Arthur Currie PS on the grounds of Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School
• New families in the Sir Arthur Currie PS attendance area to attend a school to be determined by the Board of Trustees: University Heights PS or Knollwood Park PS
• Bus transportation is included

Another recommendation relates to students from two areas in northwest London – known as the Fox Hollow West and Sunningdale North Holding Zones – who are currently bussed to the school formerly known as Ryerson Public School.

“The Sir Arthur Currie PS satellite campus will be housed in a fully renovated building on the secondary school property and provide many advantages for Grade 7 and 8 students,” said Vogt, pointing to students’ access to the high school’s library, gyms, playing fields and other amenities. Banting is also the designated secondary school for Sir Arthur Currie students.

The school opened in 2017 with a capacity of 533 pupils. Due to the rapid pace of development and migration to London, enrolment jumped to 850 last year – with enrolment reaching 995 this year. Enrolment is projected to grow to more than 1,300 by 2024.

In October 2020, the Ministry of Education approved funding a new school to accommodate 802 students to relieve some of the enrolment pressures in northwest London.

The Board is currently in the process of acquiring land, but design and construction of the new school can take up to four years to complete.

A Town Hall meeting for school families is scheduled Oct. 19 to outline the process and staged plan to manage enrolment growth in northwest London.

The release from the TVDSB also reads that “Due to continued growth in these holding zones, enrolment at Ryerson has reached its full capacity and any additional students would attend a school to be determined by the Board of Trustees: Wilfrid Jury PS or John P. Robarts PS.”

Trustees are expected to make a final decision on the recommendations at the Oct. 26 Board meeting.

School community members are invited to provide their comments and ask questions about the proposed options.