General Vanier Secondary School

In the late 1960s, another secondary school was opened in Oshawa, named for Georges-Philias Vanier, the 19th Governor General of Canada.

In her unpublished manuscript, Olive French described the school as follows:

The biggest project in Secondary education, this year (1967) is the building of this Special Vocational School, which will accommodate the students who graduate from the Opportunity classes and other students of limited academic objectives. It is situated on Gibb Street just west of Centre Street. Construction is now being carried on and it will have 16 classrooms, a library, 24 shops and a combination gymnasium auditorium. This school is scheduled to open in 1968. It is officially named the “General Vanier Secondary School.” Mr. C. Pickary is to be the principal.

The cornerstone was laid on June 27, 1968, and the first principal was C.F. Piekarcz.

Students attended Vanier through the decades until the mid-1990s when the decision was made to amalgamate the school with neighbouring Central Collegiate. The school retained the name, OCCI, while moving into the facility built for Vanier at 155 Gibb St. OCCI continued to educate students until its closure in 2016. Shortly after its closure, Village Union Elementary School moved into this facility, where it continues to operate from.

With information:

olivefrench.wordpress.com/2011/10/08/general-vanier-secondary-school/

Oshawa Museum archival collection, Oshawa Central Collegiate Institute file (0026/0004/0020).

J. Douglas Ross, Education in Oshawa: From Settlement to City, 1970), 197.