Hillfield Strathallan College

Postcard of Highfield School, circa 1910

Founded in 1901 as Highfield School for Boys, this school was the first private residential and day school for boys in the city of Hamilton. It was a prep school for boys planning to enter the Royal Military College of Canada. Many graduates played key roles in the Canadian military. A series of name changes, reconstructions, new construction, and amalgamations with other institutions have since occurred, resulting in a single modern co-educational facility. Strathallan College was a school for girls nearby. Eventually, the two schools merged and began a co-education program. Alumni from all founding organizations attended the centennial celebration in 2001.

The buildings have all been named after staff or benefactors who contributed to the development of the College.

Building names

Hillfield Strathallan School Bus, circa 2019

• Page Building – Contains the page gym, along with all the locker rooms, and on the top floor is Lawson Hall, where the students eat lunch, and some formal functions take place.
• Holton Building – The school's administration building, home to the main office, the admissions office and the office of the Head of College.
• Wansbrough Building – Montessori Piazza
• Kemper Lounge - Located outside of the VFC it most often hosts open houses and receptions.
• The Virtue-Fitzgerald Centre for the Arts – A new building that houses the 450-seat, state-of-the-art theatre and the music facilities, including many practice studios (built in the 1980s and upgraded in 1999). Formerly referred to as the "Artsplex" Theatre
• DeGroote Triple Gymnasium – The newest school gymnasium, built by the generosity of Michael G. DeGroote, a very significant benefactor of the College. Contains 3 Courts "Spallaci, Siggy and King"
• Strathallan Building – Colloquially known as "Strath". Home to Director of Operations, Business Office, HR, Advancement Office, IT and Campus Store.
• Young Building – Houses the Middle School Science Laboratories, History Classroom and the Language Wing.
• Heaven Building – Houses the Middle School Math and English Classrooms.
• Collinson Building – Houses the Middle School Launch Pad, Geography Room and 2 Art Rooms.
• Parent's Guild - 3rd floor of Strathallan Building
• Board Room - Michael G. DeGroote Senior School.
• Montessori Building – It is the home to students in early education. Students ages 18 months–10 either attend the Montessori or Junior school.
• Killip Building – Junior school
• Killip Extension Building- Hold 2 Junior School classrooms, the Early-Ed Gym.
• Transportation Building – A new building that opened in September 2006 to house transportation staff offices, with solar panels installed later on.
• Michael G. DeGroote Senior School- State of the art building that was opened in September 2012. It houses the entirety of the Senior School

Houses are familial tradition, so if the child of an Old Boy or Old Girl attends Hillfield Strathallan College, that child will be placed in the same house as their parent. However, if both parents attended the College, children will be placed in the house of their father.[4] House loyalty is very strong, and lives on through competitions for Old Boys and Old Girls at annual Homecoming celebrations.

The brother/sister houses and the corresponding house colours are:

• Pine/Yre – Yellow
• Maple/Tay – Orange
• Birch/Earn – Red
• Cedar/More – Blue

The Brother Houses are named after trees and their Sister Houses take their names from rivers in Scotland.

Hillfield Strathallan College has 28 school buses that bring around 70% of students to school every day. The school buses serve Hamilton, Ancaster, Dundas, Burlington, Stoney Creek, Upper and Lower Grimsby, Brantford, Oakville, Milton, Mississauga, Erin Mills, Waterdown, Carlisle, Kilbride and also smaller neighborhoods and towns.

Hillfield Strathallan College has been known for its dramatic productions and musicals. Plays are performed in the fall term, and musicals take place in the spring. All theatrical performances take place in the College's auditorium, "The Virtue-Fitzgerald Centre for the Arts."

The Crescendo Concert Series, currently comprising three concerts per academic year, supports the College’s arts scholarship program. Scholarship recipients have included Gema Zamprogna (1995-1997) and Lisa Jakub (1997-1998).

• Martin Beaver, classical violinist
• Henry Duncan Graham Crerar (b. 1888 d. 1965), Canadian general; commander-in-chief of the First Canadian Army in North-West Europe in the Second World War who had also reached the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the First World War
• Peter DeBoer, class of 1987; head coach, Vegas Golden Knights
• Jonathan Frid, television and stage actor; played the role of the reluctant vampire Barnabas Collins in the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows (1966–1971)
• Lisa Jakub, writer and actress
• Steve Paikin, class of 1978; host of TVOntario’s public affairs program The Agenda.
• Kathleen Robertson, class of 1993; actress who played the role of Clare Arnold on Beverly Hills 90210 (1994–1997)
• Adrian Wu, class of 2008; Canadian fashion designer and entrepreneur.
• Dominic Zamprogna, class of 1998; television actor, currently on daytime soap opera General Hospital
• Gema Zamprogna, class of 1995; actress, played the role of Felicity King on Road to Avonlea (1989–1996)

• "Hillfield-Strathallan College celebrates 100 years", The Spectator. Hamilton, Ont.: Sep 8, 2001. pg. A.08
• History of Hillfield Strathallan College, from school's website

• Hillfield Strathallan College