In 2017, Whitby boasts 24 elementary schools and five secondary schools to serve its youth. Public and independent religious schools in the town are funded by the Ontario Ministry of Education and overseen by the Durham District School Board. Public institutions offer numerous academic and skills-training programs, as well as French immersion programs. The town is also home to Trafalgar Castle School, a private school for girls housed in a baronial mansion. This panel features images of schools in Whitby in 2017, as well as information regarding the history of elementary and secondary education in the region.

History of Education in the Region

In the early 1800s, few Whitby children attended schools. This was a result of a constellation of factors, including the poverty of Whitby’s settlers, the expectation that many children would work on family farms, and a lack of provincial support for rural education. In 1821, 314 children under the age of 16 lived in Whitby, but few attended the sole school in the region, which was taught by William Moore.

In the 1840s, Upper Canada enacted legislation that raised the amount of money granted by the province to public schools and placed responsibility for school administration in the hands of townships. By 1847, the Township of Whitby (including Whitby and Oshawa) had 23 schools. Throughout the remainder of the decade, the province would gradually wrest control of education away from local townships.

Significantly, in 1871, Ontario established its first compulsory education laws, requiring children between the ages of 7 and 12 to attend school for four months of each year. In coming years, legislation would increase the age of compulsory attendance to 16 and the amount of time children must spend in school. By the early twentieth century, child labour legislation was introduced in the province as well. As of 2017, Ontario children must attend school until the age of 18.