HISTORY
EDUCATION
ANGLICAN SCHOOLS
EDUCATION
ANGLICAN SCHOOLS
THE BEACH SCHOOL
THE FRONT
by Gail Hussey-Weir
Created August 3, 2026
THE FRONT
by Gail Hussey-Weir
Created August 3, 2026
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The Beach School was not located "on the Beach" as the name would suggest but, rather, it was near the top of the Beach Hill. On the screen shot of the Beach Hill area seen on the right, in the top left corner is St. Boniface Cemetery (labelled Anglican Cemetery on the map). The cemetery is so named because St. Boniface Anglican Church, built in 1906, was located on the land now occupied by the cemetery. Across Cemetery Lane, about where the word "Anglican" appears on the map, is where The Beach School was located.
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The first mention I have found of The Beach School was in: Report of the Public Schools of Newfoundland under Church of England Boards, for year ended December 31, 1904:
On page 12, Table C. - Public Schools of Newfoundland under Church of England Boards, for year ended June 30, 1904:
Bell Isle Beach, Minnie Squires (teacher). Grade of Teacher: 3.
On page 14, Table C. continued:
Bell Isle Beach:
Square feet of Blackboard in school: 9
Number of Maps in school: 7
Number of Globes: 0
Other Apparatus: 0
Standard I: 11 [does this refer to number of pupils in the grade?]
Standard II: 6
Standard III: 5
Standard IV: 4
Standard V: 1
Standard VI: 0
On page 12, Table C. - Public Schools of Newfoundland under Church of England Boards, for year ended June 30, 1904:
Bell Isle Beach, Minnie Squires (teacher). Grade of Teacher: 3.
On page 14, Table C. continued:
Bell Isle Beach:
Square feet of Blackboard in school: 9
Number of Maps in school: 7
Number of Globes: 0
Other Apparatus: 0
Standard I: 11 [does this refer to number of pupils in the grade?]
Standard II: 6
Standard III: 5
Standard IV: 4
Standard V: 1
Standard VI: 0
The photo below is of the Beach School in the left of the picture, with St. Boniface Anglican Church just left of center. The 2-storey house to the right of center was originally the Church Rectory; it was rebuilt as a residence for the Principal of the Beach School in 1939. Photo courtesy of Gerald Purcell.
The photo below is a close-up of the Beach School. The original of this particular Beach School building was a two-room school constructed about 1921. (Perhaps the banner over the entrance was a celebration of that event?) This building replaced a much smaller 1911 building, which itself had replaced the school that had been attached to St. Boniface Church.
The school was reported to have been completely renovated in 1939, with "the interior being stripped out for a new ceiling and changes being made in the windows." In "An Address delivered to the Church of England Board of Education at its meeting held on Sept. 1st, 1944," by Rev. N.S. Noel, he finished by saying, "I am sorry I could not get the flooring for the Beach School, but the interior of the School has just been redecorated and the building is in splendid condition for the opening on Monday. The toilets are really not fit to use and new ones should be built this Fall." (Presumably, the toilets he was referring to were outhouses?)
In a 1957 report on the Anglican Schools of Bell Island in the N.T.A. Journal, Fred J. Newhook stated that "The new building, now known as the Beach school, consisted of two classrooms at first, but has since been enlarged to three."
In the Foreword of the June 1953 Academician, Rev. W.G. Legge announced that "beginning next September, there will be no accommodation at the Beach School for anybody above Grade 8." So Grade 9 students and above now had to travel to The Academy on Grammer Street. Presumably, up to this point, the Beach School had been all-grade.
The Beach School was last listed in the Telephone Directory in 1968.
(Source of photo: A&SC, MUN Library, COLL-202, Acc. No. 92-036.)
The school was reported to have been completely renovated in 1939, with "the interior being stripped out for a new ceiling and changes being made in the windows." In "An Address delivered to the Church of England Board of Education at its meeting held on Sept. 1st, 1944," by Rev. N.S. Noel, he finished by saying, "I am sorry I could not get the flooring for the Beach School, but the interior of the School has just been redecorated and the building is in splendid condition for the opening on Monday. The toilets are really not fit to use and new ones should be built this Fall." (Presumably, the toilets he was referring to were outhouses?)
In a 1957 report on the Anglican Schools of Bell Island in the N.T.A. Journal, Fred J. Newhook stated that "The new building, now known as the Beach school, consisted of two classrooms at first, but has since been enlarged to three."
In the Foreword of the June 1953 Academician, Rev. W.G. Legge announced that "beginning next September, there will be no accommodation at the Beach School for anybody above Grade 8." So Grade 9 students and above now had to travel to The Academy on Grammer Street. Presumably, up to this point, the Beach School had been all-grade.
The Beach School was last listed in the Telephone Directory in 1968.
(Source of photo: A&SC, MUN Library, COLL-202, Acc. No. 92-036.)
A photo of the school in 1959 (see below) may be of the south side (back) of the school. That photo is from the cover of the 1959 Anglican schools yearbook, Focus.
Some Early Teachers at The Beach School, as recorded in The Daily News
Miss Hilda Somerton in 1911
E.A. Spurrell was principal in 1928
Miss Torraville in 1931
George H. Haines, c.1932-1939
E.A. Spurrell was principal in 1928
Miss Torraville in 1931
George H. Haines, c.1932-1939
The Grade 7 diploma below for Phyllis Snow in 1939 is courtesy of her daughter, Glenda Bursey.
On June 9, 1931, the children of the Church of England Beach School staged a concert, consisting of songs, dialogues, recitations and tableaux in the C.L.B. Armoury. The entertainment was given by the pupils of the primary grades under the direction of their teacher, Miss Torraville.
In March 1932, the pupils of the Beach School presented a play entitled "Kenneth's Dream of Peace" at the C.L.B. Armoury. (Bown, 1932, p. 44, col. 1)
In 1938, the pupils of the Beach School presented "The Princess and the Monster" at the C.L.B. Armoury. (Bown, 1938, p. 70, col. 3)
In March 1932, the pupils of the Beach School presented a play entitled "Kenneth's Dream of Peace" at the C.L.B. Armoury. (Bown, 1932, p. 44, col. 1)
In 1938, the pupils of the Beach School presented "The Princess and the Monster" at the C.L.B. Armoury. (Bown, 1938, p. 70, col. 3)