“Board agreed to the application”

WQSB considers a sports-study program 

 

Laurent Robillard-Cardinal

In late January, a Philemon Wright representative made a presentation to the Western Québec School Board (WQSB) council of commissioners to discuss the possibility of a sports study program at Philemon Wright High School. Presently, there is no anglophone school in the region which offers this popular type of program.  “The board agreed to the application. We do have to be innovative in our programming,” WQSB Chairman James Shea told The Bulletin.

 

Philemon Wright High School, located at 80 Daniel Johnson Boulevard in Hull, is home to multiple sports and is equipped with a large sports field. With the possibility of 35 sports disciplines being part of such a program, granting Philemon Wright a program would not necessarily limit the chances of D'Arcy McGee High School also having its own.

 

Months ago there were talk of building a sports complex in Aylmer behind D'Arcy McGee High School and in partnership with the city and private partners. The city which owns a large undeveloped lot of 133,140 square meters behind the school would have provided the land. Talks have now stalled, but it was argued that such a sports complex near D'Arcy McGee could permit the WQSB to develop of a sports study program for Aylmer.

 

As there isn’t an Aylmer school offering a sports study program, a good number of Aylmer students are enrolled at one of the three sport-études program outside their community.

 

The Polyvalente Nicolas-Gatineau, located beside the Branchaud-Brière sports complex, l’École secondaire Mont-Bleu and l’École secondaire de l'Île are the three schools in Outaouais which offer sports-études in various disciplines. There are no recognized sports program at the primary level. The specific sports offered have not yet been decided.