History

Excerpt from S. Bryan Snider’s "Penticton Secondary School – A Reader’s History" 

Penticton Secondary has had a rich and storied past. In terms of success in the truest and broadest sense of the word, the school is with-out a doubt in the upper echelons of schools in British Columbia. 

In looking back, it is remarkable to see teachers, administrators, school board officials, parents, and not least of all, students, working together, mostly putting differences aside, for that ultimate goal - student success and achievement. When teachers and students were asked about what makes the school special, some common themes emerge: pride, and a culture of excellence; an exceedingly multi-dimensional school that has something for everyone. One teacher la-conically described the school’s philosophy towards educating its students: "If you have a pigeon, we’ll make a hole." 

A typical response from a graduate: "Pen-Hi is a place that I loved to go to. Sure there were those mornings when I didn't feel like going to school, but Pen-Hi was never a place I dreaded going. I can't think of a single staff member that I didn't enjoy in one way or another. Of course my favourite times at Pen-Hi were with team-mates and coaches on the courts and the fields, memories I'll always hold close." Another graduate from several years ago shared these memories: "Pen-Hi was a great place to grow up - I remember walking down the hall and saying hi to almost everyone; not that it was a small school in my time (1988-1993), about 1100 students, but it was the kind of school where people seemed to know everyone else's names. We were well publicized - being Penticton's only high school; our extra-curricular news made the Herald (newspaper) headlines regularly and we students felt important in town, for our achievements...and the teachers worked HARD...we were offered just about any kind of team/club/activity/trip that a student could ask for - and we seemed to have a great deal of success in these endeavours, thanks to all the time we put in! My favourite times were playing field hockey after school, shooting hoops in the gym before school, band trips, and singing in Lit 12 class!! And we all LOVED lunchtime, when we could sit for ages watching the world go by, sitting in the bleachers or in the hallway...I still frequently dream of being at Pen Hi, back in the good old days...."