Cairnsmore School, 1925-2016

 

Cairnsmore School (also known as Duncan Primary) was built in 1925 for primary students due to the increasing student attendance at Duncan Elementary School. The architect was Douglas James and general contractor, O. C. Brown. It was erected opposite Duncan High School on grounds formerly used for school gardens. 67% of the costs of construction were shared by the City of Duncan and the Municipality of North Cowichan on the basis of attendance, with the remaining 33% coming from a provincial grant.

 

Equipped with electric lighting and a fire alarm system, the building consisted of a teachers’ room and four roomy classrooms with cloakrooms upstairs as well as two recreation rooms and a furnace room in the ground level basement. In 1936 the building became Duncan Junior High School. The main entrance which faced the playing fields was moved to the entrance facing Cairnsmore Street. A manual training shop, commercial classroom and typing room were installed in the basement.

 

The architect for the renovations was again Douglas James. When Duncan High School, burned to the ground in March 1946, the building became Duncan Senior and Junior High School. In 1950 after the opening of Cowichan Junior Senior High School, it reverted to a building for elementary age students. In 1992 it became the home of the Cowichan Valley Opening Learning Co-op providing alternative education programs to students. The school was permanently closed by the school district in 2016. It is now the site of Adage Studio offering classes in dance, piano, guitar, mandolin, acting and musical theatre