About

Our vision statement

We believe that all children can reach their fullest potential. Every student at Wilberforce Elementary School (WES) will achieve high personal academic standards and become empathetic, responsible, respectful, honest citizens involved in their community.

School information

WES is a junior-intermediate school, which means that we have Grade 4 to 8. The school organization for the 2022-2023 school year is as follows: a Grade 4/5/6 class and a Grade 6/7/8 class. Our schedule is a balanced day. Our day begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 3:20 p.m.
Our students come from Wilberforce, Cardiff, and the surrounding area.

School history

WES is located in the picturesque Municipality of Highlands East in the Haliburton Highlands area. The school that now sits in its present location was built in 1911. However, there are historical accounts of a previous school in South Wilberforce dating back as far as 1895.

The present day school was originally called S.S. 6 and 8 Cardiff and Monmouth. The one room schoolhouse was heated by a box wood stove. The school originally housed students from Grades 1 to 8. In 1921, George Pentland, inspector of Public Schools for Haliburton County added two years of high school. To accommodate the addition of the high school grades, a second classroom was added in 1921.

Presently the school houses students from Grades 4 to 8 and the high school students are bussed to Haliburton Highlands Secondary School or North Hastings Secondary School (Bancroft).

While the school has undergone many changes over the years, one thing has remained the same; the childrens’ love for ringing the manual pull school bell!