School History

In summary, the program offered at Lord Roberts School today represents the integration of the philosophies of the two – Lord Roberts and Family Advocates of Special Needs Students – and the merging Our school was named after British Field Marshall Lord Frederick Sleigh Roberts. The first school was built in 1910 and was officially opened in 1911 with an enrollment of 240 students with S.A. Campbell as principal. Mr. Campbell held this position for the next 33 years. The school was a three-story structure of brick construction containing 14 classrooms and was intended for use by elementary school students. Due to rapid development of the area, additional classroom space was required resulting in a second structure of eight rooms being built in 1919 and opened in 1920. A couple of years later, in 1923, it was necessary to build an additional eight rooms as enrollment had risen to 1039 students. The second two additions were known as Lord Roberts II.

Over the years Lord Roberts has built up a wide and distinguished reputation for academic excellence and for its outstanding achievements in music and athletics. To give just a few examples of these we might recall the Lord Roberts Orchestra, conducted by Mr. P. G. Padwick. This was Winnipeg’s first school orchestra and it was well known in its day. Some will recall the maypole dances directed by Miss Tagg and staged outdoors, or the operettas which she produced on several occasions. A Lord Roberts class, under the direction of Miss Fern Grant, was the first winner of the Daniel McIntyre trophy at the Manitoba Musical Festival. The school became known for its splendid soccer teams.

In 1944 a kindergarten was introduced for the first time and in 1970 nursery classes were added. The new school, built in 1969, was a one story structure built in the same general location of the old school on Daly, between Rathgar and Beresford.

Two tile mosaics from the original school were saved and one was placed in the front entrance of the school and one was placed in the office. A plaque in the front entrance lists the names of past students who saw service overseas. There are a number of children and grandchildren of these men who are presently attending Lord Roberts Community School.

In 1978 the School Board approved a proposal to integrate students with special needs into a regular school setting. In the fall of that year fifteen students with special needs from the Ellen Douglass School joined the students at Lord Roberts. Two teachers accompanied these students to act as support staff. The following year the transition was completed and the total Ellen Douglass staff was relocated so there was no reduction in support services for these students. The two schools had become one.

To accommodate the new students, structural changes were made, including washrooms designed for students with special needs, a bus loading ramp area, ramping of entrances and other minor alterations.

The integration of children with special needs at Lord Roberts School has been a developmental process. Today Lord Roberts School has a population of approximately 250 Nursery to Grade 6 students.

In summary, the program offered at Lord Roberts School today represents the integration of the philosophies of the two – Lord Roberts and Family Advocates of Special Needs Students – and the merging of two sets of goals and objectives by two staffs, two student bodies, and two parent groups. This unique undertaking has attracted visitors from near and far.

Lord Roberts school is also a community school in which staff and community working together have achieved noteworthy results. Together they have been responsible for the development of playground facilities at a nearby park and at the school, the installation of traffic lights, signs and crosswalk, provision of adult education programs, and fund raising.