The halls of Dr. G.W. Williams Secondary School won’t be empty for long, as the school board plans to move administration staff there once students leave to attend a brand new school opening next year.
As students enter the last semester at the existing school site at 93 Dunning Ave. in Aurora, and construction work nears completion on a new location for the school, York Region District School Board is planning to relocate some administration staff there, as well as some adult education day school students.
The administrative staff are currently working out of the Dr. Bette Stephenson Centre for Learning near Yonge Street in Oak Ridges, according to Licinio Miguelo, a spokesperson for YRDSB.
“The Dr. Bette Stephenson Centre for Learning will soon undergo renovations to convert it to its originally intended purpose as a secondary school site,” added Miguelo in an email.
The Dr. Bette Stephenson Centre was initially built in 2011. Once renovations are completed, the facility is set to re-open as a high school in September 2027, with a capacity of 1,163 students. A boundary review process to determine the school’s catchment area will start this fall.
As for the Dr. G.W. Williams site, some “minimal modifications will be required for staff to use the facility,” according to Miguelo.
“There will be approximately 50 staff members, as well as adult education day school students in the building,” he added. “We anticipate their move to begin over the summer, with the move complete for this September.”
From 1888 to 1952, it was Aurora High School, until it moved to the Dunning location and was called Aurora District High School until 1961, when it was renamed Dr. G.W. Williams S.S., after Dr. David Garnet Wolseley Williams, a local medical doctor and former trustee of the school board for nearly 50 years.
Construction has been ongoing for several years on the new school at 11 Spring Farm Rd., off of Bayview Avenue.
Miguelo confirmed the new secondary school site is on track to open for the 2025-2026 school year.
Aurora residents had made a number of suggestions on social media about what could be done with the sizeable former site.
Former student Jacklyn De Ciccio commented that she “would love to see it become some sort of community centre that all residents could take advantage of.”
De Ciccio added she would also like to see affordable housing for seniors “for lifelong Aurora residents to be able to downsize and stay in their hometown.”
“The track field could be transformed into a park with trees and walking paths, benches, etc. open to the community,” added De Ciccio. “Or keep it as a sports field with improvements.”
Affordable housing is a popular suggestion, with other suggestions including a community centre for recreation, transitional housing or a community clinic or hospital.
Another former student, Linda Stephens, who attended G.W. Williams from 1984 to 1988 said she remembers her days as a student as "truly the best days of my life," adding she was sad to see the school closing.
"Students that could have walked will have to go by bus in future, increasing costs," said Stephens, who now lives in Alberta.
While the school is on its last legs at the current site, residents wishing to reminisce of fonder times strolling the school’s hallowed halls will be able to do so one more time.
A celebration event is planned for later this year, which will allow alumni to walk through the school one more time. The event is planned for May 30, from 6 to 8 p.m.