Released on October 24, 2017
Today, students and staff joined Premier Brad Wall and Anne Blakeney in the opening and official renaming of the Allan Blakeney Adult Campus. Participating in the event was also Minister of Education, Bronwyn Eyre, as well former premiers of Saskatchewan, Roy Romanow and Lorne Calvert.The campus, which was previously located in downtown Regina, moved to its current location at 4210 - 4th Avenue for the 2017-18 school year. This location was the former Wascana School and the temporary location of École Connaught Community School.
“Congratulations to Regina Public Schools and the staff and students of the Allan Blakeney Adult Campus on the official opening of your new, permanent location,” Wall said. “It is fitting the campus bears the name of Allan Blakeney. Prior to becoming Premier, Mr. Blakeney served as the province’s education minister. He was a strong advocate of continuing education and helped introduce the first community college program in Saskatchewan’s history. The Adult Campus honours the legacy of Allan Blakeney by providing young adults with the opportunity to complete their high school education and prepare for post-secondary and career opportunities.”
“Since 2005, the Adult Campus has served an important role in helping many of Regina’s young people obtain their high school credentials and prepare for their future,” Regina Board of Education Chair Katherine Gagne said. “On the occasion of the school’s relocation, it is very fitting that it be renamed to honour Allan Blakeney as he was an important leader in this community and in this great province in which we all live, learn and work.”
The Allan Blakeney Adult Campus offers programming for adults aged 18-21 who have not completed high school. It offers day and evening courses and a variety of programs that will enhance post-secondary education and career/employment opportunities. The program has been serving young adult students since 2005 and, in 2015-16 had 750 students taking its programs. More information can be found at http://adultcampusweb.rbe.sk.ca/.
“The move of the Adult Campus gives us a rare opportunity to recognize the profound contributions of our Province’s tenth Premier,” Gagne said. “He played a critical role in the creation of Medicare and Saskatchewan’s Crown Corporations. He helped give Saskatchewan a national voice, and was a leading figure in Canada’s constitutional negotiations. He was also a strong advocate for children and seniors. As an MLA, Mr. Blakeney also served the constituency in which the new Allan Blakeney Adult Campus will reside.”
“This campus helps hundreds of students every year get their Adult 12 or complete a needed course,” Allan Blakeney Adult Campus Principal Brent Bachiu said. “I’m pleased that the school’s new name will also help give our students an appreciation of the history of this province and those that helped shape it.”
Allan Emrys Blakeney, PC, OC, SOM, QC, FRSC (born 1925) was the tenth premier of Saskatchewan (1971-1982) and long serving MLA. Born in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, after completing his Rhodes Scholarship at Queen’s College, Oxford, he was recruited by Tommy Douglas in 1950, became a senior civil servant in Saskatchewan’s Treasury Department. He entered politics in 1960 serving as Minister of Education, Finance and Health for the Governments of Tommy Douglas and Woodrow S. Lloyd. He died in Saskatoon in 2011.
For more information, please visit http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/allan-blakeney/.
-30-
For more information, contact:
Chris Hodge
Education
Regina
Phone: 306-787-1069
Email: chris.hodges@gov.sk.ca
Cell: 306-533-7506
Terry Lazarou
Regina Public Schools
Regina
Phone: 306-523-3133
Email: terry.lazarou@rbe.sk.ca
Cell: 306-529-1657