Sheridan Technical School

After the First World War people felt that Canadians required more technical skills. This led the federal government to introduce the Technical Education Act in 1919. The act would permit the government to share up to 50% of provincial expenses towards technical education in the form of $10 million in grants over a 10-year period.

In Northern Ontario, the Sudbury Mining and Technical School was constructed and opened in the fall of 1921. It was built right next to Sudbury High School (Sept. 1909) and both schools were administered by the same principal. Rivalry between the two schools was intense until the amalgamation in the 1970(a)s.

Although the government had increased the age to sixteen at which time a person could drop out of school, by 1924 the Sudbury Mining and Technical School had only a hundred students enrolled. Many of the young men enrolled would attend school during the day and work at one of the local mines during the afternoon.

By 1939 enrollment had increased to the point that the Sudbury High School board looked into a 12-room addition that would include a combination gymnasium and auditorium. The cost for the additions was estimated to be $175,000.

In 1952 a 600-seat auditorium was opened that was used by both the High and Tech students. Another addition was also added to the Sudbury Technical school.

In 1960 the Sudbury Mining and Technical School was renamed Sheridan Technical after Fred W. Sheridan, a longtime member of the Sudbury High School Board.

In 1974 Sudbury High and Sheridan Technical merged to become Sudbury Secondary School. The auditorium constructed in 1952 is still referred to as the Sheridan Auditorium.

In December, 2007, the School Board(a)s Administrative Council recommended that the school undergo a renewal project. This project included more parking space and renovations to the auditorium. In the summer of 2011 renovations commenced on the auditorium and the former Sheridan Technical building was demolished.