Candu High School is one of Canada’s most infamous high schools and most infamous abandoned schools. Many fellow Canadians know the history about this school. However it has been isolated from the main roads of Saskatchewan. Candu High School provided secondary education.
Before there was ever a Candu High School, there was an Uranium City High School. Candu High School was built to replace the existing Uranium City High School building. The principal for Uranium City High School was Jack Krieser.
It was reported by Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan that Uranium City High School had higher than desirable levels of radon in the year of 1976. Province council installed a temporary air exchange system. This was only a temporary solution. However a new school building needed to be built due to the undesirable levels of radon. Uranium City High School needed to be demolished.
As cited in the Ottawa Journal, “Officials said at first the radiation came from land fill but later in the news conference said it came from the ground but not necessarily the land fill. Further details on the source of radiation were not immediately available. Deputy Environment Minister Grant Mitchell said the only school with an acceptable radon level, Gilchrist School, was the only one with a functioning air exchange system. It was closed as a precautionary measure. He said the higher levels at the other schools could be traced to poor ventilation.”
In houses with closed windows and no other ventilation system. Mr. Mitchell said air exchange systems are being installed at the schools and the schools will be reopened if checks Monday show acceptable radon levels. The radon levels were discovered as part of a general survey of areas where uranium has been or is being mined.”
(Ref: The Ottawa Journal, Page 22, Friday, March 5, 1976)
Winnipeg Free Press stated, “Environmental officials said Thursday three schools in the northern Saskatchewan community of Uranium City have been closed because excessive radiation levels were found in two them. The officials told a news conference that radon gas, a type of radiation which is thought to promote lung cancer after exposure for long periods, was found in excessive amounts in two schools.”
(Ref: Winnipeg Free Press, RADON FIND CLOSES 3 N. SASK. SCHOOLS REGINA, Page 63, Friday, March 5, 1976)
So the old Uranium City High School building was demolished in 1977 and the new Candu High School building was built in the same year. Construction took about a whole year to complete from 1977 to about 1978. Construction went throughout the summer.
In the fall of 1978 is when Candu High School opened. Candu High School was named after Canada's famous line of nuclear reactors. At first the school was called Uranium City High School before becoming Candu High School in 1979. Candu High School was the best-equipped high school in North Canada during its time as an operating school. It was and had been built for millions of dollars. The mine backfill was used for the school foundation.
Candu High School closed in 1982 at just 4 years old. It was just four years old when Uranium City folded as a city. The high school in Uranium City closed down due to lack of services available and dwindling enrollment of course. In 1983, the school was abandoned. The school sat vacant for years while all along becoming vandalized.
Today it is the most vandalized building in town. Every window has been shattered. Its wooden gym floor is all warped in waves since it’s been exposed to the chemical elements from radiation. All sinks are gone. Scrappers had removed all wiring. Books cover the floor to the library. Littered throughout the whole building are broken hockey sticks. (This is Canada after all.)
Candu High School is located on Uranium Road, Uranium City, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Wow just, 4 years old. I went to the old school, as did my brother, and two neighbours, also another person that I know. All of us have MS,
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