Robert Land Academy

Robert Land Academy

Coat of Arms - Robert Land Academy
Deus et Patria (Latin)
God and Country
Location
Wellandport, Ontario
Canada
Information
School type Private Boarding School
Boys Only
Military School
Established 1978
Founder G. Scott Bowman
Oversight Board of Governors
Faculty 55
Grades 6-12
Number of students 125
Average class size 17 students
Campus 168 acres
Nickname Loyalists
Tuition C$50,000
Website robertlandacademy.com

Robert Land Academy (RLA) is Canada's only non-university level military academy. Located in the former township of Gainsborough on the north shores of the Welland River five kilometres west of the hamlet of Wellandport in West Lincoln, Ontario, the Academy began to accept students in 1978.

The Academy is an all-boy's institution. On average, a total of 160 students between Grade 6 (last year of elementary school) and Grade 12 (last year of high school) are enrolled at the Academy during any one school year.

All students enrolled at the Academy live in military-style dormitories located on-campus throughout the school year. The barracks are normally named in tribute to famous military figures in pre-Confederation Canadian history, such as Major-General Isaac Brock (leader of British forces at the Battle of Queenston Heights during the War of 1812), Major John Butler (leader of the irregular militia regiment named after him, Butler's Rangers, formed for service in the American Revolutionary War), and Joseph Brant (1743–1807) who was a Mohawk military and political leader who was closely associated with Great Britain during and after the American Revolution.

The Academy is serviced by over 55 staff.

Namesake

The school itself is named after Robert Land, a United Empire Loyalist originally from New York who migrated into what later became Upper Canada with his family in the mid-1780s, in the wake of the American Revolutionary War. Land is often seen as one of the first inhabitants of modern-day Hamilton, Ontario. The Academy's founder and current headmaster, Mr. Scott Bowman, is a direct descendant of Land.

The Academy's Purpose

According to the Academy's website, the military theme allows for the reinforcement of the importance of organization, teamwork, discipline and personal responsibility. Students admitted to the Academy are chosen for their potential for success. Students admitted to the Academy have, while trying to succeed in the public school system, experienced difficulties related to attitude, concentration, focus or respect. Other students have been diagnosed with various learning disorders, including Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder and various forms of learning disability. The Academy asserts that each year 100% of its graduating class who apply to university or college are accepted.[1] It also states that 95% of all students experience a dramatic improvement in their academic performance and success within their first semester of enrollment.

Motto and Insignia

The Academy's motto is Deus et Patria (Latin for "God and Country").

Affiliations With The Canadian Armed Forces

The Academy sponsors a closed cadet corps of the Royal Canadian Army Cadets, #2968 Robert Land Academy Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps, which is also affiliated with The Lincoln and Welland Regiment (the Niagara Region's local Canadian Forces army reserve infantry unit) and The Royal Canadian Regiment (one of the Canadian Forces' three Regular Force infantry regiments). Membership in #2968 RCACC was mandatory for grade 9 students of the 08/09 year.

Ranks Structure Within The Academy

Student Ranks

All students, on first being accepted at the Academy, hold the rank of Recruit. The first phase of non-academic training at the Academy for new students, normally lasting a month's period, is always referred to as "Recruit Period." On passing Recruit Period, the student is then promoted to Cadet and given the right to wear the Academy's crest on their berets as a cap badge.

After being promoted to the rank of Cadet, students at the Academy, on proving their ability to demonstrate rudimentary leadership and organizational skills, may then be promoted to the rank of Barman, which is normally marked by a silver bar similar to the insignia of a United States Army lieutenant.

On reaching Barman rank, the student may then advance in either one of two ways:

The senior ranking student on campus during a school year is acknowledged as '"Head Boy"', and normally wears the rank of Sergeant or Warrant Officer. The other two senior student positions are '"Parade Sergeant Major"' and '"Aide-de-Camp"', both of which may wear either the rank of Sergeant or Warrant Officer.

Staff Ranks

Staff at the Academy are organized into three general categories:

Academy officers normally wear the officer rank insignia which existed in the Canadian Army prior to 1968 ("pips" and crowns). Teachers wear either a second lieutenant's one "pip" or a lieutenant's two "pip" stars, company commanders wear a captain's three "pip" stars and the Headmaster wears a lieutenant colonel's crown and one "pip".

Academy staff non-commissioned officers are normally composed of the Academy Sergeant-Major (ASM) and his immediate subordinates, the Company Sergeants-Major (CSM). The ASM and the CSMs handle all daily drill and other military-theme classes at the Academy.

Academy "civilian" staff (including the staff running the Academy kitchen, the groundskeepers and the administrative staff) do not wear military-style uniforms and do not hold an Academy rank.

References

  1. ↑ Robert Land Academy: About us

Coordinates: 42°59′48″N 79°33′51″W / 42.99668°N 79.56428°W / 42.99668; -79.56428

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