Strathcona School for Boys was founded in 1929 by Iris and Clarence Taylor and named in honour of Donald Alexander Smith, Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal — one of Canada’s most notable early entrepreneurs and the man immortalized in the famous photograph of the driving of “the last spike,” marking the completion of Canada’s first transcontinental railway. The first classes were held in a basement room of Calgary’s public library with just eight students. Over the following decades, the School grew under the leadership of Myles A. Ellissen (1933–1940), Alfred M. Howard (1940–1967), and later, alumnus Sandy Heard, who became Headmaster in 1967. By the time of its amalgamation with Tweedsmuir: An Academic School for Girls, enrolment had reached 185 students.

Calgary’s first independent day school for girls, St. Hilda’s School, operated from 1905 to 1949. Ten years later, several of its graduates and supporters founded Tweedsmuir: An Academic School for Girls, named after Canada’s fifteenth Governor General, John Buchan, Baron Tweedsmuir — a respected statesman, author, and founder of the Governor General’s Literary Awards. Under the leadership of Mrs. Ingrid Aiken (1959–1962), Mrs. Winifred Witherspoon (1962–1965), and Mrs. Margaret McWilliam (1965–1971), Tweedsmuir flourished as a leading academic institution for girls.

On September 18, 1971, the two schools united to become Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School (STS), officially opening on its current site twelve miles south of Calgary. Today, STS is a co-educational, independent K–12 International Baccalaureate (IB) World School with approximately 800 students. The School’s 220-acre campus in beautiful aspen parkland provides an inspiring natural setting for learning, discovery, and growth — a reflection of the pioneering spirit and educational excellence that have defined STS for nearly a century.