J.N. Burnett Secondary School

J.N. Burnett Secondary School (1968- ) opened in stages starting in 1968 to serve the expanding population of northwest Richmond. The baby boomers were having their children during the 1960s and 1970s and schools such as Burnett were built to accommodate them. In 1996, Burnett became a full secondary school for Grades 8 to 12.

J.N. Burnett Secondary School in 2004. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 2004 43 122.

John Napier Burnett (1899-1989) was born in Scotland and arrived in Vancouver with his family in 1911. He served in World War I with the Royal Flying Corps and became a Lieutenant-Colonel with the Irish Fusiliers (Vancouver Regiment) during World War II.

At the end of the War, in 1945, he became an Inspector of Schools and in 1949 was hired by the Richmond School District as an administrator, serving as District Superintendent of Schools for Richmond from 1955 to 1964 - a period of unprecedented population growth and expansion.