Vernon Secondary School enrolled its first students in September, 1968. For the next fifteen years, the school housed all of the grade 11 and 12 students from the Vernon and Coldstream areas.  In 1983, Vernon School District Secondary Schools changed to an  8 – 12 structure and Vernon Senior Secondary School enrolled its first grade eight classes to become Vernon Secondary School. In January, 2013 the school proudly moved into a new $38 million dollar state of the art building on the same grounds. The three-story LEED Gold rated building is on 184, 500 square feet and has a natural light design with water flow reductions, a ground source heat exchanger, and a geothermal field that makes VSS a carbon neutral success story.

Vernon Secondary has approximately 1000 students, with fifty of these students being from various countries around the world as part of our district international program. The majority of our students come from our three elementary feeder schools; Silver Star, BX, and Hillview. Currently, there is a Board motion in place that restricts VSS enrolment to in catchment students only due to forecasted increased enrolment due to local home building projects. English is the primary language spoken in the homes of 97% of our students. VSS offers three language programs French, German, and Spanish. Ten percent of our students are Aboriginal and these students are serviced by our Aboriginal Support Worker and a district Aboriginal Lead Teacher. Ten percent of our students are also coded with a special education category. VSS hosts a district Resource Room program for special needs students with significant physical and/or intellectual challenges.  The majority of our Resource room and Life Skills students will be pursuing an “Evergreen” School Leaving Certificate. VSS also host a CONNECTIONs program for students who are struggling or need more support than our regular program provides. Students in CONNECTIONs have individualized programs and are referred to the program via our School Based Team. All our students have access to our Student Support Services Team that includes 5 Learning Resource Teachers, 2 School Based Counsellors, a team of certified Educational Assistants, a North Okanagan Youth & Family Support Services Worker, a District Drug & Alcohol Counsellor, a Mental Health Worker, and an RCMP School Liaison Officer.

Vernon Secondary School has a proud  history of achievements in athletics, fine arts, and academics.  VSS athletes are recognized provincial contenders in football, volleyball, basketball, and cross-country running. Our Fine Arts and Applied Skills programs have earned a reputation for excellence in musical theatre productions, artwork, metalwork, woodwork, and automotive. Academically, VSS students have been recognized among the best in British Columbia. Most recently, VSS has received recognition for a variety of strong career education programs and its High Performance Program to support elite performers in Athletics and Fine Arts.  The academic awards presented at our graduation ceremony regularly exceed $150,000 through scholarships, grants, and bursaries. We proudly offer a number of ACE-IT Apprenticeship opportunities through our district coordinator. The school has a focus on Panther Pride. Go Panthers!

Vernon Secondary School values the unique attributes of each individual.  We seek to provide a secure environment in which learners strive to achieve their personal best.  We seek to enhance the attitudes, knowledge, and skills of all students so that they may become lifelong learners and adaptable, contributing, and responsible citizens.

​Students having a connection to each other, the teachers, and the school.

Athletic Programs – Many students are connected to the various sports teams, and VSS competes competitively with schools locally as well as provincially.

Clubs – There are many clubs for students to also get involved.  For example the chess club, SOGI, Jazz band, and coding club.  Each year clubs take on a new flavor.

Student Voice – allows students a chance to get informed and give their advice on how the school can be more successful.

School Based Resource team  – works collaborate to work with students who need extra support.

CHIMO Days – a VSS traditional spirit week involving a variety of games, activates, completions, showcases and themes that is embraced by the entire school and staff.  This is led by our leadership class.

Drama Productions – usually two major productions are put on in our beautiful theater by our drama classes.

Monthly Spirit Days – showcasing school talent and monthly slideshow highlights

VSS Staff – take great pride in our school and student success.  They encourage students to reach their potential and personal best.

Academic Success – our annual awards night recognizes 40% of our school population excelling

Success is a continual process which is outlined in our Spiral of Inquiry