Vaughan Road Academy

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Vaughan Road Academy (VRA) was a Toronto high school in the Oakwood Village area, located near Vaughan Road and Winona Drive. It belonged to the Toronto District School Board and had previously been named Vaughan Road High School and Vaughan Road Collegiate Institute before becoming Vaughan Road Academy in 1997.

Built in the 1920s, the first principal was George Evans, who led the school from 1926 to 1957. In 1998, VRA began offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme for grades 11–12, along with cooperative education (co-op) and the INTERACT program for students involved in arts and athletics. The school also introduced uniforms around that time.

The school closed as an operating institution on June 30, 2017, due to very low enrollment. The building remained under Toronto District School Board ownership and began serving as a temporary holding school. Starting in 2018, it was renamed 529 Vaughan Road and used to host students from Davisville Public School and Spectrum Alternative School while a new school was being built in Davisville Village.

Sports teams were the Vaughan Road Vipers (formerly the Vikings), with colors blue, red, and gold. The school motto was In Medium Quaesita Reponunt, meaning “They lay up in store for common use whatever they have gained.” The building’s distinctive shape led to nicknames like “The Triagon.”

Notable alumni associated with VRA’s programs include Drake, Elliot Page (then Ellen Page), Alison Pill, Mark Rendall, and Hans Wolfgramm. The INTERACT program moved to Oakwood Collegiate Institute in September 2017. The IB Diploma could be earned alongside the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD).