Final bell rings as Mississauga school closes after 62 years

After more than six decades of educating young women in Mississauga, the halls of Holy Name of Mary College School have fallen silent.

The final school year has officially come to an end, with students attending their last classes before leaving the Mississauga campus for the final time, marking the close of a chapter that began in 1964.

School officials confirmed this week that classes have ended and students have now departed the longtime campus on Mississauga Road.

The private Catholic school for girls announced last year that it would close permanently at the conclusion of the 2025-26 academic year, citing declining enrolment and rising operating costs.

For generations of families across Mississauga and the western GTA, the closure marks the end of an institution that helped shape thousands of young women through a tradition of faith, academics and community service.

Founded by the Felician Sisters, Holy Name of Mary College School opened in 1964 and spent its early years largely staffed by members of the religious order. It later became part of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board in 1972 before returning to private-school status in 2008.

At its height, Holy Name of Mary was regarded as one of the region’s premier schools for girls. Demand for admission was so high that enrolment had to be capped. Families often lined up hoping to secure a place for their daughters, and in later years, a lottery system was introduced to determine admissions because there were simply more applicants than available spaces.

That popularity gradually faded as enrolment declined. When the closure was announced, the school had about 140 students enrolled in Grades 5 through 12. School officials said enrolment had dropped by nearly 40 per cent over the previous seven years despite efforts to attract new students.

The school’s board said the combination of shrinking enrolment, rising operating costs and the need for significant capital investments left no financially sustainable path forward.

The announcement came as a shock to many current and former members of the school community, with alumni, parents and students expressing sadness that a school with such a long history would disappear from Mississauga’s educational landscape.

For many graduates, Holy Name of Mary represented much more than classrooms and report cards. Lifelong friendships were formed on the campus, traditions were passed from one graduating class to the next, and generations of families saw daughters, sisters and granddaughters walk the same hallways.

Now, with lockers emptied, classrooms vacated and the final school bell having rung, the campus enters a new chapter while one of Mississauga’s longest-standing private schools becomes part of the city’s history.

Although the school itself is closing, its legacy will continue through the thousands of alumni whose lives and careers were shaped within its walls over the past 62 years.