The High Park Forest School was first created around the beginning of the 1900s. It was initially a place for children with tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

 but through the years it became a summer school for underprivileged children.

Poor children from Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

's public schools attended the school in the summer months to augment their education and also get good nutritious foods to help them become healthy.

There were also programs for weekly swimming and each day children were obliged to take blankets stored at the school and have naps in the afternoon.

The objective was to provide underprivileged children who ordinarily would have spent their summer days on the streets of Toronto a place to go for good food, good activities, good health and good education. All the things the Toronto Board of Education felt poor children would miss out on without this program.

High Park Forest School ceased existence as a school for poor children in the early 1960s. The original main building still exists today. It is located just inside the main entrance of High Park

High Park

High Park is a municipal park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It spans , and is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One third of the park remains in a natural state, with a rare oak savannah ecology...

 from Bloor Street West in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

.