David Thompson Secondary School opened in the fall of 1958. From September to November when the opening occurred, students attended three other local schools: Gladstone, John Oliver, and Killarney. During the first year, 1500 students were enrolled and the first class graduated in 1960. Gradually, the number increased until in the mid-seventies, the average annual population was in excess of two thousand. In 1960, the senior boys' rugby team won the provincial New Zealand Shield in competition. In 1967 and 1968, the senior boys' basketball teams were the
Lower Mainland champions. In the 1960s, the school colours were purple and gold, changed years later to blue and light blue. ==Filming at Thompson==