Vancouver College (referred to informally as VC) is an all-boys university-preparatory Catholic school (K-12) located in the Shaughnessy neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. VC's elementary and secondary programs have a combined population of over 1,000 students. Despite its Catholic denomination, it is open to all religions. The school participates in sporting events under the moniker of the "Fighting Irish". Vancouver College was founded in 1922 by the Christian Brothers, a world-wide community of religious brothers of the Catholic church founded by Edmund Rice. The school was a fully run boarding school until 1979, when the boarding houses were closed and renovated to its present conditions. Its archived history, displayed through galleries throughout the school, highlights its deep tradition in academia, athletics and the arts. The school's focus is on the physical, emotional, artistic, athletic, academic and spiritual development of its students. The schools rigorous academic atmosphere, complimented by its strong athletics, strives to provide a strong base from which its students will succeed, highlighted in the school's motto "Leave Here as a Better Man".