'Students still have a sense of humour': Grad prank puts Calgary high school up for sale, for $20M

Students put 'For Sale' signs up at Western Canada High School as part of a graduation prank. (Contributed)

CALGARY -

Students at Western Canada High School pulled off an attention-grabbing graduation prank that saw their school listed on Kijiji — for $20 million.

The prank caught the eye of students and teachers, as well as grasping the attention of Reddit and Twitter users. By Wednesday afternoon, the online ad had been viewed more than 16,000 times.

It was pulled off by two Western students, Edvin Sinko and Sameena Siddiqui, who created the ad on the website Kijiji and put signs up, with the school’s phone number. 

Sinko says they came up with the plan on Monday during a spare class.  

“We wanted to do something harmless, something that wouldn't cause damage to the school, and we came up with the idea to put the school up for sale. My friend got some For Sale signs and I worked on the Kijiji ad. The teachers absolutely loved it and some of them even put in offers for the school," said Sinko.

"A lot of credit also goes to the administration at Western for understanding that this was a harmless prank and for allowing us to keep the signs and ad up for the entire school day. The teachers said they will definitely remember this one.”

Calgary Board of Education (CBE) said in a statement the prank was done in good fun.

"Our graduating Grade 12 students have had to work through some unique circumstances as they finished high school during a global pandemic. We want students to celebrate the end of the year in fun and safe ways that show respect for each other and our schools," it read.

"After a challenging year, it is refreshing to see that students still have a sense of humour."

CBE officials also added, the school isn't actually for sale.