Boarding schools

“Boarding school is not just a school where people live,” says Clayton Johnson, “it is a way of life.” Johnson is admissions director at Brentwood College School on Vancouver Island. “Boarding is all encompassing and life altering. It is the totality of this experience that is the ‘value added’ of boarding.”

Because of how we discuss it, it’s easy to focus on living arrangements. However, students don’t attend boarding school because they need somewhere to live. Rather, the living arrangements are a necessity of the kind of instruction that boarding schools intend. “When you’re operating within an independent school, in a smaller community, you can focus on values more, developing character and allowing kids to find their own place,” says Innes van Nostrand, principal of Appleby College in Oakville, Ontario. “And boarding is a hothouse that allows that to happen.” As such, boarding is less about what it is—schools where students and instructors live together on campus—than the kind of education that living on site, within a community of peers and mentors, allows.

Opportunity

Boarding school's chief benefit is the unique opportunity afforded by the quality of education and extracurricular programs. Read more.

Tradition

Schools afford participation in tradition and ceremony. Read more.

A community of learners

Few childhood educational opportunities afford the closeness and community you find when you live with many of your classmates. Read more.

A global perspective

International programs and education are a priority for boarding schools. Read more.

Fostering self-reliance

Students in boarding schools are expected to take charge of their own lives in their daily routines. Read more.

Academic support and development

Boarding school creates a supportive community where kids are challenged academically and learn to collaborate. Read more.

Social and personal development

The boarding environment presents unique opportunities for personal growth and social development. Read more.

Mentorship

Teachers and even fellow students offer leadership and examples for younger students to mimic. Read more.

Learning beyond the classroom

Boarding school programs offer a unique integration of life outside schoolwork with life in class. Read more.

When asked if boarding school is like Hogwarts, Russell Pecka doesn’t talk about the houses, the buildings, or the dining hall. He talks about the teachers. Pecka is a grade 12 student at Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario. He says that “Hogwarts has several teachers who don’t seem very supportive or who aren’t very kind to their students.” In contrast, “every teacher I’ve had has been very willing to help me out, and they care sincerely about my success.” People like his chemistry teacher who offered to tutor students on weekends when they needed a bit more guidance navigating the material. “I’ve never gone to a school where teachers do that.”

Pecka decided to attend Trinity College School based primarily on its word-of-mouth reputation—his cousins were students there—as well as an understanding of the strength of the academic program. Boarding, while not initially a deciding factor, became a plus as well. Pecka’s parents were beginning to relocate more frequently because of their careers. In retrospect, he regrets that he didn’t board earlier in his academic career. “My brother’s education wouldn’t be interrupted like mine was when we moved around.”

That kind of consistency is important to him, both in the longer term as well as the day-to-day. When talking to him, it’s clear that Pecka is a student who appreciates the routines that Trinity offers. He says that “I make it a point to get to breakfast every day because I normally have a bad day when I don’t eat. Next, I’ll head to Chapel, which is at 8:10. Trinity is an Anglican school; however, there is no pressure to convert or to participate in religious activity. Chapel is meant to be a time when the community can gather and reflect on the day before and think about the way they live their lives.” He continues saying:

“After that I head over to my first two classes of the day. Trinity runs on a block/cycle schedule where we have eight class periods over the span of two days. Then I have an hour-long lunch break where I can go to club meetings and hang out with my friends. After I attend my last two classes I go to my sport, which is squash, which I play until dinner at 5:15. Following that, most students attend mandatory study periods in classrooms from 7-9 after which we are free to do whatever we want until 11.”

It’s a pretty good day: no commutes, strong interpersonal connections, and a growing sense of independence and responsibility. He has breakfast, for example, not because he’s forced to, but because of the insight he’s gained from days when he’s skipped it.

While the balance of structure and freedom wouldn’t be right for every student, Pecka recognizes that it’s the right balance for him. He, as all the students who board, is mentored all day, every day, by older students, resident adults, and faculty members. Social currency is often earned by excelling rather than rebelling, something that is true in all areas of student life, from the classroom, to the playing field, to the residence hall. Joe Seagram is the headmaster of King’s-Edgehill in Windsor, Nova Scotia. “If the boy next door to you is brushing his teeth and getting ready for bed—and he’s older than you and you look up to him—then you’re going to do the same. If the girl next to you in study hall is a few grades ahead and she’s sitting quietly doing her work, you’ll likely follow suit. Our older students are fabulous role models, showing the younger students what needs to be done in order to achieve success.”

Life in residence, or, is boarding school fun?

“It was definitely fun living in a boarding school. You're on your own but not really, and it advances your maturity.”
—Zach Bogosian, NHL player, became great at boarding school

Boarding school is fun and there are even some cool boarding schools... within limits. Residences include students from all grade levels for which a boarding program is offered. Most have a roommate from the same grade, and houses have communal areas for shared indoor and evening activities. Students typically live on campus for the school year, including statutory holidays and weekends. Some schools offer the option of five-day boarding, with students spending the weekdays on campus, living in a dormitory, and the weekends at home with family. Students are assigned an advisor whose role is to keep an eye how they’re doing, and to offer advice on programming, academics, and extracurricular activities. Students are able to meet with advisors daily, though access is open and fluid. Advisors report to parents and guardians regularly, and can also be approached with questions.

Each school requires students to sign and adhere to a code of conduct which, in all cases, is strict. Dealing drugs, selling alcohol, sexual aggression, committing extortion and possessing a weapon or explosive substance all result in immediate expulsion. Other zero tolerance offences are smoking, taking illicit drugs, and bullying. Students and their family are typically given an opportunity to meet with the head of school, though expulsions are not imposed lightly or rashly. If a student has completed diploma requirements equivalent to the provincial graduation requirements, the school will grant a provincial diploma, though otherwise all tuition and the opportunity to graduate with a diploma from the institution are forfeited.

“I don’t think anyone’s eager to say goodbye to their kids, certainly,” says Katrina Samson. “They are still kids. It’s a big deal moving away from home.”

And, certainly, there are risks, especially when the decision to board isn’t made with the best interests of the child in mind. When Camilla Parker-Bowles’ son Tom asked why she sent him to boarding school at the age of 7, she responded—while expressing a deep sense of regret—that simply “it was the thing you did.” There are other bad reasons, too, and many of them are often raised as criticisms of private school itself: to rub shoulders with the elite, to find mates from wealthy families, to demonstrate wealth or social status. Parents of boarding school students aren’t immune to making decisions, even good decisions, for the wrong reasons. For Camilla Parker-Bowles, the result is a sense of regret and loss; for her son Tom it’s is a sense of betrayal. The experience of boarding school is one that he has worked hard to reconcile.

Family or cultural traditions certainly aren’t to be dismissed out of hand, as they can be very powerful and important motives. In many cases, they are both workable and beneficial. However, decisions based only on those criteria can be problematic.

Maturity

Maturity can mean different things. At it’s most basic, it refers to age and, increasingly, we can be confident that children younger than 11 or 12 shouldn’t be considered candidates for boarding. Joy Schaverien, a psychotherapist, coined the term “boarding school syndrome” to describe a cluster of behaviors and symptoms that she noticed within adults who had boarded in Britain as children. In a 2011 paper in the British Journal of Psychotherapy she wrote: “Children sent away to school at an early age suffer the sudden and often irrevocable loss of their primary attachments; for many this constitutes a significant trauma. … In order to adapt to the system, a defensive and protective encapsulation of the self may be acquired; the true identity of the person then remains hidden. This pattern distorts intimate relationships and may continue into adult life.”

Schaverien’s father, even seventy years later, still vividly recalled the pain of being left at boarding school when he was a child. He was six when he first enrolled, and we can assume that he wasn’t involved in the decision to board. Nick Duffel is author of The Making of Them: The British attitude to children and the boarding school system. There he writes from his own experience of boarding school, which he entered at age 8 in 1957.

It’s hard to think of a good reason to separate a seven-year-old or an eight-year-old from her family, and Duffel and Schaverien have spoken out against boarding for the very young. It’s a practice that still exists in Britain, though is becoming less common. It’s not just about the damage that it can do, but also about what boarding can offer and what it can’t.

Emotional maturity
The British tradition, at least at certain points in history, reflected the Victorian idea that children are to be seen and not heard. Sending them off to board was a means of reinforcing a division between children and adult life. Today, we understand that boarding is best considered principally from the perspective of the child, positing the best means of supporting her intellectual and personal development. Sidney Crosby went to board because of the opportunities that he saw there, opportunities that were only available because of his level of maturity and his personal goals.

It’s that perspective that perhaps distinguishes the tradition of boarding as it exists in North America today. Some schools will accept boarders when they are 12 years old and entering Grade 7, though most programs don’t enroll boarding students younger than 13. As well, most schools don’t require students to enter at a certain grade, or a certain age, instead taking cues from the child as the deciding factor.

Emotional maturity is something that admissions officers assess within an admissions interview, and it’s not at all uncommon that parents are asked to wait a year or even two. They will often advise that parents look for breaks in a child’s education, and move into boarding at a natural point for them.

“There is no magic age in general. But there may be a magic age for your child," say Barbara Coloroso. “You need to look at your child's gifts and their needs. Where are they now? What is their situation? … Trust your own gut, your own sense of what is good for your child.”

“Anyone who has been doing this as long as we have knows the cycle … The beginning of the year is like camp; everyone is busy and having fun so there’s little time for homesickness. But as school gets underway and the work builds up, there are always blue days.” .... “We have a highly receptive culture here and students are always encouraged to seek help if and when they need it.”
—Rebecca McKay, director of admissions, Queen Margaret’s School

Pull factors

In the majority of cases, students are drawn toward boarding based on their goals and their desires. The Alberta Ballet School, for example, attracts students not because it offers boarding, but because it offers an opportunity to be immersed in an art form that they are passionate about, and to join peers, mentors and instructors that share that passion. Whether it’s the arts, science, athletics, outdoor education, business, or various academic foci, all boarding schools offer specific opportunities that specific students are drawn to.

Likewise, they offer infrastructure—an observatory, studios, a collaborative environment—that are often essential tools to student success in a specific field. As Malcolm Gladwell has noted, Bill Gates most likely would not have had the same success had he not attended attend Lakeside, a private school in Seattle. The school had a computer, something that no other schools in the region had at the time. It was one of a new generation of computers, made even more unique through a partnership with the University of Washington, one that included a computer terminal at Lakeside with a direct link to the university mainframe. Aptitude is important, though access to the right tools, and an expansive environment, is important, too.

• Academic support
• School focus
• Challenge
• Opportunity
• A community of shared interest
• An expansive environment

“ … we gave our kids a fair amount of autonomy in the process of choosing a high school, focusing on finding a school that uniquely suits them. We took some heat for that, and for allowing them to choose boarding. So as I watched them own their decision, share their enthusiasm for their boarding school experience, and handle themselves with grace and confidence, I have to say it: I felt proud.”
–Anne Marie Kee, CAIS

Push factors

Boarding schools, precisely because they are involved in a child’s life 24/7, spend far more time, energy, and creativity on creating an expansive, positive environment than other institutions do. That’s not lost on parents, such as Wille, who are aware of the value of mentorship and the ability of boarding to provide it. We live in a world that seeks to exploit technology in bringing education to a wider public, and indeed there is worth in that. Yet, there is also considerable worth in mentorship, placing students within a context that will be expansive. Often who we learn from, and the way in which they approach us, can be as important as the lessons themselves.

“At any time, if your child is experiencing ongoing and unresolved problems—with issues like bullying for example—parents should consider another schooling option.” Erin McLaughlin adds that “No time is ever off limits, especially if a child is being targeted by peers or facing insurmountable obstacles in the present setting with no relief in sight.”

Likewise, there is an ever increasing range of programs on offer. “As research and development into helping kids and teens with special needs, whether behavioral, physical or mental, continues to grow, we see new specialized educational models and schools opening up. In particular, we have seen an increase in parents looking for these programs,” says Erin McLaughlin.

In 2007, the Fraser Institute released a study co-authored by Derek Allison that presented findings about who was choosing the private school option and what their motives were. Among the most striking, and which gained media attention at the time, were that the parents choosing private school weren’t perhaps who we may have thought they were. There was a greater socioeconomic diversity, and a significant number of parents sending their children to private school hadn’t attended private schools themselves. The study found that, more than ever, "they're making a deliberate choice" and one based on a greater range of criteria. The bottom line is that options in education are important, with parents seeking to address the specific needs of their children.

Dr. David Harley is Dean at Robert Land Academy in Wellandport, Ontario. He notes that the school accepts boys whose temperament gets them into trouble. “Most of the boys would be characterized by the fact that they are underachieving but they have a lot more potential than they are demonstrating.”

The school offers a structure and a discipline that, while it may be onerous for some, is often the key to the student’s success. The school also follows a clean-living philosophy, with strict limits on junk food, and an emphasis on a wide range of physical activity. “If you lose weight,” says Harley, “your body image is better, you’re feeling good, getting better marks.”

• Structure and discipline
• Social development
• Positive mentorship
• Academic support

“There is no one thing that we look for in a student: our students are academically strong, able to contribute to activities outside of the classroom, have a good sense of self, and are keen to learn and be engaged.”
–Louise Paoli di Prisco, Assistant Director, Boarding Admissions, Ashbury College, Ottawa, Ontario

Each school has its own mission, educational philosophy, identity, history, and culture. Schools want students who will fit in their respective unique environments. The most important aspect is whether a student is admissions-appropriate or admissions-ready. In other words, is the student capable of handling the requirements of the school? Can the student manage the academic, athletic, and extracurricular programs that the school provides? Does the student demonstrate the appropriate level of maturity? These are the main factors that go into determining whether a child is suitable for admission. The purpose is not to pass judgment on a student’s overall aptitude, but rather to determine that the school is the right fit for the family and the child. The right fit includes whether or not the student actually wants to attend the school, or if there are other motivations, such as cultural or familial pressures.

Every school has a slightly different application process. From entrance exams to academic assessments to interviews, parents must note and adhere to the key dates and requirements of each school they’re applying to. Entrance standards vary significantly from those schools that accept all (or nearly all) applicants, to those like Upper Canada College, where in Grade 9 (the last major entry year for the school) as few as one in five are admitted. All of the information you need to begin and complete the application process successfully can be found at OurKids.net. To help you get started, we asked some of Canada’s top schools and education experts to weigh in on the key steps in the evaluation and application process.

Admission practices vary, so it’s important to contact the admissions office for application requirements and deadlines. The admission process typically includes:

• a written application detailing your child's personality, academic history, and financial plan;
• a visit to the school;
• an in-person interview with an admissions team;
• completion of an entrance exam.

Application timeline

Application deadlines

Fixed date
Many boarding schools have fixed application deadlines, meaning that dates are set for application and admission. Often application deadlines are in late January for the following academic year, though application deadlines vary between schools.

Rolling
Many schools have rolling deadlines, which means they will accept applications up until their enrolment numbers are fulfilled. If you are interested in a few different schools, it’s a good idea to contact the school directly about their admission guidelines and deadlines, as these will vary depending on the school. Rolling deadlines allow you to apply at any time during the year, before or after any initial application deadlines have passed. Schools with rolling admissions may also allow students to enter in the middle of the school year, which can be an advantage for students transferring between schools.

Applying for financial aid
Typically, deadlines to apply for financial aid are fixed even at schools that have rolling application deadlines. This is because aid packages are finite, and otherwise follow the school’s fiscal schedule.

The admission interview

The goal of the interview is to determine whether the student is going to be happy and successful within the school’s academic and social environment. “I always look for a confident student, who can share their interests and their experiences,” says Kimberly Carter, director of enrolment management at Branksome Hall. “But I find even the shyest applicants can come out of their shell if you start with what they know.”

Interviews include a conversation with the family together, as well as a conversation with the student on her own. "It’s very much a dialogue," says Chantal Kenny, executive director of admissions at Upper Canada College. "It's a very open conversation. There are no set questions that really have a yes and no answer. It's about us digging deeper, and probing, and allowing the students to feel comfortable in the interview process so we can get to know them better."

It’s natural for parents to want to prepare their children, but admissions officers agree that the best interviews happen when the student fully takes part, asks questions, and speaks openly and comfortably about who they are and what they want from the school.

“The word ‘interview’ can be overplayed, as this process is typically more like a friendly chat. That being said, good manners are still extremely important. You can prepare by thinking about what the student is interested in both outside and inside the school, and how the parents see themselves and their involvement within the school community.”
–Elaine Danson, Educational Consultant

Entrance tests

Many schools will rely on past report cards but depending on the school and student's age, independent schools will use in-house or standardized testing to determine where your child stands academically compared to other students of his or her age. How much weight each school puts on the test's final outcome varies across the board, but it's only one factor in the overall assessment of a student. "We're looking at the whole student," says Kenny. "We weigh all of the criteria equally." While tutoring isn’t recommended—it often just creates anxiety—it is important to familiarizing the child with the format of the exam they'll be taking.

“The interview allows the admissions committee to add a personal dimension to the application. We typically look for the ‘Five A’s’ in our questioning: Academics, Arts, Athletics, Active Citizenship and Adventure. Other questions we might ask applicants include what types of books do they like to read, who are the people they most admire, etc. A successful interview is one where the student demonstrates—by answering questions about their interest and experience in the ‘Five A’s’—that they are well rounded, confident and would be committed to our school.”
—Kevin White, Director of Student Recruitment, Glenlyon Norfolk School, Victoria, British Columbia

The SSAT

Many boarding schools across Canada require prospective students to complete the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) as part of their admissions package. It is used internationally and is administered by the Secondary School Admission Test Board (SSATB). The test is designed to measure verbal, quantitative skill, reading comprehension, and verbal skills. It does not include questions intended to measure achievement or general knowledge.

When taking the SSAT students are asked to complete a writing sample and four sections of multiple choice questions:

• two 30-minute math sections with 25 questions in each section
• a 40-minute section with 40 questions based on a series of reading passages, including both fiction and non-fiction writing styles
• two 30-minute sections with 30 questions in each section

Test scores are based only on the multiple choice questions; the writing sample is unscored. Middle level students (grades 5-7 applying to enter grades 6-8) will receive their result in the form of a scaled score between 440 and 710. Upper level students (grades 8-11 applying to enter grades 9-12) will receive their result in the form of a scaled score between 500 and 800. All students will also receive their result expressed as a percentile (1 to 99) which is calculated through a comparison of the results of all students who have taken the SSAT in the US and Canada within the previous three years. Scores are released two weeks after the test was taken, and there is no indication within the score report of how often a student has taken the SSAT or previous scores earned.

The SSAT is administered at test centres around the world on eight Saturdays each year. Registration is completed online through the SSATB, though schools may offer some assistance in finding appropriate dates and locations. Testing typically begins at 9am, though start times can vary between locations. Students taking the test are required to arrive and check in at least 30 minutes before the start of the test. Results are sent to students, not schools, who are then free to submit them to as many schools as they wish.

Learn more about the SSAT:
Find SSAT Schools
Prepare for the SSAT

The acceptance letter

Schools may have more than just a “yes” or “no” decision. If your child meets the school's requirements but no space is currently available, he or she may be put on a waiting list. If there is insufficient information to make a decision, your application may be deferred and you may be asked to submit additional documentation.

If your child is denied acceptance, it may be because the school does not feel it is the best fit. It’s recommended you consult the admissions office to understand the decision and the reasons behind it.

Financial aid

Deryn Lavell, Head of School at Bishop Strachan, says “it’s very important to us that girls have access to education irrespective of their financial background, or their parents financial background … we’re very interested in getting the greatest girls that we can.”

Tuition can be expensive, to be sure, and more within the reach of families with a broader set of resources at hand. That said, educators are explicitly aware that the best educational setting is one in which access isn’t a function of wealth. Financial programs are based in the understanding that education is devalued if a student’s admissibility is based on financial ability rather than character, leadership potential, values, and an ability to contribute to campus life and the academic culture of the school. Bursaries and scholarships aren’t charity. They are the means by which schools are able to craft their student body in order to create the best educational setting possible, namely one that is reflective of the diversity of perspectives present in the world at large.

“During my six years as head of school at Queen Margaret’s School,” says Pat Rowntree, “we looked at ways to increase participation by families that reflected the population of the surrounding community. In Duncan, situated in the Cowichan Valley, the Cowichan First Nation people have a high profile in both the economic and social life of our community.” The school enacted a system of financial aid to act in concert with the financial programs available within the province and the First Nations communities. Further, they enacted policy changes to support band-sponsored day students and comprehensive scholarships for girls of ability in the secondary school program. “The presence of First Nation students in our school meant that First Nation cultures and histories were more likely to be part of curricular topics and activities at the school, [and] built on the real-life experiences of our students.”

Truly, everyone benefits. Says Kathy LaBranch of Trinity College School, “The person who has a broad exposure to different backgrounds, cultures and experiences is able to be more successful in today’s working world. By ensuring that students are educated in a classroom with students from different countries, cultures, religions, and socio-economic profiles, [we are] modeling the real-world requirements once the student moves on into the working world. In a classroom with true diversity, the debates, conversations and points of view are broader and richer.”

“Our responsibility,” says Kelly Koepp of Shawnigan Lake School, “is to expose our students to a heterogeneous educational environment so that they can nurture an open-minded approach to the world, a willingness to accept different ways of thinking and an ability to navigate a diverse environment.” More than 25 per cent of the students at Shawnigan Lake School receive some sort of financial aid, a figure that is common across private and independent schools.

Susan R. Groesbeck of Havergal College notes that “Raising money to support endowed bursaries is a strategic priority for our school. We make sure that sufficient bursary funds are available to ensure that any mission- appropriate student may attend our school. We adhere to a ‘needs-blind’ admission process; in other words, a student is admitted based solely on her merit and not on her family’s ability to pay.”

All you need to know about boarding school financial aid:
Financial aid and scholarships for boarding schools
How to pay for private school
Complete guide to private school tuition

Travel requirements for international students

All international students who wish to study in Canada for more than six consecutive months must obtain a study permit. To apply, students must first be accepted and have a letter of acceptance in hand.

Citizens of some countries also require a temporary resident visa or an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) in order to travel to Canada. For more information on travel documentation requirements, and to find out if you need either a visa or an eTA in order to travel to Canada visit the Government of Canada, office of immigration and citizenship website.

• Citizenship and Immigration: Applying for a Study Permit prior to arriving in Canada

Student permit
Once a student permit request has been approved you will receive a letter from the office of Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The letter must be presented at customs when you enter the county. On entry, the customs officer will exchange the letter for a study permit which will then be stapled inside your passport. For high school students, the study permit is normally valid for the length of the entire school career in Canada plus 90 days.

Custodianship
Children 17 years of age or younger and not arriving with a parent or legal guardian are required to be in the care of a responsible adult while they are in Canada. This person is known as a custodian. The custodian must be designated prior to your arrival in Canada through the completion of a notarized Custodianship Declaration (IMM 5646). The custodian must live in Canada and be older than 19 years of age. Often the custodian is connected to the family as a family friend or relative. Otherwise, the admissions officer of the school that you plan to attend can help if you need to find someone eligible to act as a custodian.

Health and medical insurance
International students need to arrange for their own health and dental coverage while in Canada. Students who hold official landed immigrant status or permanent residency status should apply for provincial health coverage from the province where they will be studying. Students who are not eligible for provincial health insurance must provide documentation to the school showing that they have medical coverage through their parents or otherwise have purchased an international student medical plan. The admissions officer at the school can provide guidance and advice on obtaining a medical plan.

Across Canada, high school graduation requirements are set by the provincial boards, not the federal government. Therefore, graduation requirements vary between provinces based on provincial criteria and curricula. Provinces also define the elements of those criteria, including what a “credit” represents, which can make a direct comparison of degree requirements difficult. For example, in BC a credit represents 30 hours of in-class instruction; in Ontario a credit represents the completion of an entire course, not a portion of it. Therefore, in order to graduate, students in Ontario are required to complete 30 credits in grades 9 through 12. In British Columbia 80 credits are required in grades 10 through 12.

Despite whatever the numbers might seem to suggest, the reality is that graduation requirements vary only superficially between the provinces. All require that students study English/French, mathematics, science, Canadian history, geography, and health. In addition to those core subjects, all provinces offer optional courses for credit, and students are free to choose among them. These include courses in technology and computer studies, graphic and performing arts, world studies, international languages, social studies, and cooperative education.

Private schools are required to meet provincial requirements in order to issue provincial graduation diplomas, though many private and independent schools choose to exceed them. For example, Columbia International College requires 36 credits for graduation, though the provincial requirement is just 30. Boarding schools are also able to offer a greater range of courses for credit, including debating, psychology, and business.

In addition to classwork, students must demonstrate an involvement in community service beyond the campus, though many boarding schools choose to exceed provincial guidelines there as well. Students enrolled at at school which offers the International Baccalaureate program, for example, are required to complete 50 hours of volunteer service in order to graduate, exceeding the baseline in all provinces.

Many boarding schools formally require participation in athletics, courses on international languages, or participation in extracurricular programs, such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Often, these too are included as requirements in order to graduate. All diploma requirements imposed in addition to provincial requirements are at the discretion of the individual schools and do not affect the receipt of the provincial diploma. Any additional requirements made by private institutions are imposed to reflect the core values of the school as they pertain to diversity, service, leadership, and academics.

Degrees offered by international schools

A majority of boarding schools in Canada offer provincial degrees, that is, students graduate with a high school diploma offered by the province in which the school is located. In some cases, schools offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma.

Graduation requirements, as well as the degrees offered by international schools, vary based on focus, curriculum, and affiliation. For example, students attending Neuchâtel Junior College earn credits toward completion of the Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Other schools—including Carlsbad International School, the International School of Asia, Karuizawa (ISAK), and THINK Global School in New York—offer the IB diploma.

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program

The International Baccalaureate is a two-year advanced secondary school curriculum that was founded in 1968 and is now taught in schools in more than 140 countries, including many alternative institutions in Canada.

The IB curriculum was created for students aged 16 to 19. It is intended to provide a well-rounded, high quality, advanced course of study that delivers the basics of high school education while challenging students to apply their knowledge and skills through collaboration, discussion, and communication.

In order to earn an IB diploma students complete a course of study in six core subject areas (language and literature, language acquisition, individuals and societies, sciences, mathematics, and the arts) an essay of up to 4000 words, and sit standard, externally assessed exams. In addition to course work, students are also required to complete two formal projects and a minimum of 50 hours of community service.

University recognition of the IBDP

Each of Canada's universities is free to sets its own admissions standards and to assess each candidate based on their own internal criteria. There is no national university entrance exam or governing body overseeing university admissions. As a result, admission criteria can vary widely, even between universities within Canada. Students are required to contact colleges or universities directly to find a list of admission requirements and deadlines, and to submit transcripts in support of their application.

While the specific details of recognition can vary between universities—or, in some cases, even between faculty within a university—the IB diploma is widely accepted as an admission credential if the scores earned meet certain targets. In some instances, IB courses and exams are recognized for transfer credit within an institution, used in fulfillment of university degree requirements and/or fulfilling course prerequisite requirements.

“The bonds of friendship that you form at this school will, throughout your life, be of priceless value to you. Treasure them.”
–Cornelius Burke, Shawnigan Lake School, ’34

On January 20, 2014, the Peterborough Examiner ran a story of the swearing in of a new king of Spain, Felipe VI. Sarah McMahon, the head of Lakefield College School, was quoted saying that she was “delighted and proud to hear His Majesty King Felipe VI was proclaimed the new King of Spain this morning in Madrid.”

While the ceremony happened an ocean and a world away, for Peterborough the story was also a local one; for McMahon, it was a personal one. Felipe attended Lakefield College School as a student and retains ties to the school, its faculty, and former students even today, including a visit in 2010 to attend his graduating class’s reunion.

Felipe arrived at Lakefield in 1984 as a shy 16-year-old despite being heir to the Spanish throne. “It was in Canada that I fought my first battle,” he told Spain’s El Mundo in 1998. “I had to face the distance from my family, from Spain, and from my friends. I had to deal with a different language, climate and customs I did not know … It was a challenge I needed to overcome. I think it was worth it.”

While at Lakefield he received letters from his father, King Juan Carlos, that, in addition to the usual father/son banter, included some notes on what it means to be a sovereign. Published in a 2008 book, Juan Carlos wrote in those letters of the need to be a “kind, attentive, and helpful” king. “You need to appear natural, but not vulgar; cultivated and aware of problems, but not pedantic or conceited.” Juan Carlos wrote that the royals needed to “earn their throne every day.” He wasn’t the first royal to study at Lakefield. Prince Andrew, Duke of York, attended in 1977 through an exchange program with Gordonstoun, the boarding school he attended in Scotland.

While not every school has such high-flying alumni, all are conscious of the lives that their students go on to, and they retain ties with them after they’ve gone. To those on the outside looking in, a list of prominent alumni can appear to be little more than a form of name dropping. Yet, for the faculty and students, awareness of notable graduates can be meaningful in ways that, often, are difficult to describe.

Even from a distance, students are inspired by the people who once sat where they do now, though often there isn’t much distance at all. There is a strong “pay it back” mindset among boarding school alumni, one that provides an important aspect of boarding school culture and the life of a school. The desire to help one's fellow alumni runs deep, and the networks at many Canadian private schools are notoriously tight. Alumni often return to visit with faculty and students, offering insight about their time at the school, the strength of their education, as well as the challenges and the successes they faced after they left.

Alumni—both individually and as a group—reflect the values and the strengths of an institution. TFS alumni, for example, include a remarkable number of leaders within health and human rights: Samantha Nutt, founder of War Child Canada; Karandeep Sonu Gaind, psychiatrist and passionate advocate for improvements in care for the mentally ill; Carole Piovesan, a lawyer and advocate for international human rights. Alumni of St. Clements include historian Margaret MacMillan, administrator Julia Foster, journalist Adrienne Arsenault, and writer Claudia Dey. Havergal alumni include engineer Marcia Lamont Scott, jazz vocalist Carol Welsman, journalist and senator Linda Frum, and Paula Cox, who went on to serve as the premier of Bermuda.

All provide hints of the strengths of various schools. For students within them, they can grant a sense of possibility, inspiration and an expanded self-concept. The “if she can do it, why can’t I” attitude is a powerful motivator. There is a knowledge that a range of possibilities might be closer than, at times, they may appear.

When alumni visit and speak to students, that sense of possibility can take on more concrete forms of mentorship and support between the student and the school community. Having a chance to question someone who may literally have sat in the same seat, in the same classroom, can be an inspiring or even profound experience. It’s also a demonstration that the culture of the school continues, and that time spent there is often the beginning of a life-long relationship.

“When you leave, you alter the school forever, just as you altered it when you arrived. It is this concert of voices that will stand as our shared moment in history.”
–Jay Connolly, Shawnigan Lake School, '80

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