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International boarding schools

An international education

On this page we cover schools located outside of Canada. For a complete guide to private schooling, including information about admissions, please see our introductory guide.

2. Choosing a school

Our boarding school guide has advice specific to finding boarding schools abroad. For insights that are more general (on how to evaluate school options) we recommend you review our hub on choosing a school. You can also read our guides to questions to ask private schools and questions students get asked at school interviews.

Private school expos

Private school expos are ideal launching pads for your school-finding journey. All expos are held in the fall at a number of centres across Canada. There are three expos hosted in Ontario, one in Toronto, one in Halton-Peel, and one in Ottawa. Expos are also held each fall in Vancouver, Montreal, and Calgary. All are opportunities to speak with administrators from leading boarding schools within the regions in which the expos are held.

Parent discussion forum

Word-of-mouth is another powerful tool in your school-finding arsenal. The Our Kids private school discussion forum allows you to discuss your options and debate topics around gifted education. You can use our community of parents, educational experts, alumni, and schools to help answer your questions and stimulate your thinking.

Upcoming open house events

Attending open houses is obviously a great way to learn more about a school and get a feel for the environment. For some advice on open house visits, go here. For questions to ask that are specific to boarding programs, refer to our main boarding school hub.

3. Tuition

Broadly speaking, the cost of boarding reflects the cost private school tuition in general, though with premiums added to cover housing and meals.

Many schools offer financial aid, including scholarships and bursaries. Financial aid is needs-based, and financial aid programs are created as a means of broadening the student base and attracting students, independent of means, who will contribute most to the culture of the school. Generally speaking, the larger and more expensive schools provide the most aid.

You can read more about financial aid and scholarships in our dedicated guide.

Below you'll find the range of costs at international boarding schools:

Institutional metrics

Academics

Special needs support

Course pedagogies

Extracurricular clubs

Extracurricular sports (competitive)

The appeal of boarding outside Canada is considerable, both for the quality of the academics and for the richness of the cultural experience. Being in Europe or Asia, for example, means being proximate to a wealth of languages, ideas, places, and people. Closer to home, the United States is home to some of the oldest and most respected boarding schools on the continent, and some of the most progressive schools in the world.  To find schools that match your values, take a look at our recently added page of US private school rankings. 

All participate in a robust, world-class academic tradition. With students enrolling from around the world, learning from each other, discussing their backgrounds and sharing an understanding of their place in the world, schools outside Canada are able to offer a broad range of opportunity and independence that isn't available at home. Along with that cultural understanding is often the chance to develop language and communication skills. 

Graduation requirements

Graduation requirements, as well as the degrees offered by international schools, varies 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—offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) toward the fulfilment of 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 coursework, 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.