REVIEW OF Braemar House School BY parent, Dr. Glenn Marshall

(5) Student Experience

Our son has attended Braemar House School on two separate occasions. The first was when we returned from an overseas assignment and returned to Canadian schooling. Since there was no school close to our home, we had Will attend as a day student through Grade Prep 1 to Grade two. We moved back into the catchment area when he was in Grades 7 & 8. We found Braemar House an excellent preparation for High School. In fact, on attending High School in a local area, we elected to try the public system instead of driving 1.5 hours to attend school in London. Our Son is top of his class in every subject area due to the excellent preparation by Braemar House. We could not be happier with the decision we made with Braemar House School.

(5) School Leadership

While our Son had some COVID-related online instruction, our impression was that it was a superb effort by the teachers and administration. When back in day school, rather than online, he never stepped back. The teachers, principal and education director were superb, motivational and caring. We highly recommend this team for the education of your child. You will not be disappointed. The principal is a dedicated academic administrator, the Education director is a positive and excellent influence on the students. Both are well-respected by the students and it shows in the respectful behaviour of our son.

(5) Teaching

It is hard for us to pick a favourite teacher in this school, they are all exemplary. Our son was a student in the early years, we went overseas and had him come back to Braemar for junior high 7 & 8. With the COVID shutdown leading to online schooling, Will never looked back. The online instruction was superb. In the early years, our son learned the key academic skills and the lessons of group work and study skills. This has stayed with him over the years, and how that he is in high school within the public system, with no private school in our catchment the school has noticed the dedication to learn is strong in our son. Of course, we wanted the high school experience to be a positive one, and Braemar made that happen.

(5) Academics

William was always a top student in every school, but at Braemar he did extremely well, given the competition for grades that the school. He had great friends from his first year, kept in contact and when he arrived back for 7 and 8 those friendships remained. Braemar prides itself on experience-based learning, an excellent combination of both Athletics and involvement. We commuted to the School from Simcoe Ontario each day, and while it was a 40-minute trip the school was worth it. Once COVID hit, the switch over to a hybrid and fully online program was without any issue at all. The calibre of the academics from the teaching staff and the support to do well were evident through all of the academic programs. Certainly, it paid dividends when he began high school, retaining a top mark in every class he attended in the public system. Both my spouse and I credit this progress to the education he received at Braemar.

(5) Extracurriculars

Will was involved in a number of the programs. He felt the athletic program was a plus and while we commuted into the school it was an important part of his athletic development. He engaged in many sports that rounded him as an individual, including cross-country running on the annual sports day. The teachers all were involved. As a smaller school, the program combined with health studies was proactive and well-run.

(5) Students

The teamwork shown at Braemar in the classroom activities, the drama and the concerts certainly paid dividends. One class member from the early Kindergarten years still is a best friend both frequently visiting each other though they are 200 KM apart. This is great in this day and age of problems within schools, private and public. The atmosphere at Braemar encourages teamwork, no head-to-head competition. We really felt good about the involvement and experiential base of the teaching at Braemar House. We see it now in our son taking a leadership role in both academics and sports at a public high school while retaining honours status in both grade 9 and now currently in grade 10. He had no trouble fitting into the new school and is actively involved there.

(5) School Life

Our son always enjoyed the atmosphere at Braemar House School. Every day he was welcomed by the Principal or the Education director. In his entire career at school, he never had a detention or reprimand for poor behaviour. He looked forward to attending and while he had a 40-minute commute to school, he was always excited to attend. School life is a huge part of students' development, but we were never aware of any bullying or inappropriate behaviour within the student body. The parents were always informed of any issues, and in particular both the Education Director and Principal were always available to us for any issue and they were probably limited to illness or vacation requests, never misbehaviour or lack of academic pursuits. Well done Braemar!

(5) Community

The parental involvement at school was just fine for us. We both firmly believe that parent involvement should be minimal, and parents believe the professionals should be allowed to do their job. We were pleased the school was non-denominational and that Will was exposed to students from different cultures and religions. In our own lives, the idea of international travel and international living has always been a part of our professional lives. While we did not live in Brantford, we felt the daily travel to the area was important and actually beneficial for my spouse and me to contact and talk to our son about his day. As commuting parents we were pleased that the school advised us of any closures or issues well in advance of the start of the day.

(5) School Location

While most parents picked up the students in a well-organized parking routine, the area around the school is a very safe one. Many of the local students walked from the school to their homes. Since we commuted to school it was often hard for our soon to get involved with the after-school activities, or local activities, but we tried as best we could to keep him involved.

(5) Admissions

The advice we would give is this school and program is one of the best we have experienced through the education of our son. The advice we would give parents seeking admission would be to DO IT. You will not be sorry and your children will be better for the learning experience. We could not rate any institution higher than we have for this school. We found the real benefit to our son was the growth and support he received from the teaching staff, the administration and the classmates. This school is worth the expense and trials that commuting offers. However, we feel we could not have made a better investment in our son. His grades in the public high school system are exemplary and we urge you to consider this school. You will not be sorry.