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homestay-programsWe’re here to help you find the right school, the right way.
For more than 20 years we’ve worked with leading education and child development experts to explore and improve the school-choice process. The result is a robust suite of tools—used by over 2.6 million families every year—which enable you to choose your best-fit school among the 350+ profiled on this site.
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Homestay is an informal term that schools use in reference to billeting programs. It is an alternative form of student accommodation, and while popular with international students, is available to domestic students as well. Most typically, schools will offer homestay options when they don't have on-campus boarding, though at times it is offered in addition to on-campus boarding. Read more
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Established in 1901, Hillfield Strathallan College is one of Canada’s leading co-educational independent schools, offering academic programs from Montessori Toddler and Pre-K to Grade 12, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
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Whytecliff is a safe, empathetic & supportive place for teens with a diverse range of learning needs / personal challenges. Our positive community & high-growth environment pulls each child up to be their very best!
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Niagara Christian Collegiate offers both middle school and secondary school programs from Grades 6-12. Graduating students achieve top university placements around the world. We accept both day and boarding students.
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Hawthorn School is located in Toronto. We offer a co-ed toddler-SK program and an all girls program for grade 1- grade 12. Our unique mentoring program is tailored to help students reach their full potential.
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We go beyond curriculum expectations to provide opportunities for students to earn admission into their choice of university using our AP accreditation, staff expertise and individual goal setting in small classes.
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This traditional private school in Ottawa, Ontario offers Grades 4 to 12 with 100 boarding and 600 day school students. Tuition is from $30,585 to $71,720.
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Enriched spaces to explore and innovate, students are eager each day to learn and grow. With direct access to teachers, success is within reach. Local and global students all embrace Signet as a home away from home.
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TA’s award-winning faculty are recognized for their innovative teaching practices, learners are engaged, and diversity is celebrated. TA students work collaboratively and independently to reach their full potential.
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Students receive an excellent education which prepares them well for university, college and a wide variety of workplaces.
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Bodwell High School in North Vancouver is a boarding school that enrolls 650 students. Tuition starts at $21,500. We provide Education for a Changing World. The school's motto is "Strength in Diversity."
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GNS is an independent JK-12 International Baccalaureate day-school in Victoria, BC, that challenges and supports each of our students to do their best through truth and courage in learning and in life.
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Don Valley Academy is a private high school whose primary aim is to prepare our students for post-secondary studies. We are dedicated to providing educational programs that meet the individual needs of each student.
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Since 1981, White Rock Christian Academy has provided education to Christian families who support our core purpose – to inspire and cultivate citizens of Godly character who transform their world for Christ.
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Reputed Diverse Traditional Day School. 100% of students graduate and move on to excel in their Post Secondary Education and life.
Extremely positive, caring, and knowledgeable teaching staff.
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At HDCH, our mission is to cultivate character through learning for a life of service to God. Our vision is to see all HDCH graduates become a faithful presence in the communities that they serve.
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Incorporating academic excellence, service and peacemaking, Rockway is a diverse learning community of 275 students in Grades 7 to 12 including a dynamic international student exchange program.
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Situated on seven acres of rolling parkland and gardens, Country Garden Montessori Academy in Newmarket is a co-ed private day school for students in grades PS-12. The school provides a family atmosphere and is committed the intellectual growth and emotional well-being of students.
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LCH is the only full-service independent high school in London. Through a Christian worldview, we offer the OSSD, OFSAA sports, extracurriculars, travel opportunities, and authentic learning experiences.
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Venture Academy is a therapeutic treatment and education program for students who may be struggling with ADHD, learning challenges, underachieving, behavioural issues, and a variety of clinical diagnoses.
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At Vaughan College instructions are embedded with strategies appropriate to the students' unique needs. We develop students' confidence and their urge to do better, which results in a high university acceptance rate.
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At Kells, flexibility is the key. We develop programs allowing students to work within their comfort zone, which may be above, below or at grade level. The result is students who outperform even their own expectations.
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Lycée Louis Pasteur is the only school in Calgary to teach the French Ministry of Education and Alberta Education curricula. 3-years-old to Grade 12. All linguistic backgrounds are welcome. Small class sizes.
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King’s Christian Collegiate is an independent Christian high school providing superb instruction in a safe, stimulating academic environment. Caring staff set the tone for a positive, up-beat culture.
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MLWS offers a unique high school model - a high school located on a university campus. We offer “dual acceptance” that allows for students in grades 11 and 12 to receive conditional acceptance to our partner university.
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RJC is a Grades 10-12 boarding school accredited by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education. RJC is student and community-focused all while offering excellent academics and exceptional athletic and fine arts programs.
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A21 students are empowered to create their OWN opportunities. PREPared to Say "Yes" to University prep, "Yes" to personal freedom through financial literacy and real-life skills, and "Yes" to athletics and wellbeing.
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Braemar College offers a warm environment in downtown Toronto for students with high academic ambitions. Flexible terms allow students to join anytime and offers fast and focused pathways into Canada’s top universities.
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The King's College experience develops in students responsibility, accountability, and ownership of their own learning and a passion for making a difference. Students can attend in person or synchronously online.
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Venture Academy is a therapeutic treatment and education program for students who may be struggling with ADHD, learning challenges, underachieving, behavioural issues, and a variety of clinical diagnoses.
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We are proud of our student-centered approach, enriched curricula, computer labs, committed teachers, and motivated students. Come to Queen's Collegiate to excel and prosper!
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Each student is unique. Why be just a number when you can be valued for who you are? We enfold, engage and empower every student in a safe, friendly, and supportive learning community. It's where you belong!
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At G.B.MS, D.E.P.S and Durham Academy Secondary school focus is on each individual student and helping them meet their unique potential and goals. We believe in excellent customer service and families have a voice. Throughout the year we enhance our programs through program enhancement and enrichment. We also offer March Break and Summer Camps for working parents.
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Elton High School is an independent full-time high school that offers grades 9-12. High-quality academic courses, rich and useful extra-curricular activities, a unique one-to-one after-school tutoring system.
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Neuchâtel Junior College students study Canadian Grade 12 curriculum, while living in Switzerland immersed in an authentic French language and Swiss cultural experience, they learn about the world and themselves.
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Webtree offers individualized education programs which fully supports a student’s academic needs, and helps them achieve educational and personal goals. Small class sizes are designed to inspire and engage students.
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Alexander Academy is a private high school offering the BC Dogwood High School Diploma and a unique University Transfer Program in a culturally rich and academically challenging environment.
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Through homestay programs, students stay with a host family living near the school. Often, the program is organized and managed by the school administration—the school recruits host families, assigns students to them, and maintains frequent, direct contact with the families and students throughout the school year. Host families apply to be part of the program, and are screened by the school. Further, host families are required to adhere to provincial homestay guidelines, including a police screen for any person resident within the home who is 18 years of age or older.
Homestay programs are attractive to:
Students are provided a room, meals, and otherwise participate in the life of the family. Often homestay families have an association with the school, including having their own children enrolled there, though that isn't typically a requirement of a host family.
The experience of living in a homestay setting is familial, and the student lives with the same host family for the entire school year. In a majority of cases, only one student is billeted with a family, and families offer a room in their home out of an interest in supporting a learner while also forging a relationship with someone from away. As such, the benefits are reciprocal: the visiting student wishes to have a safe, personal accommodation in the host community, while the billeting family is interested in meeting and getting to know someone from another culture.
Visiting students are responsible to abide by the rules of the home, and to respect the family's space, just as the family is responsible to respect theirs. The homestay parents are also responsible for providing healthy meals, and to ensure that they arrive at school each day on time and prepared to learn. The host parents will also provide guidance, just as they would to their own children, so it's important for families to be aware of the values held within the home, and also share them.
While host families provide daily support, and respond to any needs as they arise, they are not automatically designated as the student’s legal custodian. Should the host family agree, they may be approached to provide legal custodianship, though that designation can also be handled separately, either by the student's family or through school administration.
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.
NOTE: For up-to-date legal information regarding travel requirements, please refer to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or the Citizenship Act, as applicable.
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.
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.
Maria Montessori wanted kids to be kids, allowing them to learn in ways that were social and engaging. She would have loved the York School. [Read more]
