School Leadership
Kingsway College School's leadership emphasizes student-centered learning, mentorship, and a JK–12 pathway fostering confidence and lifelong learning. They are committed to innovation in pedagogy and curriculum, supporting students’ agency and passion through a holistic educational approach. Families highlight the emphasis on excellence and professional growth, with leaders using project-based and experiential learning to prepare students for an evolving world.
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Insider community voices
Hear directly from Kingsway College School community as they share insights into the School Leadership.
Facts and analysis
MESSAGE FROM THE LEADERSHIP
We invited Garth Nichols, Head of School at Kingsway College School, to share a message.
The overview highlights the vision, values, and guiding principles that shape leadership and the student experience at Kingsway College School.
Garth Nichols, Head of School
At Kingsway College School, we believe learning is not separate from life—it is life.
This belief is more than a philosophy; it shapes how we teach, support, and challenge every student. At KCS, education is not about sorting talent - it’s about growing it. From JK to Grade 12 and beyond, every child is seen not just for who they are now, but for who they are becoming—and for the courage, curiosity, and commitment they bring to the process.
At Kingsway, we build life long learners, with capacity. Our programming focuses on agency and achievement in an age-and-stage appropriate way. Through our expert faculty, we use project based and experiential learning to allow students to take a lead in their learning, more so as they get older. This integrates thoughtful leadership, self-reflection, and purpose into our academic curriculum. Students learn how to reflect and respond; they develop the habits that enable sustained effort over time. These are qualities that make them prepare to thrive in the future. From their earliest years through graduation, they are supported by a community that values intellectual stretch, personal integrity, and the kind of feedback that fuels real growth.
KCS students are deeply prepared for a world that is rapidly evolving because our teaching and curriculum is responsive, relevant and timely. (Portrait of a Graduate) They leave with the confidence of knowing who they are as learners, and the skill and the will to be self-directed learners. They are comfortable navigating complexity, working across differences, and leading with vision and humility.
And yes—100% of our graduates earn the academic standing required to attend the schools of their choice. But what matters more is this: they leave with the mindset and motivation to keep becoming, long after they’ve left our halls. This is what it means to expand possible within each and every student.
INTERVIEW WITH THE LEADERSHIP
We interviewed Garth Nichols, Head of School at Kingsway College School.
In conversation with school leadership, the discussion centred on the school’s mission, educational approach, and the vision shaping key decisions.
Garth Nichols, Head of School at Kingsway College School, shares his passion for education, student-centred learning, mentorship, belonging, and a JK–12 pathway that builds confidence, agency, and lifelong learning.
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Highlights from the interview
The mission and the vision of Kingsway College School are something that's near and dear to my heart. How do we play a role in the development of lifelong learners in one of the most significant parts of their lives? That is something that is full of potential and full of inspiration in terms of how we live that out.
I've always wanted to be in education. It's something that has always provided me with inspiration, purpose, and a lot of joy as well.
It was out west where I really started to play around with ideas in pedagogy and curriculum… It was a really special time and afforded me the time to think about the student experience and what education can and might be for different types of learners, different types of students, and different types of ambitions that students have as well.
I started an organization with my partner, Justin Medved, who's at the York School, called Cohort 21. We started to have these conversations and invited other CIS Ontario schools' educators into these conversations around the role of technology. Cohort 21 is a year-long professional development experience where they can deep dive and do some deep learning, and experiment with different topics.
In the junior school, I see so much investment into knowing our students; knowing who they are as people and as learners and supporting them in exploring what their passion might be.
What sets us apart is the pathway that comes from JK to Grade 12. We get to know our students at a very young age, and as they grow through the school, we focus on developing their independence and agency, and we give them opportunities to exercise that agency inside and outside of the classroom.
Well-being is a huge part of our program. We also have the four doors, how which students can walk into arts, into phys-ed, into different ways of expressing themselves, as part of allowing our students to know that while we have an academically challenging and supportive program, it's not who they are.
The best thing you can do is have compassion and lead from an area of curiosity. There are always ways to invite a conversation grounded in curiosity to get to the heart of the matter. A disagreement means there's an opportunity to learn.
As a parent, you need to know that your child will matter. Do you feel like your child can belong? Do you feel like this is a place not only where your child can matter, but where this place matters to your child?
When it comes to Kingsway College School, it's important to know that we have two vibrant campuses separated from each other. You have to have an open mind and open heart with this campus. Come and visit both campuses if you can, because they are both unique and they are beautiful in their own way.
