"Royal Ontario Academy is an Ontario Ministry-inspected virtual high school offering affordable OSSD credits to students in Canada and worldwide. Our online courses let students learn anytime, at their own pace, with quick teacher feedback and personalized support. Students and families can register online and start anytime. We also offer PLAR for eligible students, recognizing prior studies so students can avoid repeating courses and move more efficiently toward earning the OSSD diploma for university admission."
Royal Ontario Academy provides caring, timely, and personalized support to every student. We take the time to understand each student’s postsecondary goals, including the university or college programs they hope to enter, and work closely with them to ensure their course progress and grades align with those aspirations. Whether a student is improving their grades or already performing at a high level, we support all learners with equal care, attention, and high expectations. Our courses are designed in smaller-sized units to support stronger retention, deeper learning, and practical real-life application, while virtual simulated labs in science and math help bring concepts to life. Quick and timely teacher feedback keeps students moving forward with confidence. ROA graduates have been accepted to top Canadian universities, including the University of Toronto, the University of Alberta, Queen’s University, Western University, Wilfrid Laurier University & many more across the world.
ROA has made a deliberate tradeoff by choosing asynchronous learning instead of a traditional live-teaching model. This gives students more flexibility and allows us to keep tuition affordable for families. To make that model effective, we have invested heavily in purposeful course design, creating courses that are interactive, engaging, and structured to support independent learning without compromising academic quality. By building strong courses rather than relying on constant live instruction, we are able to offer a widely recognized Ontario high school education that is low-cost, affordable, and accessible to students in Canada and around the world.
Royal Ontario Academy’s present identity has been shaped by several important moments in its growth. From its founding as an online high school, ROA has focused on providing flexible, accessible learning opportunities for students in Grades 9–12. Another major turning point was the decision to invest in high-quality course design that promotes active learning, practical application, and affordability rather than relying on constant live instruction. This vision has been strengthened by the outstanding work of Dr. Karen McCloskey and Natasha Pomeroy, whose expertise in course development and instructional design has helped shape engaging, rigorous, and meaningful online learning experiences. ROA’s continued adaptation to modern education, including the responsible use of AI, has further defined its character as flexible, student-focused and academically strong, while maintaining an attendance policy that requires regular student engagement and interaction with course material.
There are many different types of students that benefit from studying at ROA:
Students wishing to improve marks by repeating high school courses;
Students wanting to improve their chances of being admitted into competitive university programs;
Students that want to start early or advance faster than the traditional high school schedule permits, including Grade 8 students who want to reach ahead;
Students that need flexible online learning that fits their schedule because of sports, travel, health reasons or other person/family reasons;
Students from Quebec that wish to earn an Ontario high school diploma and receive credits for their French studies in Quebec;
International students that want fair tuition, with the same price for domestic and international students; and
International students that want to obtain an OSSD diploma and want to receive a free PLAR assessment to recognize previous high school courses from their home country.
We may not be the right fit for families who want a traditional school experience built around in-person instruction or constant live, synchronous classes. Our model is designed for students who benefit from flexibility, independence, and thoughtfully structured online learning.
That said, we are not a passive or impersonal online school. We believe online learning should never feel dull, disconnected, or purely transactional. Too many online courses are passive and uninspiring, so we have designed ours differently. ROA is built for families who want flexibility without sacrificing quality.
We also embrace the realities of modern learning. In selected assignments, students may use AI responsibly as a tool to enhance their thinking and learning, while maintaining academic integrity and ensuring that all work reflects real understanding and original effort.
For families seeking a flexible, high-quality and affordable online education, we believe ROA is a strong fit.
Families choose ROA for several clear reasons. One of the biggest is word of mouth: they hear from other families, students, and partners that ROA offers outstanding value. We are known for providing strong, well-designed Ontario high school courses that are among the lowest price, without sacrificing quality. Families also choose us because our learning model is flexible, practical, and accessible for students in different situations, including those who need to repeat courses, improve grades, reach ahead, or study from outside Ontario or Canada. International families value that we charge the same tuition for domestic and international students, with no pricing difference. Many also appreciate our free PLAR assessments, which help recognize previous learning and maximize transfer credits. Overall, families choose ROA because it combines affordability, fairness, flexibility, and meaningful academic opportunity in a way that stands out from many other schools.
The most prominent feature of ROA in the public eye is its reputation for outstanding value. People see the school as a flexible, affordable, and top rated Ontario private high school that makes recognized OSSD education more accessible to students in Canada and around the world.
The attributes most often associated with ROA are affordability, flexibility, high university acceptance rates, practical learning, and improved grades.
It is viewed as a school that helps students move forward, whether by improving grades, earning Ontario credits, reaching ahead, or preparing for top universities. This simple but meaningful image reflects ROA’s brand identity: a student-focused online school that combines quality, affordability, and real academic success.
An underappreciated strength of ROA is the combination of exceptional value and exceptional care. Our tuition is highly affordable, with no unnecessary extra fees or hidden costs, which makes a strong Ontario education more accessible to families. At the same time, ROA offers something equally important: genuine, personal support. Principal Phoebe Martin is known for being kind, responsive, and deeply invested in each student’s success. She goes the extra mile to support students and families, making ROA not just affordable, but truly caring, attentive, and committed to helping students succeed both in school and beyond.
What may surprise families most about ROA is that our courses are designed to go beyond helping students earn credits or achieve higher grades. We want students to understand the why behind what they are learning and how it connects to real-life situations, examples, and future study.
This approach is built into our course design by Dr. Karen McCloskey and Teacher Natasha Pomeroy, who carefully developed courses with meaningful application in mind. Their goal is not only to help students succeed in high school, but also to prepare them to apply their knowledge with confidence at the university level and beyond.
A recent improvement at ROA has been the introduction of more comprehensive practice exams designed to better prepare students for their final assessments. These practice exams help students measure their readiness, understand expectations more clearly, and identify areas that need further review. This has given students greater clarity and confidence, while also contributing to stronger overall performance.
Similarly, a recent update to ROA’s attendance policy emphasizes the importance of regular engagement and interaction with course material. Students are expected to participate consistently in their learning to demonstrate progress and maintain momentum. If a student’s activity falls below expectations, the Principal will reach out to provide support and ensure that learning continues in a responsible and structured manner.
In the next five years, ROA will continue to grow by using expanding technology and artificial intelligence capabilities to make our courses even more interactive, engaging, and responsive to student needs. We expect to further enhance course design in ways that keep students focused, involved, and actively participating in the learning process. As always, our aim will be to use innovation thoughtfully to strengthen understanding, support student success, and make online learning even more meaningful.
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