The Ontario education system is known for its exceptional quality and student-oriented focus. This makes it became one of the most recognized educational system in the world. The curriculum of William Academy are designed carefully in order to take full advantage of the benefits in such system.
Furthermore, the Ontario education system offers high degree of flexibility and has embraced one of the most developed educational credit systems in North America. Education in Ontario starts from Kindergarten at the age of 5, and then moves to Grad 1 to Grade 8 in Elementary School, and lastly attends Grade 7 to Grade 12 in Secondary School.
There are different levels of courses that students can choose based on their academic objectives. Students may enroll compulsory courses in 3 forms: university preparation, college preparation, and workplace preparation.
In align with the Ontario education system, our school offers courses on credit basis. Students are able to manage the number of credits that they would like to complete per semester, after a minimum of 30 credits are completed, the student will receive the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). Within these 30 credits, eighteen of them are compulsory, and the rest of twelve credits are free electives.
Our school allows students to transfer their credits that were completed previously in their home country. As a result, students only need to complete the remaining courses to obtain the outstanding credits. This system enhanced the students’ abilities to pace their study path according to individual academic capabilities and interests.
Besides regular academic curriculum, students are also required to complete a minimum of 40 hours of community involvement and pass the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test in order to graduate (OSSLT). Details are discussed below.
Compulsory Credits (Total of 18):
– 4 credits in High School (Grades 7 – 12) English (1 credit per grade)
– 3 credits in Mathematics (at least 1 credit in Grade 11 or 12)
– 1 credit in French as a Second Language
– 2 credits in Science, Physics, Biology, or Chemistry
– 1 credit in Canadian History
– 1 credit in Canadian Geography
– 1 credit in the Arts
– 1 credit in health and Physical Education
– 0.5 credit in Civics and 0.5 credit in Career Studies
Plus:
In addition to the compulsory credits listed above, all students must also complete the following:
– 1 additional credit in English, or a third language, or a social science and the humanities, or Canadian and world studies
– 1 additional credit in health and physical education, or the arts, or business studies
– 1 additional credit in science (Grade 11 or 12) or technological education (Grades 7- 12)
Selective Credits (Total of 12)
In addition to the 18 compulsory credits, students also need to earn 12 optional credits by their choice. Students are able to select these courses from a full list of courses available at William Academy. Free elective credits allow students to explore their interests and potentials in different areas, as well as to prepare them for university, college, apprenticeship, or work requirements.
40 Hours of Community Involvement Activities
All students are required to complete 40 hours of community involvement activities during their high school years in order to become eligible to graduate. The purpose of community involvement is to encourage students to develop awareness and understanding of societal responsibility and their role as to support and contribute to their communities. On the other hand, International students who study for one-year pre-university courses are required to complete a minimum of 10 hours of community involvement. The students are eligible to apply for graduation only after the required hours are completed