# Schools (Toronto)



## Asabani (Dec 22, 2011)

Hi everyone
We are planing to move Toronto, Canada from uk hopefully by Sep. I have 2 kids and from Sep one of them is going to high school and the other one is going to start her school (reception).
I've heard in Canada compare to UK schools starts a year later. Is this true? and if so, does my eldest has to do year 6 again? and will the youngest be at home for one more year before going to school in canada?
thanks


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

Our son started in Grade 11, and a few weeks later he became 16 years old. He will finish high school in June, and is 17 years old. He is one of the youngest (born in 1994).

At our school, they took a look at the subjects he already had studied in Belgium, and so he ended up in Grade 11 (with also 3 grade 12 courses).
Some schools/school boards take placement tests for English and Math to decide in which grade they gonna place a newcomer kid.


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## G-Mo (Aug 17, 2011)

What is year 6? We don't have that here... In Ontario you go Grade 1 - 11, then OAC. High school (grade 9) starts around 14 years of age. Most foreign exchange students are assessed some way to determine how their previous education to best place them and their educational needs.


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

Don't think that OAC still exists in Ontario. 

Fist, there is Junior Kindergarten. Children can begin school in Junior Kindergarten in September of the calendar year in which they turn four. Since the cutoff date in Ontario is December 31, this means that children can actually begin school in Junior Kindergarten when they are three years and eight months old. 
The next level up from Junior Kindergarten is Kindergarten. 

Than there is Elementary School, from Grade 1 to grade 8 (most of the time they are 13 years old by that time).

And than they continue in Secondary School aka High School, from grade 9 to grade 12.
Some students take an extra year, a 13th year (and meanwhile try to earn monney for their post secondary education, or to top up their grades to get into the university of their choice, or to take extra courses that are prerequisites for the program they want to take at university).


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## G-Mo (Aug 17, 2011)

Yeah, OAC/Grade 12... Habit. My sister was the last of the "OACs" to graduate.

Elementry school is grade 1 - 6. Grades 7 - 8 are still middle school I believe, and in many districts are a separate school to Elementry and High school.


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## Asabani (Dec 22, 2011)

Thanks everyone. it is so different from here,children start going to school when they are 4 and first year is called reception and then year 1 to year 6 and after that high school year 7 to year 11.
if they want to go University they need to do another year (A Levels).thanks again


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

More info abouth the Ontario School System (every province has its own regulations):
Ontario's education system
click on the left on "Learning in Ontario".

And about middle school/Junior High School:


> Other Variations
> There is considerable variation in the way elementary and secondary schools are organized across the province. It is not uncommon to have some elementary schools that offer classes only up to Grade 6. Students who graduate from these schools will often go to Junior High School for Grades 7-9, and then high school for Grades 10-12.
> 
> Other than the way they are organized, these schools do not do anything differently than more traditional elementary and secondary schools.


For the Public: Ontario's School System, Structure - The Ontario College of Teachers


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## G-Mo (Aug 17, 2011)

Junior High, yes, that tends to be the public schools name for it... I went to a private school that encompassed JK-13/OAC, there 7-8 was refered to a middle school (different uniform too). My public school friends all went to separate Junior Highs. I don't know who wrote the OCT post, but High School (aka Senior High, Secondary School) always starts at grade 9.



> Ontario Secondary Schools, Grades 9 to 12


Secondary Curriculum


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