Canada Education System

By | May 28, 2021

Since Canada has a federal system, there is no general or national education system. As with the laws in Canada, the respective provinces or territories are responsible for the school system. The age of entry and the duration of elementary school also differ in the provinces. In some provinces the school entry age is 5 years and in others it is 6 years. Primary school lasts either 6 or 7 years.

After elementary school, all students in Canada attend secondary school, which is divided into junior high school with three years and the subsequent senior high school with four years. In Canada’s education system, a high level of equality of opportunity is strived for, which is why there are no exams during the first transition to a higher school level. The first major final exam students have to take in Canada is Dilploma High School, which is completed at the end of Senior High School. Passing this exam depends on reaching certain credit points.

School is free in Canada. However, tuition fees have to be paid at the universities, the amount of which depends on each university itself. Canada has a total of 80 universities. The largest universities in Canada are the University of Toronto and the University of Montréal. There are also a lot of students studying in Quebec. In Canada there are the so-called “Old Four”, which represent the oldest universities in Canada. The Old Four include McGill University in Montréal (1821), the University of Toronto (1827), Queen’s University in Kingston (1841) and the University of West Ontario in Hamilton (1878). In addition to the group of the Old Four, there is also the “Group of Thirteen”. This group includes the 13 most important universities in Canada, who have come together to optimize their research projects. The universities of Toronto and Vancouver are in the top 40 of the world’s best universities.

Canada high school

The high school system in Canada is known for its high and demanding level of education. 90% of all students attend a public high school, comparable to German public high schools. The remaining 10% attend private high schools or study from home.

A high school in Canada is very well equipped. Every high school has specialist rooms, computer laboratories, libraries and sports halls.

Building a high school in Canada is generally the same. All high schools are based on an all-day school system. The Ministry of Education of the respective province determines the range of subjects. The schools are only allowed to decide on the textbooks and other teaching materials. The official language of instruction is English, but French is offered as a first foreign language in every high school. Some high schools, especially in the Quebec area, offer an exception. “French Immersion” is offered here and means that French is spoken as the language of instruction.
A school year at a high school in Canada lasts from September to June and has two semesters of five months each.

A high school in Canada offers a very wide variety of subjects and activities. In Canada, for example, teaching is based on the semester system. Students at a high school in Canada are taught eight areas of knowledge throughout the school year. Students have to choose two subjects from the main areas each semester. These are natural sciences, social sciences, and math. The other two subjects are chosen from the diverse elective area. These subjects are called “electives”.

These are divided into languages ​​and job-related courses and are called “Career Development Programs”. These subjects prepare high school students for working life. The courses include: office management, finance, marketing, computer courses, cooking, fashion design, journalism, working with metal or wood, automotive mechanics, tourism, aviation, cosmetics, law, company formation, photography, video production, web design, computers Design, programming, acting, music and dance theater, arts, digital art, music and sports.

In addition to the study subjects are at a high school in Canada also offered a lot of different sports. These include rowing, basketball, field hockey, football, golf, La Crosse, mountain biking, rugby, soccer, tennis, athletics, volleyball, wrestling, badminton, swimming, curling, cheer leading, downhill skiing, cross country skiing and horse riding.

Many private high schools offer “Advanced Placement” courses and the “International Baccalaureate” program. Some of these already contain teaching material at university level and show the demands of private high schools in Canada .

The final exam of the high school is the so-called “graduation”. For this purpose, the students in grades 11 and 12 complete a special program. This is confirmation of successful completion of high school and entitles you to study at a college or university in Canada.

Canada high school

Canada – universities

The oldest university in Canada is McGill University, founded in Montréal in 1821. This university is also one of the leading universities in the world. McGill University ranks twelfth in the global university ranking. It was named after the Scotsman James McGill.

The largest university in Canada is the University of Toronto with a total of almost 60,000 full-time students. This also makes it one of the largest universities in the world.

A total of approximately 1,640,000 students are enrolled in Canada. These are spread over a total of 77 English-speaking universities and 15 French-speaking universities. There are also five bilingual universities in the Québec region.