Studying Baccalaureate in Canada has become an increasingly demanded alternative today thanks to the fact that it is a country that enjoys great quality of life, security and a prestigious educational system while being individualized for each student.
Provinces where it is possible to study secondary and high school in Canada
Equivalences of 1st and 2nd Baccalaureate in Canada
1st Baccalaureate -> 
Grade 11 2nd Baccalaureate -> Grade 12
1. In public school
To study the degrees corresponding to 1º and 2º of Baccalaureate in Canada the most popular option is attending a public school (High School). In these cases, the accommodation of the student is always in a local host family and the duration can be:
- Full school year
- Academic semester
- Academic Quarter
To be accepted into a Canadian public school, we must formalize the registration through your corresponding school district. As we explained in the post about the Canadian education system , Public schools in Canada, unlike Spain, are regulated and supervised by their corresponding school district. Depending on the size of the school district, it will control more or fewer public schools.
For example, the Toronto school district runs more than 30 colleges of which all or several of them are licensed and prepared to accept international students. Other school districts located in smaller towns or communities will run far fewer public schools as is the case with the Sea to Sky school district in British Columbia, which only runs 3 public schools.
Since each school district has complete autonomy, the price of an international student’s tuition in a public school in Canada will vary depending on the school district you have chosen.
One of the great advantages of studying 1st or 2nd of high school in Canada in a public school is that school districts offer a multitude of subjects, extracurricular activities, sports and clubs according to the hobbies, academic expectations and profile of the student who is applying for a place. Based on these possibilities, there are two ways to apply for a place in a Canadian school district:
- Applying for a specific school in the district
- Letting the school district itself choose the school in which it will enroll the student
Since each school district provides specific information about each of its colleges, parents and the student can choose which school in the particular district they want to be enrolled in. In other cases, we simply inform the school district of the student’s preferences and needs, and based on that information, the district’s academic team decides which school is best suited to these parameters.
What are the most important factors when choosing a specific school district or college?
CANADA AREA:
It is possible to study high school in Canada in any of its provinces. All areas have various attractions that will influence the decision. Either because the location has easy access to ski resorts, maritime sports or other cultural or academic activities. The provinces of British Columbia or Ontario with their metropolitan areas as references are especially popular; Vancouver and Toronto respectively.
WEATHER:
The climate in Canada is always associated with heavy snowfalls and cold waves when the reality is that these meteorological phenomena rarely occur during winter and populations are fully prepared for it. On the other hand, coastal provinces such as Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Burnswick or British Columbia enjoy a climate very similar to that of northern Spain throughout the year.
POPULATION SIZE:
Depending on the preferences and expectations of each student, we can choose to study from small towns with a more rural environment to large cities with millions of inhabitants such as Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver. Here are examples of some representative school districts based on their size:
Large school districts
Mid-size school districts
Small-sized school districts
ACADEMIC OFFER
The academic offer available in Canada to complete the two years of Baccalaureate is one of the keys to its success. In addition to the common subjects available in 1st and 2nd year of Baccalaureate, there are countless very interesting complementary optional subjects. Some of them are especially popular: robotics, cooking, mechanics, creative writing, public speaking, debate, cinema, theater, graphic design, audiovisual design …
SPORTS OFFERED
Another key when choosing a school district is to assess its sports offer and that is that sports and physical activity have great importance in the Canadian educational system. The most popular are skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey, European football, lacrosse, basketball, volleyball, softball, swimming, golf …
2. In private school
Canadian public education not only enjoys great international prestige but also has a great reputation among Canadians themselves. That is why the vast majority of Canadian high school and high school students study in public schools, leaving private schools in the background. It is very common to observe that families with a high purchasing power decide to enroll their children in the public school in the area instead of considering a private institution.
For this reason, private schools in Canada are not synonymous with exclusivity, excellence or elitism but tend to attend to more personal issues such as the possibility of providing their children with a religious education, ensuring very low teacher / student ratios in order to obtain very individualized attention, or else, focus your academic curriculum on the arts, sciences or humanities.
Requirements for the validation of the baccalaureate course taken in Canada
The requirements to validate a school year studied in Canada vary depending on whether it is 1st or 2nd of Baccalaureate.
1st Baccalaureate
As we have mentioned before, the 1st year of Baccalaureate corresponds to grade 11 in Canada. The essential requirements to validate 1st year of Baccalaureate are:
- Take your corresponding degree in Canada (grade 11)
- Take at least 5 core subjects from those stipulated by the Ministry of Education
- Pass all the subjects taken during the academic year in Canada.
2nd Baccalaureate
In order to validate 2nd year of Baccalaureate after having studied a school year in Canada there are some additional requirements to take into account:
- Take your corresponding degree in Canada (Grade 12)
- Take at least 5 core subjects among those stipulated by the Ministry of Education.
- Receive a graduation diploma from the High School where you have completed your studies or an explanatory letter otherwise.
- Pass all the subjects taken during the academic year in Canada.
To know all the details about the requirements and procedures to validate the school year after having studied high school in Canada, we recommend you visit the website of the Ministry of Education doing click here.
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