Resources
Parents ask me the same handful of questions in almost every first conversation: what independent really means in Canada, how boarding differs from day, whether IB or AP matters more. I have written the answers here so you can sit with them before we speak.
The rest of the site shows you the schools and the process. This is the reference library underneath both.
Guides for Parents
Independent and Private Schools
Three terms get used as if they mean the same thing: public, private, and independent. They do not. Independent schools are not-for-profit, led by a Head of School and a Board, and 95 of them carry CAIS accreditation. That structure is why I specialise in them.
Read this guide →Boarding and Day School
Boarding is full residential life on campus: house staff, meals, activities, and the community that comes with living there. Day school is for a child who goes home at the end of the day, or lives with a local guardian. Most of the schools I work with offer both. The right choice depends on your child’s personality and your family’s situation, not on a rule.
Read this guide →IB and AP
The International Baccalaureate is a broad diploma across six subjects. Advanced Placement is individual university-level courses in the subjects a student chooses to take further. Both are respected. Which one serves your child depends on how they learn and where they want to go next.
CAIS Accreditation
CAIS is Canadian Accredited Independent Schools, the country’s most rigorous accreditation body. 95 schools hold it. When a school is CAIS-accredited, it has met a standard I trust enough to recommend with confidence.
Read this guide →Independence at Boarding School
Canadian boarding schools treat independence as something they teach. A 2024 TABS and CAIS study of more than 11,000 students found boarding students develop stronger independence, resilience, and life skills than their peers, and are 50% more likely to get one-on-one time with their teachers. By university, they have already been doing it for years.
Read this guide →When Boarding Is Worth It
For the right child in the right school, a Canadian boarding school is one of the most consequential investments a family can make. I have seen children arrive uncertain and leave four years later as purposeful young adults. I have also told families when it was not the right fit. Getting both right is the whole job.
Read this guide →High School in Canada
Many international families treat university as the moment to send a child to Canada. Arriving for high school is often the stronger move. Students already know the academic system when they apply to university, and the 2024 study-permit caps that affect university applicants do not apply the same way to school-age children. The years themselves do the rest.
Read this guide →Arriving soon
How Tuition Works
What the published fee includes, what it does not, and how boarding costs compare once meals, housing, and activities are counted in.
Arriving soon
Preparing for Interviews
What independent schools listen for in an interview, and how to help your child arrive as themselves rather than as a prepared performance.
Arriving soon
The Application Timeline
When families need to start, what each season is for, and which deadlines actually move.
