Boarding SchoolS 2024 FEATURING PREmIER GlobAl school EdUcATIoN oPTIoNs FoR yoUR chIld
A Gulf News sponsored Report | Thursday, February 22, 2024
R i d L e y Co L L e g e
Unlock a child’s potential at Ridley College Enjoy the facilities of a world-class boarding school
idley College is a prestigious boarding school in Canada that offers a global education and a home away from home to students from over 55 countries. Founded in 1889, it has a rich history of academic excellence that prepares students for the top universities and colleges worldwide. Ridley is one of the few boarding schools in North America that offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) Continuum programme, a rigorous and internationally recognized curriculum that develops well-rounded learners. The IB programme
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encourages students to be inquirers, thinkers, communicators, risktakers, knowledgeable, principled, caring, open-minded, balanced and reflective. These attributes equip students with the skills and mindset to face the challenges of the 21st century. In 2023, Ridley’s graduation survey
showed that 100% of graduates felt academically ready for university, and 93% of students received an offer to at least one of their top three university choices. Ridley is also a place where students can grow as individuals and as part of a diverse and supportive community. They experience different cultures, perspectives and traditions and develop a global mindset. All Upper School students join one of the ten boarding houses, each with its own personality, traditions and Head of House, who will act as a parental figure, leading with compassion and fostering wellbeing and personal and academic growth. Students have access to over 75 co-curricular
R oss e au L a k e Co L L e g e
Fostering academic peers Helping create students with a strong sense of identity as learners
osseau Lake College (RLC) is an independent coed day and boarding school offering Grade 7 through Grade 12. It was established in 1967 as an all-boys’ school — it became coed in 1983 — on a property about a 2½-hour drive north of Toronto. The school is in the heart of the Muskoka region occupying 56 acres with 4,000 feet of shoreline. The campus has a traditional, modern feel. It includes four boarding houses, a dining hall overlooking Lake Rosseau, two academic centres and outbuildings that support the academic program. Windows line the indoor spaces, and the natural environment is a constant presence in the student experience. There are outdoor classrooms, including a natural amphitheatre by the water’s edge. Students come to RLC because they want an education, but also because they are looking for more. They want to be engaged, to find a place within a community of kindred spirits and true academic peers. They intend to go on to post-secondary studies, though they also understand that school
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should never be only a stepping stone to some future accomplishment. The school rightly prides itself on graduating students who have a strong sense of identity as learners, are able to describe who they are, and analyse the experiences they’ve had.
ACADEMIC LIFE
RLC is a preparatory school in the classic sense in that all the students are planning to enter postsecondary programmes. Academics are rigorous, following a progressive liberal arts model. The average class size is between 10 and 15 students. The school, understandably, attracts teachers who are committed to outdoor education. All are dynamic, creative, and self-starting. RLC doesn’t offer the International Baccalaureate (IB), though it shares many attributes with schools that do. That includes the tradition of thinking globally — the IB is heavily influenced by the work of Kurt Hahn, as was RLC itself — particularly in the sense of global citizenship, which has been a core feature of the school’s DNA since its inception. Likewise, learning expe-
riences are stretched out over longer arcs of time. The school year is semestered, so courses are offered over a period of months. That’s mirrored in the daily and weekly schedule, with longer blocks of time in the afternoons for students to get involved in projects in a deeper, more committed way. Because of the variation of the daily schedule through the week (Wednesday afternoons, for example, are on a flexible schedule), there isn’t a sense of being pushed from class to class, discipline to discipline, whenever the bell rings. Instead, there is time offered to get into a task and stay with it, free from distractions. The dissection of a frog, for example, might take a whole afternoon. As well it should. This is a school that believes in the value of taking time, that learning is an expe-
Focus on Canadian & uk Boarding schools
activities, such as sports, arts and clubs, where they can pursue their passions, talents and hobbies and have fun with their friends. Ridley’s Saturday Programming offers Upper School students the opportunity to enrich their learning every Saturday morning as an extension of Ridley’s regular academic programming. In these sessions, students may hear from motivational speakers, participate in art and vitality workshops and engage in community service, course planning and interhouse competitions, among other activities. At the heart of the Niagara Region, Ridley’s 90-acre campus is located in a quiet and friendly neighbourhood with a high quality of life and many nearby amenities. The school has a dedicated security team on-site 24/7 and a caring and professional staff who ensure students’ safety and wellness in mind, body and spirit. Ridley College is more than just a school. It allows students to discover themselves, explore the world and shape their future. It is where they can achieve their dreams and positively impact the world. Ridley is the perfect choice for parents looking for a world-class boarding school steeped in tradition and Canadian values. rience to be savoured. Graham Vogt, Assistant Head of School, says that “it is the difference between spotting the barred owl on a trail walk — perched still and silent, otherwise invisible within the overhead limbs of the maple — or simply seeing it through the chain link at the local zoo. The bird is impressive in either scenario, but the experience is vastly different… We love for our students to see the owl not because we show it to them, but because they discover it on their own.” The school follows the Ontario curriculum, and students graduate with the OSSD, though the progress through the grades is highly sequenced and unique to RLC. Grades 7 through 8 are the Foundation Years, which, as the name suggests, are designed as a time to develop a good basis in the fundamentals. Instructors work closely together so that when students move up, their strengths, challenges, and talents are known. The school prizes individual, student-paced learning.
NUMBER OF STUDENTS
140 | 50% International | 50% Canadian | 60 Day Students | 80 Boarders
Register to join us: For a detailed profile of Head of School Dave Krocker see https:// www.rosseaulakecollege.com/ blog/dave-krocker-brings-theworld-to-rosseau-lake-college