The trend of young students studying abroad in Canada has increased significantly

Not long ago, US News released the 2017 Best Global Universities ranking. Canada ranks right below the US and the UK in terms of top universities, thus attracting international students from all over the world. In order have better chances of getting into these top universities in Canada, a large number of students apply for high schools in Canada every year. According tostatistics compiled by Canadian Bureau for International&nbspEducation, the number of Chinese nationals applying to high schools in Canada has increased by 36% over the last year. This is mainly because Chinese nationals can easily afford the  tuition fees of Canadian high schools.了吧。
When it comes to studying in high school in Canada, one has to make a choice between public schools and private schools. Chinese people attach great importance to children's education. With the increase in investment immigration, parents tend to consider private schools as the better choice between the two as the quality of education is high, and preparing their children for entering famous universities. At the same time, there are also a lot of parents who would choose public schools because the teaching quality is good, and more cost-effective.
So, which is better? Public or private high schools? This has always been a topic of controvesy. To help you decide, we’ll give you a more detailed comparison.

Differences Between Canadian Public and Private High Schools

Canadian high schools are divided into public and private. The dominant public high schools have advantages over private high schools in terms of education funding, faculty and teaching resources. However, in Canada, the top private schools are often referred to as elite schools. Such private schools are not big but are ranked quite high in popularity. In the process of choosing a school, many Chinese students and parents are unfamiliar with the&nbspCanadian high school education system, and they often ask us which one is better Let's compare them.

Features of Canadian Public High Schools

Public high schools funded by the Canadian provincial government, recruiting local students. Some schools offer ESL courses that can recruit international students, and all students can obtain a Canadian high school diploma after graduation.
Many Chinese parents choose public schools for the following reasons:

* Tuition fees are relatively low

Tuition fees in public high schools are much lower than private high schools. This is because the operation of public schools is not for profit, and the school's funding comes from the local Ministry of Education.

* Good English-learning environment

Note that Canadian public high schools are free, so the vast majority of students in public high schools are locals (students growing up in Canada). For this reason, international students are immersed into an English-speaking environment, and their English skills improve quickly.

* Guaranteed quality of education

Public high schools in Canada mainly provide basic education for students in the country, so the academic standards are equal to other schools. For international students who choose to attend public high schools, they will receive a good standard of education that is guaranteed. Furthermore, the faculty of public schools is unmatched by ordinary private schools. Due to the sufficient government funding, public schools can provide better benefits to hire good teachers.For this reason, there are excellent teachers in the curriculum, and in reality, public high schools provide students with the best learning facilities (these learning facilities will be mentioned later in the article).
It is worth mentioning that the top private high schools顶级的私立高中(especially theprestigious private schools) employ the best teachers, and have first-class learning facilities, which are better than public high schools in many aspects. Of course, this does not apply to all private schools.

* Excellent teaching resources

Because public high schools in Canada are funded by the government, the budgets for education at all levels are huge. In addition, some parents from the local community make donations to local schools.With money, the high level of public education is guaranteed. Also, public high schools are generally large in scale, so the school infrastructure investments generally address the building of libraries, lounges, laboratories, meeting rooms, etc. for teachers and students.加上社区家长们也会向当地学校捐款。有钱，这是加拿大拥有高水平公立教育的基本保证。所以，一般公立高中规模比较大，所以在教育投资的基础设施建设上，很多为师生准备的图书馆，休息室，实验室，讨论室等等一应俱全。

* Extensive curriculum 

In public high schools in Canada, academic courses coexist with occupational and technical courses. In addition to some courses, such as mathematics, English, history, etc., there are many choices of elective courses that a student can choose based on their own personal preferences, such as art, music, poetry, etc. In other words, Canadian public high schools are a bit like vocational schools in China. Local students who finish public high school education not only enter Canadian universities, but many others choose to go to college.

* Issues with Faith Schools

There are many religious-affiliated schools, and there are regular mass and faith-based activities. Many Chinese parents are uncertain about whether or not to let their children enroll in religious schools. If a family has a clear choice of beliefs for their child, that choice should be easy. However, most Chinese families have no clear choice. It is possible to enroll in a religious-affiliated school if the school has no requirement for students to belong or practice the same religion. This option is worth considering because faith can be a good thing, as it can guide a person in the right direction in life and to find purpose. At the same time, these schools have no particular requirements for students or parents of other religions.

In summary of the characteristics of public high schools in Canada: The advantages of public high schools are that there are low tuition fees, a good English environment, guaranteed quality of education, ample teaching resources and an extensive curriculum.

Features of Canadian Private High Schools

Private high schools in Canada are funded by private organizations or individuals to provide Canadian secondary education, and students can obtain a Canadian high school diploma after graduation. Private schools have great decision-making power in enrollment because they can set their own admission standards. The admission requirements of these schools determine, to a large extent, the composition of different groups of students in private schools. According to the school's admission criteria, UtoCanada classifies Canadian private high schools into three categories:CAIS independent schools，Prestigious Boarding Schools and boarding schools/commuter schools.。

* Strict management

Because private high schools in Canada charge higher fees than public high schools, and are mostly founded by private organizations, they are stricter in management thus guaranteeing a good quality of teaching. The goal is to prepare students for entering prestigious universities.

* Admissions are easier

Unlike public high schools, which mainly recruit domestic students, private high schools in Canada are more welcoming to international students.

* Higher university/college admission rates

The main purpose of students studying in private high schools is to be prepared for university after graduation. Therefore, private high schools have strict requirements for student learning. Private high school graduates can be admitted to universities and colleges 100% of the time. Many of them get admitted to prestigious schools.

* Small class size

Private high schools generally have smaller classes. Teachers will also provide targeted counseling to students after class. They also spend more time focusing on students' progress and life outside of classes.

* Flexible curriculum

In general, private high schools have multiple start dates each year. If a student is unable to catch up with one semester of classes, they can extend to the next semester with a difference of only a few months.

* Private school students have higher average grades

In terms of student achievement, most people might consider teaching quality, in association with the school and the class average. That all makes perfect sense because if the average of a class is high, it means that the teacher has instilled the knowledge well and that the teaching quality is good. On this issue, it is clear that private schools are doing better than public schools. In the famous Fraser Institute's school rankings, the top schools with the best overall results are mostly private schools.

Many private schools in Canada were established as early as the 19th century. They have a history of over 100 years. They strictly follow the teaching tradition and philosophy of cultivating leaders. In the past century, they have trained countless well-known politicians, scientists, artists, entrepreneurs. After having graduated from private high schools, most of the students successfully entered the halls of top North American universities, which offer higher-level aristocratic training, and lay a solid foundation for students to become leaders in the future.
Therefore, private secondary schools have a very high reputation and status in Canada.

Both public and private high schools have limited spots

Finally, it is important to point out that the number of openings in good public and private high schools are limited, and applications need to be submitted at least 6-12 months in advance. This has led many late international students to miss chance of entering their ideal schools. Therefore, if parents decide to send their children to high school abroad, they must plan as early as possible and apply to ensure enrolment.

Choosing a place to live

After choosing a school, you may buy or rent a house within the school district. Of course, how to choose a home and how to earn money to buy a house are two different things. The bad news is that houses around good schools are not cheap, but the good news is that there may be more than one good school in the area. In addition, the courses offered by public schools and private schools are equally recognized, so there is no need to worry about transferring between different types of high schools.
After the selection of a school, choosing a place to live becomes easier. If you choose a private school, you can live anywhere you like, as long as you are not afraid to of the daily commute. Marking down the location of your workplace, your friends and family, and amenities, focus on the centre of these three points. Then, think about the distance you are willing to commute each way and use that as the radius as you draw a circle around the centre. This can help you to determine a suitable school location. In terms of the commute, the average American standard is 50 kilometres. Of course, we must also consider the chances of traffic congestion during rush hours.
If you are a new immigrant, you may feel like you are starting your life from scratch. Obviously, you can also start by selecting the school of your choice, then decide on your distance of commute you can tolerate, and last, determine the place of work and build your social network from there.

How to choose a Canadian high school

From our introduction above, it is not difficult to draw a conclusion that there are many advantages and disadvantages to both public and private educations. This is different from the situation in China. The suitability of a school depends on the students' individual requirements and their different circumstances. If international students can adapt to Canadian high school education systemquickly, and can develop their English skills in their early years, the chances of being accepted by world-renowned universities will also increase significantly.
There are no good or bad Canadian high schools,only those that are suitable for uniqueness of each child.。

  • If you have your attention on how to get your child to enter Canada's top universities in the future, then choosing a private Canadian high school is more appropriate.
  • If you want your child to be able to adapt to Canadian life as soon as possible, and to have the real high school experience in addition to studying, then choosing a Canadian public high school is more appropriate.
  • If you are more concerned about the safety of your child during their studies, and hope that someone can take care of your child's room and board so that the child can focus on their studies, then private boarding high schools in Canada will be a good choice.
  • If you want your child to learn to live independently and solve problems as early as possible, it is better to choose a homestay family from a Canadian high school.

After you decide whether to go to public or private school, you will then proceed to select a school to apply to.