|
Students in high school arrive at their high schools in a variety of ways. Those close to the school may still walk or ride their bikes to school, while those further away may be driven by friends or family members. In some districts, school buses are still provided for high school students. In large cities, students who do not drive, ride their bikes or walk to school take public transit like subways or buses. It is rare that older students in cities would take school buses.
 In the country, where there may be towns containing only a couple of hundred or less people, schools are located in a central location. There, students who do not live in the town where the school is located must be driven, drive or take the school bus to school. In some places a student may travel for over an hour to get to school in the morning and over an hour to get home at night.
Students in high school begin to decide what they want to do with the rest of their lives. In provinces like Ontario, students enter Grade 9 all together and then split into different areas, or "streams" of education. In Grades 11 and 12, students in Ontario are able to choose from among workplace preparation, university/college preparation, college preparation, and university preparation courses.
Students in almost all provinces and territories must attend school until they are 16, the typical age of a student in Grade 11, though most continue until they graduate.
Students advance through the grades until they reach Grade 12, where, if they successfully complete all criteria, they graduate. Again a graduation ceremony is held and parents attend to see them receive a diploma.
In Ontario, students who wanted to go to university used to have to take special courses after Grade 12 called OACs or Ontario Academic Credits. This was done away with in 2003.
In Québec, students enter high school when they are 12, and go through five years of grades, called high school 1 - 5. In Manitoba, students progress through Senior 1 - 4.
 back to top
| 
