Canada Calling

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article titled “Planning for the Future”, where I explained how the focus of the first few weeks of Sixth Form is for students to start making concrete plans of what they hope to do after completing A Levels. We are now coming towards the end of this period of regular university presentations and university fairs, and students have had the chance to interact with universities from Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA. It is fair to say that some speakers have proven to be very popular with the students (Sven from the University of British Colombia was a hit), whereas others were less convincing (one Australian University almost missed the whole registration presentation because they were stuck in Colombo traffic). Nevertheless, the breadth of opportunity which these visits have given our students to find out about opportunities for the future has been impressive.

A noticeable development that I have observed over the last weeks is how many students are now considering Canada seriously as an option for further study. Recently, the University of Calgary visited the school during morning registration. I sent a message to Year 12 Form Tutors telling them to send the 9 students who had expressed an interest in studying in Canada when entering the Sixth Form, and “any other students who are interested”. When I arrived in the Library Mezzanine with the university representative I was shocked to discover the room to be full of Year 12 students. When the university representative asked who was seriously considering studying in Canada, a sea of hands was raised!

I am proud of the way our students at BSC have approached university selection with an open mind, and that they are prepared to change their decisions based upon the research they have undertaken. There are many sound reasons why students are deciding to opt for Canada. Unlike its competitors, students who study in Canada are welcome to stay for 3 years after graduation in order to gain work experience. Whilst studying in Canada, students are allowed to work part time throughout term and full time in the holidays in order to help their families by contributing towards the costs of their education. However, it is not only for financial reasons that students are keen on Canada- the curriculum offered by the Canadian University System offers a nice balance between the rigidness of the UK system, and the variety found within the USA. Whilst there is flexibility to change courses in the early years of a Canadian undergraduate programme, which is not often allowed in the UK, there is greater academic focus and constructive direction given to studies, which can sometimes be lacking in the USA. Together with the fact that McGill, UBC and Toronto all ranked in the top 50 universities in the world, with many other Canadian universities scoring highly, it is no surprise that a larger proportion of the current batch of students in the Sixth Form are considering following the path already followed by many of our BSC alumni.