Well, it has been a few years since I had to help my grade 8 daughter navigate through this maze of grade 9 options, but I am happy to report that she made the right choice, and next year I will be doing it all over again!

We have had an overwhelming response to this blog, which we originally posted 2 years ago when I was going through this process, so this year we have expanded it to include a few more west end schools. We hope that you will find it to be a helpful guide to the varied (and sometimes overwhelming) choices available for secondary school education in Toronto's west end!

Specialty Programs & Key Dates

Bishop Allen Academy (Catholic)

• Congregated Advanced Placement Program - an internationally recognized program that fosters success in higher education by encouraging students to develop critical thinking skills at the highest level

• application & strong academic performance in grades 7 & 8 required - applications are available as of October 15th and are due October 29th. Notification of acceptance to specialty programs is on November 21st (wave 1) & November 28th (wave 2)

Bloor Collegiate - Open house November 4th, 5:30-9:30pm, TOPS presentations at 5:30 & 7:30

• Talented Offerings in the Programmes of Sciences (TOPS) on Bloor program

• application and exam required - application available November 4th, which is to be brought to the exam, held December 6th. Notification of acceptance will take place January 20-24, 2020.

• Bloor Collegiate also provides the following programs: advanced placement (AP), math & science focus (MST), pre-advanced placement (Pre-AP), and specialist high skills major (SHSM)

Etobicoke Collegiate - Open House November 28th, 7-9pm

• they offer a specialist high skills major (SHSM)

• students must live within the school's catchment to attend the regular program

Etobicoke School of the Arts - Open houses November 7th, 1-3pm (grade 8 students) and 6-8pm (parents)

• arts focus on dance, drama, music & film

• applications are available on November 12th and are to be dropped off at the school by noon on November 26th or sent by mail/courier post-marked by November 22nd

• acceptance dependent on audition - notification of audition is by email on January 13th, 2020 and auditions are being held on January 17, 2020. Offers of admission will be emailed on February 14, 2020.

Father John Redmond (Catholic)

• Congregated Advanced Placement Program (CAP)

• Regional Arts Program (RAP)

• Gifted & Enrichment Program - applications for all programs are available as of October 15th. Applications are due October 29th and notification of acceptance to specialty programs is on November 21st (wave 1) & November 28th (wave 2).

• Update: they have changed their application process this year and you can only apply to CAP if you have been accepted into Father Redmond through a feeder school or into the Regional Arts Program

Humberside Collegiate - Open house January 21st,  6-8pm

• extended french & french immersion programs for students coming from feeder schools

• students in the English program must live within the school's catchment to attend

Martingrove Collegiate - Open house November 19th, 6:30-8:30pm

• they offer advanced placement (AP) and specialist high skills major (SHSM)

• students must live within the school's catchment to attend the regular program

Parkdale Collegiate - Open house December 4th, 7-9pm

• International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme

• applications coming soon and due January 2020

• IB Entrance Assessment also required

• they also offer: LEAP (LP) and specialist high skills major (SHSM) programs

Richview Collegiate - Open house November 12th, 7-9pm (regular) and November 13th, 7-9pm (french)

• extended french & french immersion programs for students coming from feeder schools

• students in the English program must live within the school's catchment to attend

Runnymede Collegiate - Open house November 28th, 7-9pm

• Masters of Math, Science & Technology Program

• application and exam required - applications are available online and should be brought to the exam, held in late November/early December 2019

Ursula Franklin Academy - Open house November 5th, 5:30 & 6:15pm - you must register for the open house

• Integrated technology & academics for the real world with a focus on 5 core values: spirit of inquiry, democracy, social justice, community of learners, and connected knowledge

• application and admissions assessment required - assessment must be scheduled online (link accessible as of November 5th) and held either November 27th at 4pm or November 30th at 10am (300 spaces available per session)

• applications due December 9th

• if the number of eligible students exceeds the number of spaces available, a lottery will be held and acceptance letters will be sent out on February 14, 2020.

Western Technical-Commercial School - Open house November 12th, 6:30-8:30pm

• Specialized High Skills Majors (SHSM) in leadership, design studio, engineering robotics & hospitality studies

• applications are available online and are due by January 2020

• they also offer: LEAP (LP), Cyber Arts (CA), and Cisco/Nortel Systems (C/N Sys)

Please click here, for a list of open houses at all TDSB schools.  Happy open housing and the best of luck to all of you.....high school is a whole other post ;).