FAQs

Ontario’s Grade 12 courses are very language rich and require a high degree of fluency. Students require Grade 12 Advanced English in order to attend university. They also require five other Grade 12 academic courses with certain prescribed courses depending on the postsecondary program (eg. Science, Commerce) It may be possible, if your language level is exceptionally well developed (approximately 80 TOEFL iBT or IELTS 6.5) to do only one year of 6 Grade 12 courses and go directly to university. Usually, however, it is necessary and appropriate to complete the stipulated levels of ESL or junior English courses in order to develop the level of proficiency that will allow future success at a postsecondary level. Upon arrival in Ottawa, the language assessment at the OCENET office will determine the appropriate level of entry for each student.

Schools in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board have a common provincial curriculum but in addition may offer certain elective courses depending on the size, strengths and interests of the student population. To the best of our ability, we endeavour to match the student's requests and educational needs with the curriculum established by the Province of Ontario. The wide variety of courses will undoubtedly prove to be sufficient and enriching for the purposes of our international students.

Information on school offerings can be found here.

While it is very commendable that you have studied English for so long in your country, we will assess your level of written English as well as your level of comprehension and your oral English skills once you arrive in Ottawa. This assessment will allow us to determine the best placement and the most appropriate programme to ensure your success in the courses required for your own personal academic goals. If you do require some additional language support at the beginning, ESL courses are offered each semester, and some courses are offered at the sheltered level which gives the student a strong foundation to build on for the university admission courses.

Many universities require a prescribed TOEFL score for admission to university if you have studied in an English language high school for less than four years. Some universities require only three years. The range of acceptable TOEFL scores range from 83 to100, depending on the university. Other acceptable English test scores are IELTS and CAEL. See individual universities’ admissions web pages for requirements specific to that university.

All high schools in the Province of Ontario follow the mandated provincial curriculum under which the expectations and teaching components are clearly defined. Compulsory courses in Mathematics, Science, Social Sciences and English are offered at each grade level. While every school teaches the same curriculum and is accountable to the same standards, some schools may offer different elective, optional courses depending on their school population. These elective courses comprise arts, technology, humanities and social science courses. Every academic high school in the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board has seen students graduate from Grade 12 and go to world ranked universities.

There are no provincial exams that students must take at the grade 12 level. There is a provincial curriculum for each subject but each school sets its own exams and the marks from these exams are used for university acceptance.

Each subject's final mark is based on an exam of 30% and the rest of the mark comes from class tests, projects, assignments and often a summative assignment that is worth a great deal. A student has to work all term to get a good mark since the final exam is only a small part of the final mark.

The provincial test is the OSSLT (an English literacy test) that is usually taken in grade 10 and is a requirement for graduation. ESL students are the exception. They take it when they are ready.

We have board wide exams in grade 9 or 10 for math and grade 12 English for college bound students but these results are only for our school board. They are not used for university admission.

Students receive credit for the number of high school grades they have successfully completed. A student will receive 8 credits for completing grade 9 (Junior 3), 16 credits for completing grade 10 (Senior 1) and 22 credits for completing grade 11 (Senior 2).

A student needs a minimum of 30 credits to graduate from high school but if the student is planning to attend university he or she may need more credits. Most foreign students need to take more than 30 credits because they have to satisfy the English requirements for university.

Students new to Canada will be assessed upon arrival for their English proficiency level. There are 5 ESL levels followed by regular grade level English courses. The more English students know before they come to Canada the sooner they can progress through the language levels. A student does not have to take all the ESL courses but is placed in the one that best suits the language level at time of arrival.

Ascending Order of English courses:

*cannot be skipped

Example: If students come at the ESLDO level (high intermediate) in grade 11 they will likely be able to finish high school in two years. If they come at the ESLCO (low intermediate) or ESLBO (high beginner) it will take longer.

A registered international student can take ESLEO and any of the regular English credits at summer school. For newly-arrived international students, our Young People's Language School, in partnership with the OCDSB Continuing Education department, offers an ESL Summer Credit Program at the ESLAO-ESLDO levels. For more details, click OCDSB/YPLS Summer Credit Program. Limited spaces are available for current international students based on available space in the program.

For all compulsory English credits a student must take them one per semester in a progressive order, for example, grade 11 English before grade 12 English.

If there is an elective course that you really want to take, you can talk to your guidance counsellor about taking it online. There are much more diverse options available for online courses, but they also involve a lot more self-direction and responsibility, so make sure that you are ready before making a decision.

Different pathways have different course requirements. It is worth doing some research into the requirements at different colleges/universities, which can be done through their respective websites, as well as ouinfo.ca.

There are a few options in this scenario. If it is because of the workload in the class, you can wait a few days and/or talk to your teacher to see if you adjust, or if any accomodations can be made. If it has more to do with the subject matter not interesting you, another option is dropping the course; it would likely be best to talk to a guidance counselor before taking this route.

There are plenty of fun things to see and do in Ottawa! In the summer there are a great many walking paths in the city’s Greenbelt area, as well as a number of celebrations such as Italian Week and the Summer Solstice indigenous celebration. In the winter the Rideau Canal tends to become available for ice skating, and there are frequent light shows on the Parliament buildings at night. All of this and more is available for anyone to enjoy! See ottawatourism.ca for more information on these activities and more.

There are many ways to make new friends at your school. Outside of the usual classroom interactions, there are also extracurricular activities. This includes things like sports, band, clubs and anything else your school has to offer. Don’t be afraid to get involved! Another way to make friends is to develop a social media presence. This can be anything from following people from your school on Instagram to starting a conversation with anyone you were getting along with in class.

If you are at home and have questions for your teachers, email is typically the best choice. While responses won’t be instantaneous, most teachers will respond within a few days, if not a few hours! Be mindful of the time of day that you are sending the email; an email sent at 11pm likely won’t be answered until the following afternoon, whereas one from 5pm might have a response that night.

A good first step is to talk to your teacher(s) if schoolwork is the main cause of your stress. If you ask for some accommodations, or at least bring it to their attention that you are concerned about your workload, there is a good chance that they will be able to assist you. Additionally, there are many resources available, with extensive lists posted on OCDSB.ca, and likely your school’s website. If this is not the case, your guidance counsellors are sure to have plenty of resources and advice for you!