What are the Best High Schools in Toronto?

[Mace]

One thing I have noticed is that there has really hasn't been a thorough, comprehensive study assessing the quality of high schools in the GTA. As a result, apart from hearsay, many parents don't really know how great the high school that their child is attending really is which is bad for both parent and child. The National Post did do a ranking of GTA high schools once, but I seriously think the methodology was flawed for that one (Pearson above Markham District?!).

So why hasn't a decent ranking of high schools ever been done here? Does it have to do with the prototypical Canadian anti-elitist everyone-is-middle-class outlook? In America, there are magnet schools with facilities comparable to some small-scale Canadian colleges, and then there are schools with metal detectors at the entrance. In Canada, one would think that every Collegiate is exactly the same in every which way.

I want to break the status quo. Out with mediocrity, in with excellence! Let's do it! Let's spark change! Let's do it free-market style! We need competition and rankings so Principals fearing lower enrollment bolster their programs to deliver more high-quality public high schools for the next generation!

So,without further adue, which are the best public high schools in Toronto for academics?

Here are five main criteria I would use to guage the quality of a high school:

% students enrolled in and passing Academic/University-prep courses
% graduates that are Ontario Scholars
% decline in marks from Senior year to 1st year University
% quality & quantity of extracurriculars offered (ie. music, sports, councils, DECA etc.)
% students gaining distinction in national competitions (ie. Canadian Mathematics Competition, Sir Isaac Newton Physics Contest, Leonardo Da Vinci Engineering Contest, FIRST Robotics etc.)
% Asian students (haha kidding =P)

So I'd like to know which are the reputable high schools in Toronto, so here are some schools that I'm just throwing out:

North Toronto Collegiate (A high school admissions book claimed that 50% of graduates from NTCI are Ontario Scholars. Is that true?!)
Northern Secondary
Newtonbrook Secondary
Earl Haig Secondary
Albert Campbell Collegiate
R.H. King Academy


There are also schools that are going downhill due to out-migration of smart students, and schools that are "on the rise". I'd like your thoughts on some of these as well.

[gmail]

Definetly Newtonbrook Secondary...

The amount of scholarships awarded in the past year to students reached 6 figure funds..

[Degenerate]

Brebeuf

/thread

[rai_dei]

Wh00t, 'brook represent!
yeah, we had quite a few scholarships last year.

[Nhiem]

I'd like to vouche for Emery C.I. but I don't know...just took a quick glance at the 41'st annual commencement book and it seems that only about 25% of the students are Ontario Scholars. But the schools pretty involved too. It's been involved in FIRST Robotics, Duke of Edinbrough (sp?) [Lots of media attention when one of the Prince's came to 'award' the school with a rock o.O), Venture, boys senior & junior basketball teams are raping it up, lots of other contests and such as well. I dunno...it seems like a decent environment to learn in [if you overlook the shooting 5 years ago XD).

[Gee]

I went to the oldest high school in the province. Jarvis C. I.

When I was a student (long time ago), and threre was a grade 13, over 80% were Ontario Scholars.

I can't vouch for the condition of the education now, but back then, it was really good.

I have also heard good things about Upper Canada College.

[webdoctors]

Upper Canada College
Earl Haig
Unionville High School ->Also other skules with arts or gifted programs for smart ppl located in York Region. I guess almost any school in the rich areas of York Region would be first class IMHO.

There was some skule that would get first in the FIRST robotics competition and DIVINCHI and Math contests every where, I forget the school now, but they would be there too.

[thezone]

my observations of Riverdale CI

Located: Jones and Gerrard

Safety: Rated 2nd safest school in the tdsb board

Student body: something along the lines of 60% Asians (school survey some time back) Lack for a better word nerds and alot of them so it seems. School seems to always have several students that do extremely well (top 5%) in Math, Science and Computer Science contests. However, many fail the Literacy test because more than 15% of school population are immigrants.

Sports: consistantly doing well in volleyball(qualify for ofssa), never loses in badminton, i think they do really well in ping pong too and well rounded in other sports.

extracurriculars: quite a long list compared to other schools. quality i'd think that it would depend on the club presidents and how they are run.

teachers: most of them are fairly good maybe with one or two exceptions but they seemed to have slowly disappeared as full time teachers and became substitutes.


I went to the oldest high school in the province. Jarvis C. I.

When I was a student (long time ago), and threre was a grade 13, over 80% were Ontario Scolars.

I can't vouch for the condition of the education now, but back then, it was really good.

I have also heard good things about Upper Canada College.

I don't know too much about the quality of education at jarvis but i've heard from friends that lately there have been several cases where teachers have been caught having inappropriate relationships

[S14_Raven]

There's Woburn C.I. I think it has the only gifted program in Scarborough

[felixdd]

w00t! Earl Haig! :cheesygri

But seriously...IMHO Ontario Scholars is a really unreliable way to measure academic quality of a school, especially if the teachers are really easygong with marks.

I think generalized testing is the only way you can compare schools to one another.

[CanadianMike]

martingrove CI and richview CI are pretty good compared to many.

[Homer88]

I go to Albert Campbell, not really a good school in my opinion. Most of the teachers shouldn't be teachers and there has been rumors that the SAC steals money from the safe... Couple of large fights this year already

[awestruck]

Newtonbrook wtf? I pass by that school everyday and it looks ****ed up.

[rai_dei]

Newtonbrook wtf? I pass by that school everyday and it looks ****ed up.
Don't judge a book by its cover :cheesygri :cheesygri :cheesygri

[konfusion666]

no Mississauga representation, so I have to say... Woodlands! har-har-har. :evil:

[TrEvOrLiCioUs]

I went to Pearson C.I, Its not that bad of a school.
My GF went to Newtonbrook, i had visited a few times.

The way I see it is, it doesn't matter what school the kid goes to, if they are smart they will excell in their studies. Teachers should not have to push students to do their work. Teachers can't baby the students and spoon feed them, cus when they get to university they are fuked.

Highschool is no big deal as I see it......I should have slacked off more in highschool.....university is where it matters. I got good enough grades to get into university, even got a scholarship, wasnt much, but i didn't end up accepting it bcus I got into a better program.

Slack off jus enough to get into uni and then work your ass off in uni, and get good grades when it really matters, like me.

[Headhunter]

High school results are really skewed; since a large portion of the students that attend are there based on geographical location instead of merit, it's really hard to compare in a usable manner.


Graduate of Dr. Norman Bethune Collegiate, in 2001. Place is dirty, most of the teachers were morons when I left.

I'm still very bitter that the school was so unbelievably filthy, that my health was in extreme decline for the entire 5 years of hell I was there. Once I went to college, my grades skyrocketed. Being able to breathe oxygen regularly is usually a good ingredient for success (or survival).

[gmail]

proud newtonbrook h.s. graduate (class of 2004).
Teachers at brook push you so hard...at uni its all wired in...study!

[rai_dei]

proud newtonbrook h.s. graduate (class of 2004).
Teachers at brook push you so hard...at uni its all wired in...study!
Ditto, 2k4 class as well
erm... which teachers pushed you hard exactly? Mine were all pretty good and easy...

[Mace]

The thing that has struck me most in this thread far is...

80% of graduates at Jarvis CI are Ontario Scholars?! That is awesomely ridiculous for an inner-city high school. Then again... it could be that the dumb kids drop out, and the ones that do graduate are big-time keeners. But so much for the poverty=poor achievement equation. :cheesygri

It's hard for me to formulate a trend here. There are schools in rich neighbourhoods that are good (ie. Unionville High) and schools in middle-class neighbourhoods that stink (ie. Dr. Norman Bethune, Albert Campbell). And, inexplicably, there are schools in the ghetto that are good (Emery CI, Jarvis). Moronto really is one whacked-out city! Hmm...

[gmail]

ms. a (bio...killer)
ms. farmer..not soo bad..but she did push me to get 90s.
ms. salwinka (horrible)

[rai_dei]

ms. a (bio...killer)
ms. farmer..not soo bad..but she did push me to get 90s.
ms. salwinka (horrible)
Ms A is a special case
the other 2 are okay thou, farmer is good at least

[Fantaz]

Also the worst high school would have to be Rosedale Heights (Castlefrank). If you want any drugs, that's the best place to go.

Unfortunately most downtown schools are bad. If you want an easier education you'd better move out of the city. Still waiting for e-learning technology to become better for home schooling.

[nx2k]

man, you wanna talk about a stupid school?
you guys should visit Central Commerce.
everyone i knew there was a drop out from somewhere else. myself included.
i didn't konw one person that went there the entire 5 years. if you got kicked out or dropped out of another school, this is where you ended up. no yearbook, no prom, no dances of any kind, the cafeteria didn't even have food. talk about ghetto, the locals called it South Central commerce
teachers didnt' give a fcuk what you did, i went out and was playing basketball during math class, i came back at the end, got my stuff and left.

edit: they wouldn't even waste a stamp to mail you your diploma, you had to go get it yourself. and in case you're wondering, no, there wasn't any ceremony for you to be on stage and get it in front of a crowd.

[dell]

Lorne Park in Mississauga, Peel Region. Good academics and athletics.

[fogus]

Definetly Newtonbrook Secondary...

The amount of scholarships awarded in the past year to students reached 6 figure funds..

Newtonbrook Represent ;)

oh..beaten

[KevC]

Thornhill Secondary

[ainsane]

over 80% were Ontario Scolars.

I take it you weren't part of the 80%? ;)

[gmail]

also...netwonbrook had its graduation at the toronto center for the performing arts..instead of some crappy school gym...

prestige!

[Mace]

Actually I just consulted Newtonbrook (http://www.tdsb.on.ca/scripts/Schoolasp.asp?schno=3442)'s EQAO stats and it really wasn't all that impressive. 25% of the student body places below Level 3 on the Grade 9 EQAO Math Exam?

On the other hand you have to love a school like North Toronto Collegiate (http://www.tdsb.on.ca/scripts/Schoolasp.asp?schno=5540) where NO students write the Applied Level Math Exam and 90% of graduates go on to University... or how about its twin rival Northern Secondary (http://www.tdsb.on.ca/scripts/Schoolasp.asp?schno=5620) (in tony Mount Pleasant-Eglinton)? 83% scored at Level 3 or higher on the EQAO math and 87% of the student body passed the literacy test!

[Blazin_Sunfire]

Michael Power in etobicoke was a decent high school. It allowed me to become an Ontario Scholar. However, I personally feel as if the school is going to the slums...

[Aristophanes]

Don't forget York Mills CI!

[felix]

There's Woburn C.I. I think it has the only gifted program in Scarborough

Yeah, that is one of the tops. I remember seeing that name at the top of all the contest rankings.

Also another one that's good is in North York. It wasn't Earl Haig, it was another name. Many of the students in Waterloo Systems Design Engineering are from there. They rank near the top in all competitions also.

What do you guys think about Brother Andre C.H.S? I was from there :cheesygri I heard our biology is good, and not so good in the maths. Is that b*tch Ms. Toner still teaching there?

[Gee]

Funny thing. When I attend Jarvis C.I. I was living at Gerrard and Greenwood. So technically I was suppose to attend Riverdale. But I went to Jarvis for their gifted program. I was outside the boundry for Jarvis, but they made an exception for a select few.

Back then, Riverdale was ranked futher down the chain. But I guess times have changed. Most of my friends went to Riverdale.


my observations of Riverdale CI

Located: Jones and Gerrard

Safety: Rated 2nd safest school in the tdsb board

Student body: something along the lines of 60% Asians (school survey some time back) Lack for a better word nerds and alot of them so it seems. School seems to always have several students that do extremely well (top 5%) in Math, Science and Computer Science contests. However, many fail the Literacy test because more than 15% of school population are immigrants.

Sports: consistantly doing well in volleyball(qualify for ofssa), never loses in badminton, i think they do really well in ping pong too and well rounded in other sports.

extracurriculars: quite a long list compared to other schools. quality i'd think that it would depend on the club presidents and how they are run.

teachers: most of them are fairly good maybe with one or two exceptions but they seemed to have slowly disappeared as full time teachers and became substitutes.



I don't know too much about the quality of education at jarvis but i've heard from friends that lately there have been several cases where teachers have been caught having inappropriate relationships

Our graduating class was about 450 students. A little over 350 were Ontario Scholars.

Yes it is an inner city school, but back then, it wasn't so bad. Jarvis was stictly an Academic school and they really prepared you for university. Not college.


The thing that has struck me most in this thread far is...

80% of graduates at Jarvis CI are Ontario Scholars?! That is awesomely ridiculous for an inner-city high school. Then again... it could be that the dumb kids drop out, and the ones that do graduate are big-time keeners. But so much for the poverty=poor achievement equation. :cheesygri

It's hard for me to formulate a trend here. There are schools in rich neighbourhoods that are good (ie. Unionville High) and schools in middle-class neighbourhoods that stink (ie. Dr. Norman Bethune, Albert Campbell). And, inexplicably, there are schools in the ghetto that are good (Emery CI, Jarvis). Moronto really is one whacked-out city! Hmm...

If you are refering to my typo on the word scholar, that is all it was. What is your excuse? Are you normally insulting or just a jerk?


I take it you weren't part of the 80%? ;)

[Ducky]

how old are you dude?


Funny thing. When I attend Jarvis C.I. I was living at Gerrard and Greenwood. So technically I was suppose to attend Riverdale. But I went to Jarvis for their gifted program. I was outside the boundry for Jarvis, but they made an exception for a select few.

Back then, Riverdale was ranked futher down the chain. But I guess times have changed. Most of my friends went to Riverdale.



Our graduating class was about 450 students. A little over 350 were Ontario Scholars.

Yes it is an inner city school, but back then, it wasn't so bad. Jarvis was stictly an Academic school and they really prepared you for university. Not college.



If you are refering to my typo on the word scholar, that is all it was. What is your excuse? Are you normally insulting or just a jerk?

[baymoe]

Eastern Collegiate is a ghetto school, but some of the teachers there very good in my opinion.

[EveryLurker]

no one said william lyon mackenzie.. hard ass school.. good enrichment program

[bmwguy]

Gonna have to go with North Toronto Collegiate Institute on this one. 90% of graduates go onto university is quite a high number. They have a very high academic standards compared to most other high schools.

http://www.tdsb.on.ca/profiles/5540.pdf


But that is just my opinion. According to Mclean's, this honour goes to the TOPS program at Marc Garneau CI:
http://www.macleans.ca/webspecials/index.jsp

[alkaseltzer01]

Doesn't matter which high school you go to. If you were to succeed, you will succeed in an inner city high school or at a preppy private school.

I know Ontario scholars that flunk out of university, I know below avg high school students excel at uni.

I went to North Toronto. They had a high percentage of graduate ON scholars because they attract kids with the attitude of doing well, not because of their teachings.

[TenzoR]

RHK :lol: how did that school got on the list

[ainsane]

If you are refering to my typo on the word scholar, that is all it was. What is your excuse? Are you normally insulting or just a jerk?

A little from column A and a little from column B :) I was just joking around though... I apologize if I offended you.

[Mace]

Also another one that's good is in North York. It wasn't Earl Haig, it was another name. Many of the students in Waterloo Systems Design Engineering are from there. They rank near the top in all competitions also.

felix, I think you're referring to AY Jackson Secondary School (http://www.tdsb.on.ca/scripts/Schoolasp.asp?schno=3432) and you're right - they do very well and their students have a high representation in Math Olympiads.


RHK how did that school got on the list

I remember a news story, maybe in 1994, about parents camping out outside overnight to get their kids enrolled in R.H. King Academy. Since then they've gone by a lottery system for out-of-area admissions. I also recall Maclean's ranked it the best school in Toronto 3 years back. Plus, it's a pretentious "Academy" so it earns bonus points. :lol:

[TenzoR]

I remember a news story, maybe in 1994, about parents camping out outside overnight to get their kids enrolled in R.H. King Academy. Since then they've gone by a lottery system for out-of-area admissions. I also recall Maclean's ranked it the best school in Toronto 3 years back. Plus, it's a pretentious "Academy" so it earns bonus points. :lol:

That sounds about right ..i walked pass those parents camping outside ..and laugh at them when I went there to register myself

[Mace]

That sounds about right ..i walked pass those parents camping outside ..and laugh at them when I went there to register myself

So you went to R.H. King Academy? I know it's a uniform school near the Scarborough bluffs with a giant arch on the front lawn. Is it all that it's cracked up to be?

[Mace]

I did an analysis of the results of the 2003 Leonardo Da Vinci Engineering Contest (http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/apsc/davinci/2003_exam/results.html). I think this would be a good proxy for assessing the academic quality of a school.

Here's my summary of the # of Da Vinci Scholars from each school.

Don Mills Collegiate: 8
A.Y. Jackson: 6
Earl Haig Secondary: 5
Northern Secondary: 5
Albert Campbell: 4
Stephen Leacock: 4

Etobicoke Collegiate, Jarvis Collegiate, Winston Churchill CI & Woburn all had 3 each. Marc Garneau, despite its (overhyped?) TOPS enriched math & science program, only had 2. Take that Maclean's!

I suppose one can surmise from this list that the best schools are in Northern Scarborough and North York. :idea:

[TenzoR]

So you went to R.H. King Academy? I know it's a uniform school near the Scarborough bluffs with a giant arch on the front lawn. Is it all that it's cracked up to be?

what is it suppose to cracked up about? just an ordinary school

[Rehan]

I did an analysis of the results of the 2003 Leonardo Da Vinci Engineering Contest (http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/apsc/davinci/2003_exam/results.html). I think this would be a good proxy for assessing the academic quality of a school.
Not really. What's to say that the other hundreds of students in those schools are not idiots?

You can't measure a school's quality by the performance of a small number of students...maybe those students would have done even better if they had gone to an even better school.

[Barton03]

University of Toronto Schools

close thread.

[Mace]

...and their performance may have been stunted had they gone to a weaker school, where gangs and guns and drugs infiltrate the halls and where their peers are less motivated.

Perhaps a better measure would be what percent of students taking the exam scored in the top 25%, or something like that. What other tools do we have? I think national math, science, engineering competitions held by UW and UT etc. is the best way to go, where there is a level playing field and you don't have to worry about grade inflation. Ontario has no standardized exams... maybe EQAO is the best that we have.


-- Barton03, this thread is about public high schools. UTS is the King of All, no questions about it.

[Barton03]

I saw UCC, so I thought I should bring in mine..well, I guess back to the public system then..haha suckers.

[TenzoR]

I saw UCC, so I thought I should bring in mine..well, I guess back to the public system then..haha suckers.

well i guess whatever increase your E-Penis size ...go ahead and gloat

[Barton03]

well i guess whatever increase your E-Penis size ...go ahead and gloat

dont worry, i know how you feel. its ok to be feel that way (a little jealous) :twisted: :twisted: :cheesygri :cool:

[-=Wraith=-]

But that is just my opinion. According to Mclean's, this honour goes to the TOPS program at Marc Garneau CI:
http://www.macleans.ca/webspecials/index.jsp

http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/education/article.jsp?content=20040823_86683_86683

Lisgar C.I. represent! ..even though it's in ottawa hehe

[civ@uw]

Is RH King a good school? I know they require students to complete 70 hours of community service as opposed to the 40 hours mandated by the government, and it appears at the surface to be a school that values extra-curricular involvement. Is this true at all, or am I way off base? What are some good Scarborough area schools? My brother is starting high school this fall, and I'd like to give him some advice about which schools to apply to and which ones to avoid. (I know West Hill and Pearson are utter crap, but that's about all I'm aware of)

[pirate]

not really in toronto but i know in vaughan, i think vaughan secondary would be the best. We send like 20 students to shulich each year.

[UrbanPoet]

i dont think it really matters... as long as your school isnt a super piece of **** and you have good work ethics, youll make it fine in University and still be able to get scholarships.

[civ@uw]

It does matter to some extent...most teens don't take much initiative, and so when it comes to things like joining clubs and extra-curriculars they'll only join if their peers are involved in them. If you go to a school where doing extra-curriculars and such is viewed as the norm, don't you think there's more of a chance a kid going to that school will also feel the urge to get involved?

[JAGpilot]

I would say my school, Thornhill Secondary.

-We've got a good mix of different races and ethnicities
-No gang violence
-No hardcore drugs
-Lots of pretty ladies
-Very few wiggers (wanksta's)
-Very good faculty in all departments
-Renovated building
-Very well known for debating (DECA)
-Not a lot of stuck up rich kids driving fancy cars with G2s (there's like 2)
-A principal who is enthusiastic and a big Beatles fan.
-A vice-principal who's on the students side and will always defend the student.

[Futuristic_Eel]

Although it's not a publicly funded institution (in other words, it's a private school), St. Michael's College School should definitely get some recognition. Approximately 98% of the graduating class gets into university and 95% gets into its first choice. The remaining 2% of the graduates is mainly comprised of students who decided to take a year off or chose to go into specialized college programs. I'd say around 85% of my class graduated as Ontario Scholars. However, a distinguishing factor, and a subtle detail that is often overlooked in light of academics, is presentation. The dress code there (blazer, dress shirt, tie, belt, dress pants, and dress shoes) is strictly enforced and reinforced throughout the student's academic life. Upon graduating, students are cognizant that they are being inducted into the adult world and, thus, present themselves accordingly.

In addition, athletics form the cultural backbone of SMCS, which houses sports facilities that are second-to-none. An example would be the sportsfield that is crafted out of the same astroturf used in European soccer stadiums - the only one of its kind in North America.

Now that I'm in university, I realize how much I miss my high school years (which not a lot of university students can say).

[Homer88]

Albert Campbell has some good teachers in it's math department and maybe for Physics. But other than that the school is junk now, I went back to visit and things were just all out of order.

[kingfencer]

heard about upper canada. me thinks that if your paying for private school, you'll get better education.

[felix]

felix, I think you're referring to AY Jackson Secondary School (http://www.tdsb.on.ca/scripts/Schoolasp.asp?schno=3432) and you're right - they do very well and their students have a high representation in Math Olympiads.

You're right! That was the name. Sorry just noticed your reply 2 years later :lol:

[coffee_addiction]

I'm in teacher's program right now and I have been practise teaching for 2 years now. I would vote for A. Y Jackson S. S., York Mills C. I., Earl Haig S. S. and Unionville.

[AzN_RiverdaleCI]

my observations of Riverdale CI

Located: Jones and Gerrard

Safety: Rated 2nd safest school in the tdsb board

Student body: something along the lines of 60% Asians (school survey some time back) Lack for a better word nerds and alot of them so it seems. School seems to always have several students that do extremely well (top 5%) in Math, Science and Computer Science contests. However, many fail the Literacy test because more than 15% of school population are immigrants.

Sports: consistantly doing well in volleyball(qualify for ofssa), never loses in badminton, i think they do really well in ping pong too and well rounded in other sports.

extracurriculars: quite a long list compared to other schools. quality i'd think that it would depend on the club presidents and how they are run.

teachers: most of them are fairly good maybe with one or two exceptions but they seemed to have slowly disappeared as full time teachers and became substitutes.



I don't know too much about the quality of education at jarvis but i've heard from friends that lately there have been several cases where teachers have been caught having inappropriate relationships

w00t RCI !

[CrazeeV]

Well RHK and Worburn are great schools...and West hill is the school to go to if you want to have loads of fun.

[rhainman]

Although it's not a publicly funded institution (in other words, it's a private school), St. Michael's College School should definitely get some recognition. Approximately 98% of the graduating class gets into university and 95% gets into its first choice. The remaining 2% of the graduates is mainly comprised of students who decided to take a year off or chose to go into specialized college programs. I'd say around 85% of my class graduated as Ontario Scholars. However, a distinguishing factor, and a subtle detail that is often overlooked in light of academics, is presentation. The dress code there (blazer, dress shirt, tie, belt, dress pants, and dress shoes) is strictly enforced and reinforced throughout the student's academic life. Upon graduating, students are cognizant that they are being inducted into the adult world and, thus, present themselves accordingly.

In addition, athletics form the cultural backbone of SMCS, which houses sports facilities that are second-to-none. An example would be the sportsfield that is crafted out of the same astroturf used in European soccer stadiums - the only one of its kind in North America.

Now that I'm in university, I realize how much I miss my high school years (which not a lot of university students can say).

+1
SMC class of 1997!

Both my sisters went to UTS. One liked it, the other hated it. My personal opinion is that they are way too nerdy, and academics trumps everything else there. You have to be well-rounded.

[stratux]

Albert Campbell DEFINATELY

[iamfat]

HaHa


You guys are debating about *PUBLIC SCHOOLS*. Geez, everyone knows the best schools are the PRIVATE ones.

Boys: UCC
Girls: Bransome Hall

The tuition alone is greater than the lowest income tax bracket!

[isom3tric]

I know its for public schools but I attended Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School, its one of those different schools where the student is independant. I graduated with ontario scholar from that school, and its very easy to fail if you don't do your homework. You should check out the learning style of that school, its very "unique".

[xIcewind]

UTS definitely isn't the best school, public, private, or otherwise.

The experience has definitely been mixed. Some good teachers came, but a lot left. Also, marks are insane to achieve in UTS. I look at the 99% averages outside of school with envy, and slash my wrists at night at my measly average.

Okay, maybe not that drastic, but the marks are hard, although extracurrics are a lot of fun.

There's a lot of school spirit at UTS, and a lot of facilities that we're given access to.

Although the price to pay is near extortion.

[aquariaguy]

Yorkmills Collegiate or Earl HAig

[skyblue12]

Albert Campbell DEFINATELY

are u serious?.. compared to what?

[chicadam]

Don't forget York Mills CI!

I'll have to negate one vote for York Mills...
My sister went there and it is truly a crappy school.

[skyblue12]

Albert Campbell DEFINATELY

if you're from acci, then you just proved to us that it's not the best, considering u can't even spell definitely right :|

[CharmyPoo]

I went to the oldest high school in the province. Jarvis C. I.

I have also heard good things about Upper Canada College.


I have a few friends that went to Jarvis and a few that went to UCC. The ones that were in the Jarvis gifted program received a great eduction but the ones in the normal program - not so much? UCC is regarded as the top boys school but you are also paying over $20,000 per year.

[CharmyPoo]

HaHa
You guys are debating about *PUBLIC SCHOOLS*. Geez, everyone knows the best schools are the PRIVATE ones.

Boys: UCC
Girls: Bransome Hall

The tuition alone is greater than the lowest income tax bracket!

I wouldn't say Branksome Hall is the best girls private school. What about Bishop Stratchan School (BSS - right beside UCC), Havergal, and St. Clements.

[eliteblaze]

I suppose that's an interesting measure. But how can you measure across the board?
Plus since one person can get in the mid 5 figures, I'm not sure if that works so great


Definetly Newtonbrook Secondary...

The amount of scholarships awarded in the past year to students reached 6 figure funds..

[Kuban]

st. mikes is a good one

[Jon Lai]

For Cathloic, definately Earl Haig. Public, definately Unionville High.

Notice both of the schools I listed above have Arts programs ;)

There's also Mary Ward, which is a cathlolic school for SELF DIRECTED LEARNING. This means teachers don't teach you anything, you learn from reading the textbooks yourself. If you have questions, well, that's what the teachers are for.

[skyblue12]

For Cathloic, definately Earl Haig. Public, definately Unionville High.

Notice both of the schools I listed above have Arts programs ;)

There's also Mary Ward, which is a cathlolic school for SELF DIRECTED LEARNING. This means teachers don't teach you anything, you learn from reading the textbooks yourself. If you have questions, well, that's what the teachers are for.

i'm sure for some, self-directed learning is a gift from heaven :)

[masterballer]

Man i know a lot of people from Earl Haig and they are stupied. everytime i went there people were skipping...and some of the kids were out of class chilling with me, then at the end they went to get their bags from clas...coming from a markham school i was like :O you can do that?

IMO there is no BEST school, there are better schools, honestly i wouldnt go out of my way to go to the "best" HS...after all its upto the student, you can go to the best school but be an idiot or you can go to the worst and come out great.

Its upto the student.

[trixstar]

I went to the oldest high school in the province. Jarvis C. I.

When I was a student (long time ago), and threre was a grade 13, over 80% were Ontario Scholars.

I can't vouch for the condition of the education now, but back then, it was really good.

I have also heard good things about Upper Canada College.


I'm currently in jarvis c.i.. many dumb people in school nowadays..

[samurai4]

im sorry Albert Campbell Collegiate is DEFINITELY NOT a good school lol
my school,francis liberman catholic high school, is behind it and the 2 of us always fight...mainly tamils -.-"

[perplexed_one]

- A.Y. Jackson
- Earl Haig
- Agincourt
- Northern S.S.
- York Mills Collegiate
- Leaside
- North Toronto

[Insane_Pikachu]

WESTVIEW C.S.S IN Jane and Finch! =]

[kevin01]

martingrove CI and richview CI are pretty good compared to many.
lol no

[UrbanPoet]

there are no good schools...
Only good students.
If you go to the crappiest school and apply yourself you will be able to get goods grades. In the end... everyone ends up going to their preferred university where stuff actually matters.

[alv077]

Uh, I know some pretty stupid people that go to these "good schools" that have been mentioned.

[l3aka]

hey ... how come no one mentioned C.W. Jeffrey's ? LOL .. probably the most famous high school in Toronto at the moment hahaha

[MS_Project]

Jarvis CI is a good school. Almost everyone who graduated with me that year went to University. Their standards are higher than Central Tech.

Central Tech has pretty good 'technical courses'

[Jyeatbvg69]

are u guys kidding me?

u all forgot YORK MILLS C.I...

[nalababe]

North Toronto CI....

Nothing in the public board comes close....

[goob3r]

For Cathloic, definately Earl Haig. Public, definately Unionville High.

Notice both of the schools I listed above have Arts programs ;)

There's also Mary Ward, which is a cathlolic school for SELF DIRECTED LEARNING. This means teachers don't teach you anything, you learn from reading the textbooks yourself. If you have questions, well, that's what the teachers are for.

Earl Haig must be the best overall since it's winning a category it's not even in!

[Haris]

Earl Haig is a public school not private... I went to that school and have to say it's fantastic. Everything is great from it's enriched courses and cafeteria foods (can't believe they got rid of TIm Hortons in the cafe) to the cancer drive, and the overall neighbourhood. APart form being very MATERIALISTIC, it's a superb school to go to Plus yonge and Empress is a great area to hang out around anywayz...

[xIcewind]

there are no good schools...
Only good students.
If you go to the crappiest school and apply yourself you will be able to get goods grades. In the end... everyone ends up going to their preferred university where stuff actually matters.

This isn't true. I consider myself to be a decent student, and I know that the six years of pressure at UTS helped me be a better student due to it teaching me how to handle pressure, as well as lots of strategies in learning the materials quickly. Also, good schools will end up allowing you to 'exercise' your brain more -- without the constant stimulation, students will be less likely to achieve their best, imho.

Also, there's the networking in good schools. Although not as important as University, networking in highschool still matters.

[YnD]

hey ... how come no one mentioned C.W. Jeffrey's ? LOL .. probably the most famous high school in Toronto at the moment hahaha

Yah where you have like a 50% chance of being shot...

Any school with a ton of wannabe gangsta thugs... Middlefield, Father McGiveny, to name a few... are NOT good schools...

[metro]

no one going to give central tech a vote?

[Kuban]

how about St.Micheal college, my friend goes there, and it certainly has a reputation.

[skyblue12]

hey ... how come no one mentioned C.W. Jeffrey's ? LOL .. probably the most famous high school in Toronto at the moment hahaha

you just answered your own question, lol maybe it's because it's the most famous and not the best, which i'm sure means SAFE as well :|

[nickia]

you just answered your own question, lol maybe it's because it's the most famous and not the best, which i'm sure means SAFE as well :|

I'm pretty positive that he was being sarcastic.

[TheFuteballer]

in terms of academics.. by and far A.Y. Jackson S.S.

86% of the school is from china / hong kong (this is an actual statistic)

[yan84]

in terms of academics.. by and far A.Y. Jackson S.S.

86% of the school is from china / hong kong (this is an actual statistic)

Yup, as a proud graduate from AY Jackson, I can say that the school has one of the best math and science programs in the GTA.

[Alvito]

in terms of academics.. by and far A.Y. Jackson S.S.

86% of the school is from china / hong kong (this is an actual statistic)

so its the students that get the marks? not the teachers WHO EDUCATE and TEACH any student?

it has to be hard working fobs from china/hk??

[iridescent]

so its the students that get the marks? not the teachers WHO EDUCATE and TEACH any student?

it has to be hard working fobs from china/hk??

You can lead a horse to the water but you can't make it drink.

[alv077]

Yah where you have like a 50% chance of being shot...

Any school with a ton of wannabe gangsta thugs... Middlefield, Father McGiveny, to name a few... are NOT good schools...

I'd have to agree.


You can lead a horse to the water but you can't make it drink.

Couldn't you force the horse's mouth open and just pour the water down its throat? :o

[iridescent]

Couldn't you force the horse's mouth open and just pour the water down its throat? :o

For all you ethnic people, is this the Asian mentality? ;)

[trixstar]

Can someone tell me more about Middlefield C.I. please? I'm in teacher's program and I'm placed to teach there this coming year...I am worried now. If you guys have any info on this school and its students, please reply or pm me. THANK YOU!!!

are you serious?? what courses are you teaching for what grades? i'm going to middlefield this september for grade 11. i;m from jarvis c.i... i heard it's mostly brown people.. so i'll be the asian minority.

[trixstar]

Yah where you have like a 50% chance of being shot...

Any school with a ton of wannabe gangsta thugs... Middlefield, Father McGiveny, to name a few... are NOT good schools...

aw man.. middlefield isn't a good school? i dress nothing like a gangster.. do you think they'll mind? this sucks.. i'm worried about gangster schools. i don't like the environment.. i've already lived in regent park for most of my childhood.. i don't want to experience another regent park..

[YnD]

aw man.. middlefield isn't a good school? i dress nothing like a gangster.. do you think they'll mind? this sucks.. i'm worried about gangster schools. i don't like the environment.. i've already lived in regent park for most of my childhood.. i don't want to experience another regent park..

Its a decent school education wise. The school looks nice is looks very urban... nice architecture... large gym... alot of room...Its in a nice area of housing too... so its not like in a "ghetto" area.

Just alot people (students) there that make it ghetto. There were a few stabbing incidents there over the years. Loitering at the front of the school every schoolday.

If your there to learn... then should be no problem...Don't get me wrong... there are good students there too...and cute girls.... the bad students there just make the schools rep look bad.

[fatal_aroma]

I went to Middlefield for my 4 years of HS. The school is primarily brown and yellow, there's very little of anything else. There are a bunch of wannabe thugs there, I graduated before those stabbings occurred. The students on a whole are good though, there's only a handful that actually cause problems.I doubt much has changed in the 2 years that I've graduated from there.

[corrupt123]

I'm gonna agree with YnD. Unfortunately, people tend to generalize and thats why it's common perception that one school is better than another. My high-school for example is among the largest in Toronto. Funnily enough, everyone I talk to about that school instantly says "woah dude, you must be tough!" Now, they're right to some extent. With a huge population of students, you do get a lot of trouble. There are kids who carry knives and weapons, heck, last year one student was murdered. (mind you, this happened far from the school on a weekend, and was likely un-related) but my point is, yeah, it's bad, if you look at it that way.

If you mind your own business, go to school to learn, and dont eye down people you'll be fine. I was at tech 4 years and had zero problems. Mind you, I'm a pretty big guy and had a wide array of friends, but none the less, I know lots of people who attend[ed] and agree 100%. If you go to school looking for a fight, you'll get one. If not, you're fine!

Secondly, in terms of academic ability, my school was (and still is) very underrated just because of the numbers. Dont get me wrong, we probably dont have the superb students that some solely academic schools boast, but we do have some very smart students, and same goes for the teachers. I know teachers at my school who are ex-nuclear engineers, university professors, etc. Hell, one teacher (his name escapes me at the moment) was the guy who cracked one of the newer Satellite tv encriptions.
Because 50% (probably more) of the student population chooses to skip class, our statistics drop significantly. Heck, I know I didn't even bother writing the EQAO testing because it didnt affect my mark, and I had better things to do. What does this result in? My school is percieved as having little-no academic ability, even though it actually does.

I just want to hammer in the fact, especially for people choosing a highschool or already in and contemplating switching, that you really need to go to the school and meet the people. My mom wanted me to go to an academic school close to my house, because she knows I'm good at math and science and knows a university will like a student from an academic school better. (or so they say) But I decided to go to a tech school, mostly because a couple of my very close friends convinced me (3-4 friends went to this school from my middle school, everyone else went to the tech schools and the academic schools close to my house) and I couldn't be happier. I've done things at this school that most kids couldn't even dream of. I've gotten my hands dirty and built things that most university kids cant even do! Success is about experience, and although it's nice to say you pushed paper for 4 years at a school with an 80% average overall, I'd much rather push paper for 4 years and get my hands dirty at the same time.

[trixstar]

I went to Middlefield for my 4 years of HS. The school is primarily brown and yellow, there's very little of anything else. There are a bunch of wannabe thugs there, I graduated before those stabbings occurred. The students on a whole are good though, there's only a handful that actually cause problems.I doubt much has changed in the 2 years that I've graduated from there.

lol stabbings? oh shoot......

[trixstar]

taken from someone's blog..

This is frum my blog entry yesterdai:
Note:
my high school=Milliken Mills High School
Middlefield= another high school in the area
Mr.Teddiman=my eng teacher

Today in English i came to realize how much worst the world is getting...
Last Thursday, some people jumped ppl @ night school @ MMHS
this was "supposedly" to avenge a previous slitting of someone's thoart@ middlefield's throat
my eng teacher said he saw someone bring in another person who's head was literalli pouring out blood
this person was so severely hurt b/c even now the parents cant see the hurt person
then yesterdai, Halloween, more crimes happened
Four Gr.12 Middlefield students jumped 2 Gr.10 Milliken students
they stabbed them and those two were sent to hospital...
apparently a police helicopter caught some ppl...what are ppl thinking?!
such sadness~
the school even had to send a note to ensure parents that their children are safe
its so terrible >"<
ppl dunt understand the consequences it has on the school, students and the teachers
so stupid these ppl!!!!
i duno where the world is heading but i think that its not a gud direction
lik Mr. Teddiman said...
ppl are moving away b/c of this stuff...ppl are moving to little towns to avoid the crime...
i think these ppl are smart!
who wants to live here when there is so much horrendous stuff that happen here everyday
there is always crime in the headlines today
ppl todai are becoming more "been t-ai" (crazy)
so much ppl hav issues n are unwilling to see psychiatrists
=_=
What kind of world do we live in today?! so much evilness n hate~

[Jon Lai]

lol stabbings? oh shoot......

Find you way into Markville or UHS, you'll live a more peaceful life :)

[DJNocturnal]

Mr. Teddiman is cool. He was my english teacher 3 years ago.

But yea, everytime I pass by MMHS, seems like everyones turning more gangster or just wannabes everywhere.

[ds_chris88]

no one said william lyon mackenzie.. hard ass school.. good enrichment program

yea, I used to go there (graduated 2006, and I was in the MaCS program), and over 20 people I know went on to Waterloo, mostly for Math and Engineering (including myself). Of course everyone that came to Waterloo (from my year) was in the MaCS program or gifted program with the exception of 1 person.

[sleepyguy]

Anyone represent Malvern C.I.? Man... has it been really 10yrs! wow... had a great time at that school. Bball 24/7 :)

I should really visit to see if there are any teachers I know there still.

[Mace]

I started this thread 3 years ago. Glad to see it still going. :razz:

There�s been a huge demographic shift in both Albert Campbell Collegiate and Milliken Mills Collegiate over the past 10 years. Don�t listen to anything about the reputation of a school from an older friend/cousin who graduated from that school over 10+ years ago.

Look at the class photo of the graduating class of ACI/MMCI circa 1996, and compare it to 2006.

[Smashy]

Yah where you have like a 50% chance of being shot...

Any school with a ton of wannabe gangsta thugs... Middlefield, Father McGiveny, to name a few... are NOT good schools...

Haha McGivney... too true! Some students there slash their teachers' car tires too... maaaan!

[alanbrenton]

:?: any more comments on the best high schools in the GTA? And no, I am not taking C.W. Jeffrey's as a response.

[jcoltage]

wtf are these people talking about go look at R.H King and start to cry that place is like a prep school ... Anyways good high schools are a myth its all about the Marks you could go to the crapiest school and get a 99% and get into univ vs a 99% at the hardest school and get into the same program.

[willyxjai]

Riverdale CI ftw.

[roadrunner603]

York Memorial is also up there. With over 90% of its students going to Uni every year kinda hard to beat. Also has more AP Classes than any public school in Toronto. Also they have the only PRE-AP Program. Pretty good for a school right beside George Harvey.

[AcidBomber]

EARL HAIG S.S ftw! :razz:

[VorteC]

EARL HAIG S.S ftw! :razz:
;) I don't goto Haig but I used to drop by alot haha... some good friends there.

I goto AY Jackson... great reputation. Apparently Haig and AY are the 2 top schools in Toronto and are recognized with high mark adjustments from southern Ontario universities.

[vanessie]

Newtonbrook ftw :cheesygri ...I guess I'm biased because I went there, and my brother is there now. It was a great school, no major incidents (well except for a bomb threat and some fake fire alarms), awesome principal while I was there (Mr. Spyropolous..now at Jeffries). Always great sports teams (minus football), French Immersion & Extended Programs (not sure if they're still there)...Dance team was awesome when I was there...Tons of Asian and Russian kids, I bet that drives the school's academic rating up ;) Tons of kids from other areas would come there (eg., me). Pretty diverse school as well, during my later years there. It's in a nice area (Yonge/Steeles) so that probably reduced the amount of fake gangstas around. But then again, look at Middlefield CI...:lol:

Probably forgetting a lot of stuff since I haven't been back since I graduated in 05.

[VorteC]

Newtonbrook ftw :cheesygri ...I guess I'm biased because I went there, and my brother is there now. It was a great school, no major incidents (well except for a bomb threat and some fake fire alarms), awesome principal while I was there (Mr. Spyropolous..now at Jeffries). Always great sports teams (minus football), French Immersion & Extended Programs (not sure if they're still there)...Dance team was awesome when I was there...Tons of Asian and Russian kids, I bet that drives the school's academic rating up ;) Tons of kids from other areas would come there (eg., me). Pretty diverse school as well, during my later years there. It's in a nice area (Yonge/Steeles) so that probably reduced the amount of fake gangstas around. But then again, look at Middlefield CI...:lol:

Probably forgetting a lot of stuff since I haven't been back since I graduated in 05.

Newtonbrook seemed pretty ghetto. Heard bad things from friends who went there.

[Deadmon]

Agincourt! Immersion/Extended programs, top accounting classes and music programs!

[okano]

Albert Campbell WAS good
but i think it's on decline?
i was there like 8 yrs ago
it's so damn good

[AirCarnivore]

Humberside CI is definitely up there, with 87% of graduates going on to university/college, and the fact that its very very academic.
I find that all the new teachers from schools such as malvern and a.y. jackson are so much easier compared to the teachers that have been teaching here for a few years. Heck, my chem teacher from a.y. jackson keeps telling us how much more material we have to learn than they had to, so that certainly cant be a bad thing.

[nalababe]

North Toronto Collegiate....

[KapnK12]

Michael Power in etobicoke was a decent high school. It allowed me to become an Ontario Scholar. However, I personally feel as if the school is going to the slums...

I have to agree with you. It seems that shortly after I graduated in 2000 things started to go down hill.

[geronimo]

I've heard good things about:
- York Mills
- Marc Garneau
- Don Mills
- AY Jackson
- Earl Haig


I myself went to Victoria Park CI, and I consider it to be a pretty good school. Not the best, but still pretty good. It has some good teachers and the IB program.

[VIKKO]

you're all forgetting francis libermann chs.
we had gifted and enriched.



brapp!

[Homer88]

you're all forgetting francis libermann chs.
we had gifted and enriched.



brapp!

I hope this is a joke

[Hoodwink]

I've heard good things about:
- York Mills
- Marc Garneau
- Don Mills
- AY Jackson
- Earl Haig


I myself went to Victoria Park CI, and I consider it to be a pretty good school. Not the best, but still pretty good. It has some good teachers and the IB program.

Went to Marc Garneau in grade 9. If you're not in their TOPS program, the education you get is not good at all. The school's too big for any individual student to get any attention. The standards of grading in English are also very low due to the large number of immigrants in the school.

[geronimo]

Went to Marc Garneau in grade 9. If you're not in their TOPS program, the education you get is not good at all. The school's too big for any individual student to get any attention. The standards of grading in English are also very low due to the large number of immigrants in the school. Yeah I know, the TOPS program is great. I don't think the school's too bad overall either though, it's an immigrant school yes, but it's not as bad as its reputation would have some people believe. I know the school, I've been inside before, my cousins went there back in the early 1990s. It would've been my high school had I not moved to the Graydon Hall area in grade 2.

[Hoodwink]

Yeah I know, the TOPS program is great. I don't think the school's too bad overall either though, it's an immigrant school yes, but it's not as bad as its reputation would have some people believe. I know the school, I've been inside before, my cousins went there back in the early 1990s. It would've been my high school had I not moved to the Graydon Hall area in grade 2.

Well I still have a bunch of friends who went the full four years there, and I've heard stories. Even when I was there there was a big gang fight between Afghans and blacks that ended up with someone getting his throat sliced. The neighbourhood is also one of the worst possible settings for a school.

Maybe it's because I spent the last 3 years of my high school years at a mellow suburban school (Cawthra Park in Mississauga) that made Garneau seem so rough.

[Homer88]

Albert Campbell WAS good
but i think it's on decline?
i was there like 8 yrs ago
it's so damn good

The only good thing that came out of Albert Campbell in the past 5 years was its badminton team. The area is starting to worsen as years go by because of immigration.

[blizzah]

WL Mac

[dap_pad]

Wow... it's amazing no one has mention St. Augustine C.H.S. in the entire thread. We got #1 in GTA with Macleans along with UHS... LOL but UHS gets all the credit :cry:

[obernewtyn]

Harbord Collegiate anyone?

[blizzah]

Wow... it's amazing no one has mention St. Augustine C.H.S. in the entire thread. We got #1 in GTA with Macleans along with UHS... LOL but UHS gets all the credit :cry:

What school is UHS?

[bobbings]

im sorry Albert Campbell Collegiate is DEFINITELY NOT a good school lol
my school,francis liberman catholic high school, is behind it and the 2 of us always fight...mainly tamils -.-"

When I was there 6 years ago, there were no problems with the tamils. That was because they couldn't form groups of 20s like they do now. There just weren't enough. My brother went there for 3 years before moving up north and during his stay at ACCI, it was nothing but tamils against blacks, tamils against chinese etc. and they would often come in groups of 15 to 20.

When I was there, I was approached by 3 tamils once in the washroom but I had a bunch of friends outside waiting so they backed off once I told them they're right outside. Overall, I had a peaceful time at ACCI other than that one incident. I actually miss my highschool.

[dap_pad]

What school is UHS?

Unionville High School

[dragon_drift]

When I was there 6 years ago, there were no problems with the tamils. That was because they couldn't form groups of 20s like they do now. There just weren't enough. My brother went there for 3 years before moving up north and during his stay at ACCI, it was nothing but tamils against blacks, tamils against chinese etc. and they would often come in groups of 15 to 20.

When I was there, I was approached by 3 tamils once in the washroom but I had a bunch of friends outside waiting so they backed off once I told them they're right outside. Overall, I had a peaceful time at ACCI other than that one incident. I actually miss my highschool.

i hear about these stuff, but never saw it happen. I guess it's a good thing. ACCI is a good school except it's plagued by so-called thugs who thinks they can top you. Also, the washrooms are dirty. I mean the janitors do a great job cleaning them, but guys don't aim properly, there's toilet paper on the floor, and toilets not flushed after "usage." Any of these happen at other schools?

[Adage]

I'd like to vote AGAINST UHS. My high school (Pierre Elliott Trudeau HS) has consistently topped them in various science and engineering competitions over the past few years. So I highly doubt they are at the top of the schools in Markham.

Although York Region wise, I would say Thornhill SS and Richmond Hill HS are probably the two top schools academically.

[rss15]

I'd say in general most York Region schools are good.

[Canada_7]

Milliken Mills H.S. for the loss...major loss. Full of wannabe gangsters, some gangsters, and wannabes. The school itself is lame. There's been stabbings, one or two people have been killed in the last 2-3 years, and just stupidness at the school. Many suck-ups too. Oh yeah, there's also two insanely hard teachers that mark very hard, or are hard in general (one I'm fortunate to never have been in his class, one that is suppose to be my English teacher for second semester:cry: ). Anyone that's been there, or is currently in there, I think Mr. Sorraine (Math Department) and Ms. Todd (not sure what the correct "Mrs" or whatever thing she is; English Department) will ring a bell.

[bobbings]

i hear about these stuff, but never saw it happen. I guess it's a good thing. ACCI is a good school except it's plagued by so-called thugs who thinks they can top you. Also, the washrooms are dirty. I mean the janitors do a great job cleaning them, but guys don't aim properly, there's toilet paper on the floor, and toilets not flushed after "usage." Any of these happen at other schools?

I've been to other schools in York Region back when I was still in highschool to visit friends and the washrooms were fine. ACCI washrooms seriously need a makeover. It's dark, dirty, smelly and the mirrors don't last a day without having them smashed.

Off topic but one time a black guy was caught getting something special from a girl in the men's washroom. Dirty place to be doing that but it was hilarious because one of the teachers found out and blocked everyone else from going inside. The washroom was on the second floor in that middle hallway.

[jcoltage]

Who cares a 95 from the crappiest school = 95% at the best school .. maybe in university it may be a little harder but who care about high school.

[thefleet]

Milliken Mills H.S. for the loss...major loss. Full of wannabe gangsters, some gangsters, and wannabes. The school itself is lame. There's been stabbings, one or two people have been killed in the last 2-3 years, and just stupidness at the school. Many suck-ups too. Oh yeah, there's also two insanely hard teachers that mark very hard, or are hard in general (one I'm fortunate to never have been in his class, one that is suppose to be my English teacher for second semester:cry: ). Anyone that's been there, or is currently in there, I think Mr. Sorraine (Math Department) and Ms. Todd (not sure what the correct "Mrs" or whatever thing she is; English Department) will ring a bell.

I'd have to say MMHS is truly going down to the gutters... its gotten so ghetto-like and Mr. Sorraine is hard but hes more like a university prof, if you dont do the work you're screwed

raped my average good but it didn't really matter for me :lol:

[bobbings]

raped my average good but it didn't really matter for me :lol:

Why didn't it matter if he raped your average that bad?

[Jon Lai]

Who cares a 95 from the crappiest school = 95% at the best school .. maybe in university it may be a little harder but who care about high school.

Not if you're going to Engineering at UW.

[thefleet]

Why didn't it matter if he raped your average that bad?

oh because i had him for the 2nd semester and I already got accepted and I just needed a conditional 70% average.. which was basically in the box already :twisted:

[VorteC]

Not if you're going to Engineering at UW.

Does that mean my 87% from AYJackson = 90%? ;)

[Jon Lai]

Does that mean my 87% from AYJackson = 90%? ;)

No, probably Unionville HS though. Everyone knows Unionville has the highest Waterloo acceptance rate among high schools.

[babaji]

No, probably Unionville HS though. Everyone knows Unionville has the highest Waterloo acceptance rate among high schools.

Union- what?

[Adage]

No, probably Unionville HS though. Everyone knows Unionville has the highest Waterloo acceptance rate among high schools.

I seriously do not believe they are the top school. They're just famous. Highest Waterloo acceptance rate also doesn't mean anything when they go into programs that Waterloo isn't entirely known for. Aka, programs other than math and engineering.

[VorteC]

No, probably Unionville HS though. Everyone knows Unionville has the highest Waterloo acceptance rate among high schools.

Acceptance rate doesn't matter... as long as your school gives high marks and you get those high marks you will be accepted (try private schools ;) )

It's what happens during university study that counts, and that's how universities rank high schools. They look for the lowest drop in percentage when the students move from high school to uni, and look at the dropout rate from students coming from each high school.

[jcoltage]

Not if you're going to Engineering at UW.


Ah I know enough people in Waterloo engineering from Georges Vanier with a 87%

[Narryr]

do you know anything about this school?
Thank you

[flexwong]

No, probably Unionville HS though. Everyone knows Unionville has the highest Waterloo acceptance rate among high schools.

that just means unionville has the most chinese ppl.

[Wilmega]

Sir john a macdonald... a lot of nerdy asian kids and CA wannabes

[keitaro]

Good test scores/university acceptance rates are not indicators of a quality education or student motivation/intelligence...

I went to AY Jackson in North York, this school receives high honours in math/science contests every year but only because the participants were educated mostly outside of Canada (i.e. Asia). The scores are quite deceiving because most of the students who actually lived in the area for a long time...are not nearly as spectacular (I remember walking to school and passing by pot smokers every morning lol).

[alanbrenton]

Good test scores/university acceptance rates are not indicators of a quality education or student motivation/intelligence...

I went to AY Jackson in North York, this school receives high honours in math/science contests every year but only because the participants were educated mostly outside of Canada (i.e. Asia). The scores are quite deceiving because most of the students who actually lived in the area for a long time...are not nearly as spectacular (I remember walking to school and passing by pot smokers every morning lol).

This is something nice to know from an insider. But what if the area is becoming predominantly Asian/Oriental, i.e. Earl Haig close to Yonge/Finch?

How are school children these days? Do they intermingle with people of various ethnicities? Or is there much less interaction during High School?

[tomotomo]

do you know anything about this school?
Thank you

I went to Satec in Gr.9, so don't take what I say word for word. Majority of students are brown. It's a decent school, I believe you can work towards a Cisco networking degree, if you know that's what you want. Everybody in the school wears blue uniforms, I disliked wearing the uniforms. Always couldn't wait until I could go home and take them off.

One thing that I definitely think makes Satec stands out from other schools is the tech shop courses and equipment, great prep for trade skills. In the gr9 tech class we got to learn how to use basic CNC/Lathe/Robotic Arms/Electrical Circuits/Autocad. I remember they had an auto class, gr 10/11 enriched math, and that basically sums it up.

[Narryr]

Thank you, I needed some feedback

[keitaro]

This is something nice to know from an insider. But what if the area is becoming predominantly Asian/Oriental, i.e. Earl Haig close to Yonge/Finch?

How are school children these days? Do they intermingle with people of various ethnicities? Or is there much less interaction during High School?

Don't know much about Earl Haig, but back in AY most of the kids raised in Canada usually intermingled with each other, while the more recently arrived students tended to stick to their own cultural groups. I would say this is probably how it is in other schools too but in AY the latter group is probably over majority.

[VorteC]

Don't know much about Earl Haig, but back in AY most of the kids raised in Canada usually intermingled with each other, while the more recently arrived students tended to stick to their own cultural groups. I would say this is probably how it is in other schools too but in AY the latter group is probably over majority.

I attend AY right now.. and there is a clear distinction between whos mainland, whos from HK, and whos CBC. The mainlanders hang together and it smells like chinese food wherever they hang out. Those from HK dress the normal fob style... and the CBC ppl are all over the place.

[Menace]

I'm about the same age as Gee (I think?), I went to Harbord CI. Harbord CI & Jarvis CI were the best during that time. Then there was Central Tech for guys and Eastern Commerce for the hot chicks :D :cheesygri


how old are you dude?

[Shyma]

How about Northern Secondary School? What is the environment, people, academics?

[Larry003]

You're right, American schools, at least those that we see in rich suburbs, have wonderful facilities and programs. The same is however true for Canadian schools in similar demographic locations. Just compare schools like Earl Haig vis a vis an inner city high school like Jarvis Collegiate. Sure both are great institutions, but Earl Haig has much better facilities. Canadian and American schools differ VASTLY in terms of funding schemes, so the most stable investment is in private schools - who have a consistent stream of operational funds.

In this case, I'd reocmmend either Upper Canada College (all-male) or Havergal College (all-girls). Both have excellent campuses, a long history of successful graduates who go to excellent post-secondary institutions especially those in the Ivy League, and a dedication to the highest standard of excellence. These schools aren't afraid to tout "excellence" as a buzz word because everyone is encouraged to try hard and succeed - and not at the expense of others. While public schools have to cater to everyone, including the lowest common denominator, private schools have the ability (and resources) to set a higher standard. Thus those who "can't hack it" eventually leave because it wouldn't be a good investment anymore. This is what the real world is like unfortunately.

For public schools, I'd definitely put Earl Haig and Lawrnce Park on the list. I have a large family and though two of my siblings (and myself) went to private school (UCC and BSS), two of my other siblings went to Lawrence Park and North Toronto (having tried out Earl Haig and others). These are solid institutions with similar track records to many private schools.

[impuls3d]

RH king is overrated. Im so glad that im graduating from that school. They have the most ******** rules ever. The kids at that school are ******** too. So if you want to go to a school where the kids rent civics(yes, rent) then bring them to school, pack there bros in the car then blast there stock speakers while acting hard then rhking is the place for you! oh and dont forget to get yourself an AFRO mushroom cut. King is the perfect place for previous nerds to make the transaction into the thug lifestyle!


I dunt know why Albert campbell is mentioned, its like rhking but without uniforms.
and wheres bethune on that list?

[TheFuteballer]

This is something nice to know from an insider. But what if the area is becoming predominantly Asian/Oriental, i.e. Earl Haig close to Yonge/Finch?

How are school children these days? Do they intermingle with people of various ethnicities? Or is there much less interaction during High School?

I also went to A.Y. jackson, the school is pretty much 86% oriental with nearly 60-70% of the students being ESL or have just gotten out of ESL.

Unfortunately I found it to be pretty bad social wise. It was pretty much all the asians in their own friend groups intermingling, and then everyone else (who was a pretty small group) was forced to be friends with each other and you really didn't have a chance to change your group of friends.

As good of a school it was academically, I would NEVER have gone back and I tried a couple times to transfer to York Mills or Earl Heig and I couldn't :( ... but I guess it was good because UofT wasn't that much of a shock to me! I'd already gone through 3 years of it haha

[will1087]

Marc Garneau has been noted by many schools across Canada and has been ranked very highly. The TOPS (Talented Offerings for Programs in the Sciences) program is a program only for the school and is highly recognizable. This program is exceptional for the studies of Science, Math and Computers.

In 2004, Maclean's ranked highly of MGCI, noting it as the number one school for students pursuing science or technology in their later studies. Students from the program have been consistently awarded scholarships of over $1,000,000 each year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Garneau_Collegiate_Institute

its too bad the maclean's link is down

Edit: (from the same link)


TOPS students have received a numerous scholarships and science fair awards. Five of the teachers at Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute who teach courses in the TOPS program have also received the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence. In June 2004, Maclean's magazine stated that Marc Garneau was the best high school in Canada, and credited the TOPS program for it.[2] The September 2006 issue of Toronto Life also stated that Marc Garneau was the best high school in Toronto for math and science, once again largely crediting the TOPS program.

[TheFuteballer]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Garneau_Collegiate_Institute

its too bad the maclean's link is down

Edit: (from the same link)

meh I'm not too sold on Marc Garneau.. two of my friends that came to engineering from there (who were in the gifted program) and had 90 some odd averages failed out of engineering.. well one did, the other ones not doing so well

[will1087]

meh I'm not too sold on Marc Garneau.. two of my friends that came to engineering from there (who were in the gifted program) and had 90 some odd averages failed out of engineering.. well one did, the other ones not doing so well

It happens... what year are you in?

[adehbone]

Don Mills Collegiate Institute, chose it over Marc Garneau like many of my friends.

While Marc Garneau is known for its gifted program, it is in the hood (I went to Gateway and grew up in Flemo, so I can say that). So I would say location and overall student population is weak.

Most people from DMCI end up in top undergrad Bschools and UofT/UW for engineering and McGill arts. Back when i went also the school was fairly small, not sure if that is true anymore though.

[wqzmbshz]

university of toronto school..thats the best i heard so far. although its private. i went to albert campbell c. i.

[TheFuteballer]

It happens... what year are you in?

I'm going into 3rd year now

[xIcewind]

university of toronto school..thats the best i heard so far. although its private. i went to albert campbell c. i.

UTS... hm. I wouldn't say much so anymore. A lot of the good teachers left. Some of the new teachers are pretty good, and a lot of them are still getting in stride, but I don't think it was as good as when I first entered.

It's semi-private, though I suppose it's gotten to the point of being called fully private. It was 8000 when I entered, and 12k when I left. However, I hear that the new kids have to pay 15k.

Ridiculous.

However, the education is pretty amazing though. I know a handful of people, for example, who will be matriculated this coming fall for medicine, and they applied in third year (so they won't be finishing their bachelors).

[myster]

Don Mills Collegiate Institute, chose it over Marc Garneau like many of my friends.

While Marc Garneau is known for its gifted program, it is in the hood (I went to Gateway and grew up in Flemo, so I can say that). So I would say location and overall student population is weak.

Most people from DMCI end up in top undergrad Bschools and UofT/UW for engineering and McGill arts. Back when i went also the school was fairly small, not sure if that is true anymore though.

I was in the Gifted program at DMCI...

Doesn't it still have it?

[Madchester]

university of toronto school..thats the best i heard so far. although its private.

As someone else mentioned, the school lost a lot of its leading teachers in the past decade or so. (Back in the day, one of its brightest students jumped ship and came to our school, due to UTS' brain drain) Combine that with its crumbling facilities, and the tuition fee is a joke.

[flexwong]

i must say that if you are looking for the most prestigious high school in toronto, it has to be upper canada. large number of elites have graduated from there (past prime ministers, wealthy canadian businessmen etc).

[James_TheVirus]

i must say that if you are looking for the most prestigious high school in toronto, it has to be upper canada. large number of elites have graduated from there (past prime ministers, wealthy canadian businessmen etc).

I think that goes for most of the top Private Schools - UCC, Branksome, SAC, TCS, St. Mikes, etc. Many of the most well-known people, business executives and leaders have been through the private school system.

[papadie]

Anyone has information about "John Fraser S S" or "St. Aloysius Gonzaga S S" from Mississauga?:)

[Sazafraz]

Anyone has information about "John Fraser S S" or "St. Aloysius Gonzaga S S" from Mississauga?:)
Streetsville Secondary
nuff said

[MUBK]

Marc Garneau CI... I don't find it dangerous, just full of people who like to think they're gangsters (I've lived here for over 8 years)...

[Rishi]

In this case, I'd reocmmend either Upper Canada College (all-male) or Havergal College (all-girls). Both have excellent campuses, a long history of successful graduates who go to excellent post-secondary institutions especially those in the Ivy League, and a dedication to the highest standard of excellence. These schools aren't afraid to tout "excellence" as a buzz word because everyone is encouraged to try hard and succeed - and not at the expense of others. While public schools have to cater to everyone, including the lowest common denominator, private schools have the ability (and resources) to set a higher standard.
Getting in to the Ivy League is a meaningless accomplishment. Succeeding there is something more significant and success in elite university programs depends far more on individual motivation and aptitude than it does on who signed your high school diploma. In my program (UofT engineering science) there is a disproportionately large number of private school students but in my experience they hold no academic advantage over their peers. In particular my experience with BSS grads leads me to believe that they have extremely low standards in mathematics as I've known 3 BSS alumni who achieved 95+ in calculus and geometry yet didn't have a freaking clue about anything. They probably would have gotten 65-70 at my crappy old public school in Scarborough. In their case, they went to one of Canada's most competitive undergrad programs but what the BSS sales pitch won't tell you is that they flunked out.

I have not heard of any high school program in Canada which teaches rigorous mathematics or anything else which would truly give students an edge in math/CS/engineering/science programs.

[Sazafraz]

Getting in to the Ivy League is a meaningless accomplishment. Succeeding there is something more significant and success in elite university programs depends far more on individual motivation and aptitude than it does on who signed your high school diploma. In my program (UofT engineering science) there is a disproportionately large number of private school students but in my experience they hold no academic advantage over their peers. In particular my experience with BSS grads leads me to believe that they have extremely low standards in mathematics as I've known 3 BSS alumni who achieved 95+ in calculus and geometry yet didn't have a freaking clue about anything. They probably would have gotten 65-70 at my crappy old public school in Scarborough. In their case, they went to one of Canada's most competitive undergrad programs but what the BSS sales pitch won't tell you is that they flunked out.

I have not heard of any high school program in Canada which teaches rigorous mathematics or anything else which would truly give students an edge in math/CS/engineering/science programs.
You are absolutely right. The thing with Upper Canada College or other private schools is that they pay roughly $20,000 tuition a year, so that basically guarantees them into whatever post secondary institution they want so they make sure all the students have really good marks regardless of their actual abilities. I would imagine that paying that much money, teachers get a lot more money than a public school and in return, the students get the marks they want because of the amount of money they pay to the school.

[bahasad]

Graduated from the TOPS program at MGCI about two years ago. If you want to get forever traumatized by the amount of work you will get + the potentially depressing marks, then go there. If you want to go to a bunch of worthless trips every year that take money out of your pockets, then go there.

Seriously, though, yeah some of the teachers are great. The students are all competitive...everyone goes to uni. But other then that, the experience is tough and not for the feeble-minded student. Plus MGCI as a school has been going on a downturn since I've left. Not the safest school for sure (even worse now) and the overall atmosphere in the school is not good. Plus, no DIVERSITY whatsoever. Aside from TOPS, MGCI is almost 95% brown. Plus the regular stream has a pretty negative attitude towards TOPS students.

Personally, after being in uni for two years, I can say that TOPS, although it did prepare quite a bit, hasn't made the experience significantly easier. Plus, although I am doing good, other students are also doing well. So I don't feel like the 4 years of torture I went through really paid off.

[coolspot]

you're all forgetting francis libermann chs.
we had gifted and enriched.


About 10 years ago... people used to goto Libermann if they flunked out of near by highschools ;)

[Rishi]

Personally, after being in uni for two years, I can say that TOPS, although it did prepare quite a bit, hasn't made the experience significantly easier. Plus, although I am doing good, other students are also doing well. So I don't feel like the 4 years of torture I went through really paid off.
One thing you realize in university is there are some people out there who are flat out smarter than the rest of us. They don't study more or work harder, they just see things in a different way.

[thechampion116]

RH king is overrated. Im so glad that im graduating from that school. They have the most ******** rules ever. The kids at that school are ******** too. So if you want to go to a school where the kids rent civics(yes, rent) then bring them to school, pack there bros in the car then blast there stock speakers while acting hard then rhking is the place for you! oh and dont forget to get yourself an AFRO mushroom cut. King is the perfect place for previous nerds to make the transaction into the thug lifestyle!


I dunt know why Albert campbell is mentioned, its like rhking but without uniforms.
and wheres bethune on that list?

I went to R.H. King 3 years ago and have heard that it has degraded since. My year had quite a few top talent students for sure, but taking some classes with Grade 11's during my final year, I felt like they were dumber as well. I don't know why but it seems that way. It just seems like more students overall ( in most schools) don't really care too much anymore. they just want to have a good time whether it be chilling with friends, or driving in their cars or partying.

Kids in general are getting dumber.

it doesn't matter what school you go to unless your paying for private school

[papadie]

Streetsville Secondary
nuff said

Streetsville SS is close by Fraser and Gonzaga SS?
How is the neighbourhood?
Give me some details about Streetsville.
Thanks.:)

[penquinbum]

Streetsville SS is close by Fraser and Gonzaga SS?
How is the neighbourhood?
Give me some details about Streetsville.
Thanks.:)

If you are thinking of those other schools, consider Lorne Park.:cheesygri

[mit006]

Earl Haig has a rep in North York.

Martingrove C.I. has etobicoke's gifted program... and a solid set of teachers... especially in the Math's and Sciences.

Private... UCC (Upper Canada College) has a rep again in North York... but this is a boys only school.

and UTS (University of Toronto School) is probably the best option for someone looking for the best... errrr... most prestigious high school education in Toronto.

Mind you, you pay a hefty tuition... and that is if you write an exam in grade 6 testing your math/verbal skills... beat a certain threshhold... and THEN... pass the interview stage. It's asking a lot of a 10-11 year old I'd say.

That grants you admission for grade 7, pretty much the only time you can get into the school... you miss that entry point and you're not likely to get in after. the school goes from Grade 7 to 12.

[nalababe]

UTS is not more prestigeous than the UCC, Havergall, Branksome...

For average ordinary HS's North Toronto is at or near the top of the list.

[coolspot]

Earl Haig has a rep in North York.

Martingrove C.I. has etobicoke's gifted program... and a solid set of teachers... especially in the Math's and Sciences.

Private... UCC (Upper Canada College) has a rep again in North York... but this is a boys only school.

and UTS (University of Toronto School) is probably the best option for someone looking for the best... errrr... most prestigious high school education in Toronto.

Earl Haig is a decent school, Martingrove is just average.

UCC is Toronto's most prestigious school; UTS is a good school for academics.

[mit006]

I agree with the above two posts.

I guess when I was suggesting UTS I was thinking of their stats on the percentages of their students that go on to top tier American (Ivy's and others) and Canadian universities. At least that used to be the case several years back.

I have close friends that went to UCC, they enjoyed their time there... and are bright guys for sure.

But yeah, there are several good schools in Toronto region; despite there being a lot of bad ones.

[TheFuteballer]

UCC is Toronto's most prestigious school; UTS is a good school for academics.

UCC is a waste of money IMO. Everytime I've gone there (for ontario model parliament or other events) half the kids are sleeping in class and after class they go and smoke up (which happens in every other school as well but if your parents are paying $10+ grand a year for you to go there, I think you'd take it a bit more seriously then that). I know 2 people in engineering from UCC and they were close to dropping out. Just because it's a rich school filled with rich kids doesn't mean it's the best IMO - although in their defense they for sure do give out a couple of extremely talented individuals every year.

[nalababe]

UCC is a waste of money IMO. Everytime I've gone there (for ontario model parliament or other events) half the kids are sleeping in class and after class they go and smoke up (which happens in every other school as well but if your parents are paying $10+ grand a year for you to go there, I think you'd take it a bit more seriously then that). I know 2 people in engineering from UCC and they were close to dropping out. Just because it's a rich school filled with rich kids doesn't mean it's the best IMO - although in their defense they for sure do give out a couple of extremely talented individuals every year.

No one said anything about being the best students, just the school with the most prestige.

[TheFuteballer]

No one said anything about being the best students, just the school with the most prestige.

that is true, I must admit I am envious of all the services they get

[nalababe]

that is true, I must admit I am envious of all the services they get

Make no mistake, the private schools have wonderful facilities. The cafe's food are exceptional. Sushi platters at school events. Beaujolais Nouveau release fundraisers. New computers, killer pools (open pools)....the differences are plenty.

...but that does not mean the education is better or that the students are better.

[spades]

SATEC @ W.A. Porter C.I. is the best!

[coolspot]

Just because it's a rich school filled with rich kids doesn't mean it's the best IMO - although in their defense they for sure do give out a couple of extremely talented individuals every year.

I didn't say it was the best - I said it was the most prestigious.

[engineeringsux]

SATEC @ W.A. Porter C.I. is the best!

Porter sucks - I know because I have friends that went there... nothing special...


R H King sucks - I know because I went there. Nothing special, teachers tend to favorite students who suck up. It's all good though because all those kids got pwned in Uni:twisted:

Moreover, RH King isn't special, from my experiences I heard Woburn is pretty good, and in particular there gifted program. I also heard they have an extracurricular programming class which turns out a high rate of exceptional programming students!

[spades]

hey "engineeringsux", you just really seem to bash on a lot of things.....engineering, porter, king...lol

i know what you mean about porter, but if you get with the right ppl...then its great


Porter sucks - I know because I have friends that went there... nothing special...


R H King sucks - I know because I went there. Nothing special, teachers tend to favorite students who suck up. It's all good though because all those kids got pwned in Uni:twisted:

Moreover, RH King isn't special, from my experiences I heard Woburn is pretty good, and in particular there gifted program. I also heard they have an extracurricular programming class which turns out a high rate of exceptional programming students!

[WilsonTan]

WOW you guys FORGOT THE #1 HIGH SCHOOL IN T.O HANDS DOWN.

EASTDALE C.I: Broadview and Gerrard

HIGH IN ACADEMICS
HIGH IN ATHLETICS
HIGH IS HOT GIRLS!

[Rishi]

SATEC @ W.A. Porter C.I. is the best!
My high school used to have an awful computer engineering teacher who spoke almost zero English. She transferred to SATEC.

[engineeringsux]

hey "engineeringsux", you just really seem to bash on a lot of things.....engineering, porter, king...lol

i know what you mean about porter, but if you get with the right ppl...then its great

porter yes, king yes, engineering no. I made this account a day before I had two midterms...

[anuj912]

Definetly Newtonbrook Secondary...

The amount of scholarships awarded in the past year to students reached 6 figure funds..

Haha, i graduated from there last year
And this is correct by the way.

[baller89]

Streetsville Secondary
nuff said

Come on, let's not mislead the poster- out of the schools you listed Gonzaga is definately the best and has a good rep (it is Catholic btw)- plus it also is a nice sized schools (1800+ students I believe) with a community center attached to it, John Fraser isn't bad either- btw I didn't go to Streetsville, Gonzaga or Fraser lol

[Sazafraz]

Come on, let's not mislead the poster- out of the schools you listed Gonzaga is definately the best and has a good rep (it is Catholic btw)- plus it also is a nice sized schools (1800+ students I believe) with a community center attached to it, John Fraser isn't bad either- btw I didn't go to Streetsville, Gonzaga or Fraser lol

A school that has lots of funding is nice, but personally I feel Streetsville prepared me well for university. From what I have heard, John Fraser does not prepare the students enough and give marks out too easily, so you may see people in university who don't belong there. Not too sure about Gonzaga, it may be really well but I am pretty happy with the quality of teaching at Streetsville.

[baller89]

fair enough, but since the teacher's don't stay at the same school for their entire career its difficult to make- it might be helpful to know what year you graduated and where you're at now

[Sazafraz]

fair enough, but since the teacher's don't stay at the same school for their entire career its difficult to make- it might be helpful to know what year you graduated and where you're at now

Graduated last year, in first year engineering at UofT. The teachers I had for grade 12 have been at Streetsville for some time and they don't look like they are going anywhere in the near future in terms of new schools or retiring.

[baller89]

Nice, congratulations on the program- Streetsville must have prepared you well if you found the first 4 weeks of class easy :lol: on a serious note you might find the toughness increase quite a bit as the year goes on, I think you'll be in a better position to judge the quality of the education you received at your alma mater

[Narryr]

HI, do you have any information about Wexford? Thanks

[penquinbum]

The best in Peel north of the 401 is Mayfield. It's the arts school but many of its grads go on to science and everything else. EQAO scores always at the top. They have lots of sports teams that are successful and also win lots of artsy prizes. that's why all these kids in public school take drama and dance lessons to get in there..parents don't want them at some of the gangsta Brampton schools. You can't go there as a non arts student unless you live in Caledon so get out your flute, your paints and go nutz.

[ultimate133]

Agincourt CI

/thread

[a7nwee]

I go to A.Y. Jackson, it's a really small community of people once you subtract all the Korean, Japanese, and most of all Chinese fobs and it's really easy to get along with the rest of the people who are just white washed Asians. (yea literally 90% Asian)
As for everyone else they hang out in their own little groups speaking their own language like the main land people and the Korean guys and the Korean girls, etc.
Heck, don't get me started on academics especially in the field of mathematics. Yea there are a lot of fob (esl) students that received much stricter and higher level of education where they came from and these people really boost up the average at A.Y.
But overall still the school maintains a strong academic background (mainly in the Asian stuff math/science/computers/strings music) and haha maintains some pressure on the students, which I heard prepares them for university especially for U of T.
Other than A.Y. Jackson, there's North Toronto and Earl that have good reps.


One thing that sucks is that I'm switching schools by the end of the summer and will be attending Bayview S.S. in York region board, does anyone know if this is a good school and know some people that attended it ?

[congeetime]

R.H. King Academy was a good school until those dam tamil kids raided the school. A year after I leave the school, the school had been in 2 serious lockdowns. 1. Some guy brought in a fake pistol, 2. Someone called in to make a fake bomb threat cause the school wouldn't allow a tamil protest at the school.... King was good a few years ago, now all the mushroom heads deal drugs in the washroom and pack their vans with 20 people. I think the best school is bendale =D

[RussiaRulez]

Weston C.I. because once you go black...

[crackheadpakman]

definitely not Newtonbrook one of the most garbage high schools ever, academics wise so-so, community there kinda sucks. girls? 99% brown .
newtonbrook has a nice chess team tthough not surprising ches team = 50% asian 50% brown

[dyangu]

Do you really want to send you kids to one of these "top" schools? In U.S., good schools produce higher SAT scores, but there's no similar incentive in Canada. There's no standard university entrance exam in Ontario, so going to a "top" school often means getting lower marks and hence harder to get into competitive universities and scholarships. A lot of parents who made the mistake of sending their kids to these "top" schools are now "buying" marks from private schools.

[a7nwee]

Do you really want to send you kids to one of these "top" schools? In U.S., good schools produce higher SAT scores, but there's no similar incentive in Canada. There's no standard university entrance exam in Ontario, so going to a "top" school often means getting lower marks and hence harder to get into competitive universities and scholarships. A lot of parents who made the mistake of sending their kids to these "top" schools are now "buying" marks from private schools.

Hey at least they wont flunk out in first year. I know people who grad from tough schools and say they have an easy time taking engineering or life sci at u of t. High school is supposed to prepare you for university, but yes for sure agreed you have to be able to get in first !

[a7nwee]

definitely not Newtonbrook one of the most garbage high schools ever, academics wise so-so, community there kinda sucks. girls? 99% brown .
newtonbrook has a nice chess team tthough not surprising ches team = 50% asian 50% brown

LOL 50% brown yikes
but no surprise there when you look at the community.
defiantly a garb school compared to the other options.
But hey some asian chicks are sexy! (i know when i say asian you picture an ugly chinese girl with glasses, but your missing out on a whole new world of asians)

[decode]

according to wikipedia isn't earl haig like the largest hs in toronto? they came to my hs for the black history month performances, those ppl from the claude watson program and they were amazing!

[crackheadpakman]

hard to find, but there are few really nice asian girls at newtonbrook if you know where to look lol.teachers are pretty cool too. you are guaranteed to make alot of asian + brown friends if you go to newtonbrook. ah the good years at newtonbrook playing super smash and Dota with the asians, as the only white kid there ,very nice

[crackheadpakman]

personally i dont recommend newtonbrook though, social life, overall setting, just isnt really appealing. The neighbourhood is scary at night O.O (well it is scarbourough, better than Jane and Finch :D). If you can go far, high schools downtown and near west toronto are pretty nice academic wise and social wise

[Parth]

I did an analysis of the results of the 2003 Leonardo Da Vinci Engineering Contest (http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/apsc/davinci/2003_exam/results.html). I think this would be a good proxy for assessing the academic quality of a school.

Here's my summary of the # of Da Vinci Scholars from each school.

Don Mills Collegiate: 8
A.Y. Jackson: 6
Earl Haig Secondary: 5
Northern Secondary: 5
Albert Campbell: 4
Stephen Leacock: 4

Etobicoke Collegiate, Jarvis Collegiate, Winston Churchill CI & Woburn all had 3 each. Marc Garneau, despite its (overhyped?) TOPS enriched math & science program, only had 2. Take that Maclean's!

I suppose one can surmise from this list that the best schools are in Northern Scarborough and North York. :idea:
Lol? Maybe you should look at data for the number of people that wrote it for each school (oh wait, its not available, thereby making any inferences from da vinci scholar data useless). I know for a fact that in the year I graduated from garneau, only 3 people wrote the da vinci contest.

meh I'm not too sold on Marc Garneau.. two of my friends that came to engineering from there (who were in the gifted program) and had 90 some odd averages failed out of engineering.. well one did, the other ones not doing so well
It happens. From my year, I know of a few that have failed. A few out of ~ 60 is much less than the average university dropout rate (for any program anywhere).

Graduated from the TOPS program at MGCI about two years ago. If you want to get forever traumatized by the amount of work you will get + the potentially depressing marks, then go there. If you want to go to a bunch of worthless trips every year that take money out of your pockets, then go there.
The trips are completely not worthless. The Algonquin trip is quite the experience. I, for one, at the time saw it as a complete waste of my life. But I've been back hiking in AP 3 or 4 times since. The experiences from the trips are what you make of them.


Seriously, though, yeah some of the teachers are great. The students are all competitive...everyone goes to uni. But other then that, the experience is tough and not for the feeble-minded student. Plus MGCI as a school has been going on a downturn since I've left. Not the safest school for sure (even worse now) and the overall atmosphere in the school is not good. Plus, no DIVERSITY whatsoever. Aside from TOPS, MGCI is almost 95% brown. Plus the regular stream has a pretty negative attitude towards TOPS students.
University is not for the feeble-minded student. They aren't preparing you to be a feeble-minded student in the future. But yes, the school is in a terrible neighbourhood and there is a fair bit of hate from the non-TOPS students. But can you blame them? There is obvious favouritism from even the non-TOPS teachers.


Personally, after being in uni for two years, I can say that TOPS, although it did prepare quite a bit, hasn't made the experience significantly easier. Plus, although I am doing good, other students are also doing well. So I don't feel like the 4 years of torture I went through really paid off.
How can you possibly say that when you have no non-TOPS university experience to compare it to? You're making a huge assumption here. I know for me (life science student @ UTSG), first year was a complete breeze. First year physics/calculus at UTSG were considerably easier than their high school equivalents. Definately made my university experience a fair bit easier.

Although it does depend on the program you're in. It is proably only helpful if you plan on attending engineering or the life sciences somewhere. And even then, mostly engineering.

[kennymack96]

Alright, this is my opinion on schools, if you don't like it, leave it.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS- This is a tricky one to look at. Yes, some public schools are better than others. That's just the way it is. But it's not fair to say that because a certain school has a "poor" graduation rate and "only" 25% Ontario scholars, they aren't going to produce any good students. They will. No matter where these kids are from, be it Jane and Finch or Rosedale, there will be at lweast one smart kid. All of you who look at these statistics and some how find it acceptable to judge a school based on their graduation rate or the number of scholars they have are wrong. Generally, there will be certain schools that have higher "success" (just to put it in broad terms) rates. Think of the parents, the area. Kids who go to schools in richer areas of course are going to have more oppurtunities to go to university, do well, etc. This isn't just because of the students. Sure they have to try hard, but think of their surroundings. Their parents are able to pay for university. Most of these parents are educated and will push their kids to try hard. These kids' families help pay for new facilities, better school supplies. These kids get to go on field trips because they are able to. This makes learning fun, and therefore, they will be more enthusiastic about whatever subjects their taking. Of course schools like North Toronto and Northern (Leaside Area), Malvern (The Beach), Jarvis (Rosedale), Riverdale (Riverdale) and Newtonbrook (Thornhill) are going to do well, everything's being handed to them! That's not to say that going to a school not as highly regarded by society (ie Parkdale or CW Jeffreys) is automatically a death sentence. These kids will just have to try harder. It isn't necessarily fair to give the title of "Best School" to a certain group of students because of their advantages. It's all up to the student to decide if they're going to be successful or not.

As well, many schools have special programs that would cause some people to say "That's the best school for me." Take Birchmount as an example. This school is designed for elite athletes that need special programs and schedules to fit them. They would not agree that "Newtonbrook is the best." No. They want something to fit them. That's another factor. If you have special needs, you can't pick a school because it's "success" rate is high.

[kennymack96]

Also, a word on private schools. Private school students are a pretty prominent demographic- rich kids whose parents were able to pay for this education. I know many private school kids, and trust me, they're not that smart. The only reason everyone loves these schools are the parents funds and the Alumni funds that cause these schools to be so glamourous and wonderful. Make these parents average, and you have a perfectly average school. The kids are not brilliant at these schools, they're rich.

The only exception is UTS.

UTS is a meritocracy meaning, if you're smart enough, you will be financially assisted. 20% of UTS is on bursary, and another good chunk of kids are not living the glamourous lie, myself included. These kids here (no mean to brag) are also pretty darn smart. This 90% off to post-secondary schools that Northern boasts pales in comparison to the 98% that UTS has (I believe this is true, can someone correct me if it's not?) And we're not all about academics. I have a decent average, yes, but I'm also on the school basketball and volleyball team, and I am just super excited for soccer season. I am on the school Reach team, I do Student Cuncil, and I'm acting in our school's main play. This goes for a good 90% of the kids here. We don't sit at home studying all day. We HAVE LIVES. Even if I din't go to UTS, I'd still rate it as the best school in Toronto- having the same access to U of T libraries as an undegrad helps too ;)

[drhorrible]

Lol? Maybe you should look at data for the number of people that wrote it for each school (oh wait, its not available, thereby making any inferences from da vinci scholar data useless). I know for a fact that in the year I graduated from garneau, only 3 people wrote the da vinci contest.

In almost every case, only the best competitors from each school write the contest. Your school may have been an exception, but this is the case at most schools. One can look up similar statistics for the Euclid, Fermat, Cayley, etc., contests without much difficulty; combining those statistics would probably give one a reasonable amount of insight into the quality of a prospective school.

I'm a long ways removed from such things (I was one of the top competitors on the Da Vinci one year, and competed with a reasonable amount of success on the Canadian Mathematics Competitions/various math olympiads/the Putnam/ACM), but I still work with talented high school students as a graduate student. In general I think that competitions are probably the best metric for evaluating 'best' high schools, assuming that the student in question has the aptitude necessary to succeed at this level.

Also, I live in B.C., so I have no particular insight about Ontario high schools.

[J Borough]

Reviving this thread.

R.H.King used to be one of the top schools in all of Toronto, at least it was when I decided to go there in gr.9, until all of sudden all these nerdy tamil kids started showing up and attempted to make the transition from nerdy to "gangsta." I think it was mainly because there were so many of them that they were no longer scared of being judged by other kids.

The amount of mushroom haircuts, goat beards, and honda civics I began seeing was uncanny. On top of that, more fights broke out, lockdowns were implemented, and the school started some sort of safe-schools program, where all these ****ups from other high schools were sending their kids to our school.

I'm glad I got out before the school got anymore brown.

[hsd1]

Eastern Commerce...represent!

[Marques89]

hi guys, you guys seem like you know what schools are good in toronto
so i got a question, what is the BEST school in toronto? (in your opinion or by ranking)

i go to Weston C.I. i have to say its a GHETTO school, you are either a six foot gangster or in the IB program and even then you gotta be brown or vietnamese (nothing wrong with that but im one of the handful of white guys there)

its not only the cultural part, its that the schoo looks like a prison (no windows in the halls or in the classrooms)
the school cant afford text books, ac or new sports uniforms/equipment
dont choose weston if you have the chance too

i am in grade 11, i've survived for 3 years somehow but now im fed up, i am in grade 11 and i would like to graduate from a nice school.
my sister is in grade 9 and i dont want her going through all of the **** that i have (gettign robbed 2 times, asked if i want drugs every second day and lockdowns cause a guy has a weapon)
plus some of my "friends" are under house arrest

so guys please help me out, i was thinking of Michael Power, mom is thinking of Richview, dad says go to a school with rich kids or rich area because then your friends will end up being doctors or lawyers or something of the sort.
Because right now, most of them are working at Mc Donalds or sellling stuff they stole off of unlocked cars

i will have my G2 in july so i dont mid going far, so if you guys can tell me your top 5 or your top school i would appreciate it ALOT!!

Thanks Guys,

[Jennifer416]

hi guys, you guys seem like you know what schools are good in toronto
so i got a question, what is the BEST school in toronto? (in your opinion or by ranking)

i go to Weston C.I. i have to say its a GHETTO school, you are either a six foot gangster or in the IB program and even then you gotta be brown or vietnamese (nothing wrong with that but im one of the handful of white guys there)

its not only the cultural part, its that the schoo looks like a prison (no windows in the halls or in the classrooms)
the school cant afford text books, ac or new sports uniforms/equipment
dont choose weston if you have the chance too

i am in grade 11, i've survived for 3 years somehow but now im fed up, i am in grade 11 and i would like to graduate from a nice school.
my sister is in grade 9 and i dont want her going through all of the **** that i have (gettign robbed 2 times, asked if i want drugs every second day and lockdowns cause a guy has a weapon)
plus some of my "friends" are under house arrest

so guys please help me out, i was thinking of Michael Power, mom is thinking of Richview, dad says go to a school with rich kids or rich area because then your friends will end up being doctors or lawyers or something of the sort.
Because right now, most of them are working at Mc Donalds or sellling stuff they stole off of unlocked cars

i will have my G2 in july so i dont mid going far, so if you guys can tell me your top 5 or your top school i would appreciate it ALOT!!

Thanks Guys,

My sympathies towards you and your situation. Richview is like at the intersection of richer Etobicoke and poor Etobicoke, looks a bit old from the outside, but haven’t heard of any problems from there.

Even if you have a G2, keep in mind that schools might not provide student parking (esp. where space is at a premium, ex. Earl Haig, where I graduated from). And keep in mind that you’ll be spending a lot of time commuting that way.

Are you artsy? Most schools with an enriched arts program are pretty good, positive learning and interacting environment-wise, since presumably the more affluent and cultured students take art lessons. ESA (Etobicoke School for the Arts) is almost entirely White from what I’ve seen. Earl Haig has the Claude Watson arts program, nationally known from what I hear. If you’re a musician and you think you’ve got what it takes, I can’t recommend it highly enough to get into the music program. It’s hard to get into the program in your senior year, but they have openings for visual arts, screen arts, dance, drama, and music, do your research on www.earlhaig.ca, very informative about Haig life from all aspects. I will write more about my experience at Haig in another post, but I would say that you can’t find a better combo of school spirit, activities, work ethic, artistic activities, and architecture at any other school!

Relative to the location of Weston CI (assuming you live near there) I would say that the most feasible alternate high school for you is Richview or someplace else in southern Etobicoke. If you’re willing to travel further, to high schools near the Yonge subway line (Newtonbrook, Earl Haig, AY Jackson, Northern, North Toronto, York Mills) they are all in areas substantially better than Weston’s. There may be other decent schools in between Weston and Yonge, but I’m not familiar with that part of Toronto.

Good luck with school-hunting: make sure the school accepts out-of-area students, call to see if the school can give you a tour: can’t stress the personal visit enough!! Also check out school websites and their student body’s stats.

[Jennifer416]

As I had promised the previous poster in this thread, I will talk about my time at Haig as a music major in their Claude Watson arts program, spanning my entire high school career.

There is literally a fit for everyone here. Whether you're artsy (you better be in the CW program then!), athletic, fob...

It’s good to see previous posters give high opinions of Earl Haig, and I vouch for their high ratings too. Haig was newly renovated in the late 90’s, so there’s plenty of skylights and nice sunlight streaming in =) most facilities are pretty new, classrooms are well-equipped (although the caf may run out of chairs during lunch… reflective of the school’s popularity among students). Last I checked, we had 83 clubs and councils, many hallway fundraisers for charities and school activities, partnerships with elementary schools both in the area as well as in priority areas elsewhere in the city; it’s a very “Liberal” (not meant as a political affiliation) style of doing things: generously, with spirit, positive environment to interact with others. In my graduating year we had 3 students accepted into Cornell U in the States, 4 people accepted into McMaster’s health sci program, probably 12 U of T Scholar designates, a 4-year full-tuition scholarship recipient for studies at U of T (not saying who ;) ), the list goes on.
Obviously, the school is academically strong. We have enriched English, math, French, science, geography, Canadian history, etc. classes, many for as many years as needed to be taken for a student’s OSSD requirements. We have multiple classroom-full amounts of students writing every national and North American math, science, etc. contest there is available. No they’re not all Asian contestants! (alright, 80-something percent). Haig’s students take part in poetry, French speech arts, computer programming, etc. competitions each year. Fortunately (or unfortunately) this is predominantly not because we have exceptionally supportive or knowledgeable teachers, but because the students come from families whose backgrounds are cultured/well-off/with high expectations for their kids. Granted, the vast majority of collegiate students are Asian: Korean, Cantonese, mainland Chinese, some Japanese. Heck, the local TD bank signs with Korean symbols reflects this! Any non-Asian student you see is probably a Claude Watson student, speaking of which…
Perhaps the school is equally known for, if not more famous for, its Claude Watson arts program. As a former music major in the program, I cannot reliably give an account of how good the other disciplines in the program were, but like I said in the previous post, I cannot recommend the music program enough for those who are seriously considering a future in music or simply have a burning passion for it.
It’s got teachers from professional music backgrounds (of course some are better than others) and consistently produces musically promising students each year. Professional musicians and the ward trustee send their kids here too =) Notable, relatively recent graduates include Melanie Leishman, Sabrina Jalees, Leonard Gilbert, Jake Epstein, and Gabi Epstein. In my year there was a student who came all the way from Montreal to study here in the program. There are partnerships formed with professional music groups (professional composers like Andrew Staniland, Juliet Palmer; Juno award-winning Gryphon Trio, Amici Ensemble, etc.) who come each year to “commission” projects of students, perform them, and record them on CD for students to take home and share! Each year the music department holds many concerts at professional venues across the city, as well as compete and music competitions both local and national. Outside of the music department, the CW directors also call in professional companies to perform especially for Claudies, exclusive events for Claudies, and at the end of each year there are awards for exceptional students in the program. It is a very unique hands-on experience to complement the regular academic subjects, although it does require some compromises timetabling-wise as I recall. However for me I am grateful to have been “adopted” and thus accepted into a school in a better socioeconomic region of the city, and ultimately helping me to realize my artistic potential.
As an added bonus, www.earlhaig.ca is a well-maintained website of all school happenings! If you weren’t lucky enough to be a part of the Haig experience, this is the next best thing. According to figures from the TDSB website (http://www.tdsb.on.ca/about_us/budget_information/schoolbudget200910.asp?schoolid=3430), Haig is the richest high school in the board, $666,166 in 2009-10 committed to its operations (thanks in large part to CW, but also due to its large enrolment: highest in the TDSB)(for comparison, the runner-up high school gets ~$440000). This allows for the school to spend a bit more on treats for example for holidays, allocate significantly more funds for scholarships than at other high schools, allocate more funds for club functions, etc.

Two concrete figures that vouch for Earl Haig’s prestige in the public school system:
-largest student body in the TDSB
-students from out of the area (York Region, Etobicoke, downtown’s rich areas… Scarborough, oh yeah, the North Toronto CI area too ;) ) attend here. Even for collegiate student status… shhh…

TBC: my thoughts and experiences with other TDSB high schools, personal and by word-of-mouth.
Edit Jan.6th: if I have time before classes at uni start again…

[dankup]

Don't judge a book by its cover :cheesygri :cheesygri :cheesygri

Exactly. Brook hands down.

[dankup]

ms. a (bio...killer)
ms. farmer..not soo bad..but she did push me to get 90s.
ms. salwinka (horrible)

Agreed with the last one haha.

[Marques89]

As I had promised the previous poster in this thread, I will talk about my time at Haig as a music major in their Claude Watson arts program, spanning my entire high school career.

There is literally a fit for everyone here. Whether you're artsy (you better be in the CW program then!), athletic, fob...

It’s good to see previous posters give high opinions of Earl Haig, and I vouch for their high ratings too. Haig was newly renovated in the late 90’s, so there’s plenty of skylights and nice sunlight streaming in =) most facilities are pretty new, classrooms are well-equipped (although the caf may run out of chairs during lunch… reflective of the school’s popularity among students). Last I checked, we had 83 clubs and councils, many hallway fundraisers for charities and school activities, partnerships with elementary schools both in the area as well as in priority areas elsewhere in the city; it’s a very “Liberal” (not meant as a political affiliation) style of doing things: generously, with spirit, positive environment to interact with others. In my graduating year we had 3 students accepted into Cornell U in the States, 4 people accepted into McMaster’s health sci program, probably 12 U of T Scholar designates, a 4-year full-tuition scholarship recipient for studies at U of T (not saying who ;) ), the list goes on.
Obviously, the school is academically strong. We have enriched English, math, French, science, geography, Canadian history, etc. classes, many for as many years as needed to be taken for a student’s OSSD requirements. We have multiple classroom-full amounts of students writing every national and North American math, science, etc. contest there is available. No they’re not all Asian contestants! (alright, 80-something percent). Haig’s students take part in poetry, French speech arts, computer programming, etc. competitions each year. Fortunately (or unfortunately) this is predominantly not because we have exceptionally supportive or knowledgeable teachers, but because the students come from families whose backgrounds are cultured/well-off/with high expectations for their kids. Granted, the vast majority of collegiate students are Asian: Korean, Cantonese, mainland Chinese, some Japanese. Heck, the local TD bank signs with Korean symbols reflects this! Any non-Asian student you see is probably a Claude Watson student, speaking of which…
Perhaps the school is equally known for, if not more famous for, its Claude Watson arts program. As a former music major in the program, I cannot reliably give an account of how good the other disciplines in the program were, but like I said in the previous post, I cannot recommend the music program enough for those who are seriously considering a future in music or simply have a burning passion for it.
It’s got teachers from professional music backgrounds (of course some are better than others) and consistently produces musically promising students each year. Professional musicians and the ward trustee send their kids here too =) Notable, relatively recent graduates include Melanie Leishman, Sabrina Jalees, Leonard Gilbert, Jake Epstein, and Gabi Epstein. In my year there was a student who came all the way from Montreal to study here in the program. There are partnerships formed with professional music groups (professional composers like Andrew Staniland, Juliet Palmer; Juno award-winning Gryphon Trio, Amici Ensemble, etc.) who come each year to “commission” projects of students, perform them, and record them on CD for students to take home and share! Each year the music department holds many concerts at professional venues across the city, as well as compete and music competitions both local and national. Outside of the music department, the CW directors also call in professional companies to perform especially for Claudies, exclusive events for Claudies, and at the end of each year there are awards for exceptional students in the program. It is a very unique hands-on experience to complement the regular academic subjects, although it does require some compromises timetabling-wise as I recall. However for me I am grateful to have been “adopted” and thus accepted into a school in a better socioeconomic region of the city, and ultimately helping me to realize my artistic potential.
As an added bonus, www.earlhaig.ca is a well-maintained website of all school happenings! If you weren’t lucky enough to be a part of the Haig experience, this is the next best thing. According to figures from the TDSB website (http://www.tdsb.on.ca/about_us/budget_information/schoolbudget200910.asp?schoolid=3430), Haig is the richest high school in the board, $666,166 in 2009-10 committed to its operations (thanks in large part to CW, but also due to its large enrolment: highest in the TDSB)(for comparison, the runner-up high school gets ~$440000). This allows for the school to spend a bit more on treats for example for holidays, allocate significantly more funds for scholarships than at other high schools, allocate more funds for club functions, etc.

Two concrete figures that vouch for Earl Haig’s prestige in the public school system:
-largest student body in the TDSB
-students from out of the area (York Region, Etobicoke, downtown’s rich areas… Scarborough, oh yeah, the North Toronto CI area too ;) ) attend here. Even for collegiate student status… shhh…

TBC: my thoughts and experiences with other TDSB high schools, personal and by word-of-mouth.

THANK YOU!!
I really appreciate it, i will bring it up to my mom and dad
it is far from where i am located :(
so i don't know if my mom will choose it
im just wondering what do you know about mihcael power??

OR if anyone else reading this knows about michael power??

but thank you soo much jennifer :)

[Kherani]

I go to a ghetto school, I do ****-all and I get high marks because everyone is stupid. Worked out well, I'm eligible for a lot of scholarships because my school is in an "under-privileged" area.

[AzN_RiverdaleCI]

Im sure I posted in this thread before but I will write a review on Riverdale C.I. hopefully

[okano]

lol
i went to albert campbell many years ago
i think it is one of the most extreme two sided school in toronto
they are either very good and belong to the gifted side or fight in the forest behind it every once in awhile

[MolecularArchitect]

Here's my dimes worth:

- I definitely agree with Jennifer, having personal experience in the matter, Earl Haig really is a top school, with a warm, vibrant environment, and many many opportunities even for those outside of the Claude Watson program.
- I would once again make the point, knowing many students that attend the school, Newtonbrook is ridiculously overrated. For those in North York (I don't know how inner- city schools compare) it is very much an average school- large groups of brain- dead, apathetic kids smoking up between classes, etc.
- In York Region, the top schools are probably Thornhill, and Bayview S.S.. With respects to Vaughan S.S., the school is also very much overrated. While there are some truly outstanding teachers, there are very few opportunities available to high school students, and the student body itself has deteriorated substantially in quality; most of the intelligent students who might have attended Vaughan in the past, now go to the gifted program at Thornhill. The general atmosphere in the building is also not that great.
- While I don't know much about Westmount CI, on the basis of hear- say, there is a general attitude that the school is overrated, and that use of marijuana (as at Vaughan) is pervasive there.

That said, I was wondering about the relative merits of William Lyon Mackenzie, Don Mills CI, Northern and Thornhill, particularly Don Mills. If you look at math and science contests, the school is clearly tops (probably 2nd only to UTS), however, it seems that they've had their fair share of stabbings recently...

[meisterme]

AY Jackson SS' students always scored first place in national physics competitions, and has been one of the top schools in UofT National Bio Competition and a variety of provincial and national computer, chemistry, business, and accounting competitions as well. Most of the grads from AY attend UofT and Waterloo. I don't have any stats but I can tell you that many grads I knew from my year became doctors and investment bankers in the end and most of the rest became engineers, healthcare professionals, and other financial professionals.

Also Earl Haig is another great school.

[virgilaug]

Stay away from Northern Secondary. That place is a dump with very poor quality of teaching. All they have going for them is good sports teams and a program for hearing impaired students. If those are not you then stay away. On the other hand North Toronto Collegiate Institute which is just up the road from there is a very good school. Quite the contrast. Oh, and I went to Northern Secondary.