OSSD Course Planning - A Plan Built Around One Student

• A load a student can carry:Through Grades 10 and 11 a student is still carrying the domestic curriculum, so we keep the OSSD load light.
• Playing to strengths:Students applying from China are strong in the sciences, so we pair math, physics and chemistry with the compulsory English.
• Building the English:The plan is built so English improves as far as it can.
• Clearing the English bar:Placement testing can let a student skip part of the ESL sequence. There are five levels, and the fifth is finished before graduation.
• Switching when it suits:A student stronger in the humanities can use business and arts courses in place of physics, chemistry and math.

OSSD puts the world's best universities within reach

OSSD students apply with the standing of a Canadian domestic student. The system runs on credits rather than one decisive exam, with 300+ courses to choose from, so the work done through the year counts and a student can build around what they are good at.

Besides OSSD, the familiar international programmes are A-Level, IB (IBDP) and AP. All three are demanding, ask a lot of a student in both subject ability and English, and offer limited places, and some students cannot finish them. All three also end in a standardised exam at a fixed time and place, which leaves one test deciding everything.

So who are those three for?

• A-Level:Suits a student with strong English applying only to top UK universities. Straight A grades, at least two of them at the top, makes an offer far more likely.
• IBDP:Suits a student with strong English, broad ability and real independence who wants the challenge. Of the three, IB converts into the most university credit.
• AP:Can be studied independently and then examined. The College Board test is compulsory, and only a passing score earns university recognition.

Against those three, OSSD lets a student apply to the world's best universities on six Grade 12 marks with no major exam, which makes it the friendliest of the four to almost any student.

Here are the four programmes side by side. OSSD is the easiest of them and the best fit for most students applying from abroad: no single decisive exam, no major sitting, no uniform standardised assessment.

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An OSSD diploma and transcript get a student a better answer from the university they want.

• 30 credits: 17 compulsory and 13 optional (4 of the compulsory credits are English)
• 40 hours of community involvement >>> service hours completed at home can count towards it
• A pass in the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (low bar, resittable, replaceable)

The test sits at about IELTS 5.5, while a Canadian university usually asks 6.5 or more, so most students pass first time.

• A student who does not pass first time can resit the following year, or take a local Grade 12 literature course in place of the test.
• The result is pass or fail: no score, no selection function, so there is little to prepare for.

☑️ The 17 compulsory credits

The STEM group credit is taken from any one of those subject areas, and the online learning credits count inside the 30

☑️ 13 optional credits

☑️ 40 hours of community involvement

☑️ A pass in the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)

*Community service can be completed at home

ESL: ESLAO Level 1 • ESLBO Level 2 • ESLCO Level 3 • ESLDO Level 4 • ESLEO Level 5

English: Grade 11: English, Speaking and Language Skills • Grade 12: English

Mathematics: Grade 10: Foundations of Mathematics • Grade 11: Functions • Grade 12: Data Management, Advanced Functions, Calculus and Vectors

The arts: Grades 10-12: Media Arts, Visual Arts

Business: Grade 10: Introduction to Business, Information and Communication Technology in Business • Grade 11: Financial Accounting, Marketing • Grade 12: Leadership and Management, International Business, Financial Accounting

Science: Grade 10: Science, Introduction to Computer Studies • Grade 11: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Studies • Grade 12: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Data Management

Other: Grade 10: Career Studies • Grade 11: Planning Ahead, Speaking and Presentation Skills

An OSSD needs 4 English credits, and graduation asks for English at Canadian Grade 10 level or above.

ESL stands for English as a Second Language, also called ELL: the language courses Canadian schools run for students whose first language is not English.

Finishing ESL is an OSSD graduation requirement. The ESL record also counts as evidence of English ability at the top universities, and it saves the student a separate language test such as IELTS.

How the ESL sequence works

• Levels:There are five ESL levels. Placement testing on entry can let a student skip part of the sequence, and students arriving in Grade 10 or Grade 11 usually start at level C.
• How it is taught:Online and in person together, or fully online.
• Finishing:Every international student finishes at ESLEO (Level 5), the highest level.

Many leading universities accept the Grade 12 OSSD English mark as their evidence of English, so students do not sit IELTS or TOEFL separately.

Three things that set our ESL apart

1. Graded to the Canadian ESL curriculum:

We assess and place students against the Ministry's ESL curriculum across five levels, so the base is rebuilt level by level and the weak areas get the attention.

2. More than one way to learn:

Online, in person, or both, so the format never limits the student.
✓ Online: live classes taught by licensed teachers
✓ In person: face to face with local Canadian teachers

3. A course system that closes the loop:

Content and method adjust as we go. In class: materials issued ➡️ after class: work marked ➡️ testing: progress checked on a cycle

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We stay with your child through their whole school career

• ✓ A plan built for one student:Our licensed Canadian teacher team writes each student a plan of their own, which lifts what they get from every hour.
• ✓ Several teaching methods, used together:We move between methods so a student learns the way that works for them.
• ✓ A full academic read:Senior planning advisors map the strengths, find the real blocker, and turn that into steady progress.
• ✓ A tutor within reach:Our team tests progress on a regular cycle, and parents are the first to see the results.

When can a student join OSSD, and what does the plan look like after that? We build a plan for each entry point so students use their holidays and finish OSSD in one to three years, while keeping their domestic coursework and ending with both diplomas.

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OSSD leaves room for the student in front of you: choose what you are good at, and score high in it. We build different plans for students heading into science and engineering, into the humanities and business, and into the arts.

See the plans in full

OSSD assesses a student in several ways, looking at knowledge, thinking, communication and application, with feedback along the way. Most of the mark comes from the work done through the year: assignments (individual and group) / oral presentations (individual and group) / topic reports (individual and group) / individual written tests. Students build academic ability, and in the group work they build leadership, communication and collaboration.

OSSD builds the softer skills that success rests on

Beyond subject knowledge, students develop reasoning, academic writing and presentation, which is the ground for study, work and a career. In every course a student lifts both academic and English ability, and the group reports teach them to work with people who see things differently, which is where collaboration and leadership come from. OSSD counts what a student accumulates through the year rather than a scramble before an exam, so good habits and real capability come out of the system itself.

Average OSSD marks for students applying from China

Leaving aside the choice of major and the universities that ask for a standardised test, an average of 89.5-94 is enough to apply anywhere in the world

Why OSSD works for students applying from China

• Students arriving after Grade 9 have a strong base in the sciences
• OSSD science in the first two years is lighter than the domestic course, which is a real advantage
• Students with a stronger base and better English switch into OSSD smoothly, and business or humanities options widen that advantage further

What OSSD graduates have gone on to, on past years of data:

25% receive an offer from a top 20 university worldwide / 50% from a top 40 / 70.6% from a top 50 / 100% receive a direct offer from a top 100 university, with no foundation year

More than 70% of OSSD graduates go to a top 50 university.