CANADIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM

The Canadian education system encompasses both publicly funded and private schools, from kindergarten through to pre-university. Education is a provincial responsibility under the Canadian constituion, which means there are significant differences between the education systems of the different provinces. However, standards across the country are uniformly high.

In general, Canadian children attend kindergarten for one or two years at the age of four or five on a voluntary basis. All children begin Grade One at about six years of age. The school year normally runs from September through to the following june but in some instances, january intake dates are possible. Secondary schools go up to Grade 11, 12 or 13, depending on the province. From here, students may attend university, college or Cegep studies. Cegep is a French acronym for College of General and Vocational Education, and is two years of general or three years of technical education between high school and university.