Our Senior School students benefit from increasing levels of choice as they plan their individual pathways to graduation.
The Senior School at GNS is a special place that offers a rich variety of academic, athletic, artistic and leadership opportunities for our students. I hope this site gives you a sense of how great it is to be a GNS student and encourages you to explore further. We are always happy to welcome visitors to our school.
High schools are meant to be places of exploration, where young people can feel comfortable pushing their boundaries within a caring network of support. This is where GNS excels! As a small high school of nearly 350 students, we have a strong sense of community with a relaxed but professional atmosphere. Every student is an important member of our school. We advocate genuine respect for one another and an attitude that welcomes and celebrates diversity.
Our students differentiate themselves in many ways. GNS is one of a very small number of schools in North America that is a member of both the prestigious Round Square and International Baccalaureate organizations. GNS graduates are scattered around the world, and they are a testament to the integrity of our values and programs. Our distinguished faculty and supportive parent body all contribute to making the GNS Senior School one of the best in Canada.
Warmly,
Carolyn Green
Principal, Senior School
There are almost as many academic pathways for GNS students in Grades 9 to 12 as there are students. No matter what choice they make, they are well prepared to take on the challenges of higher education and leave GNS as caring, confident citizens of the world. Through classroom and co-curricular learning, our students engage with our subject and specialist teachers, who help them to develop skills in critical thinking, communication, creativity and collaboration.
Students in Grades 9 to 12 have an increasing degree of choice in their course selection as they move up in grades. To ensure our students find joy in their learning, we are committed to providing diverse and inspiring curricular and co-curricular options that allow them to pursue their passions. Recent innovations include:
To enable students to study the environment and sustainability, this course blends physical and biological sciences with global issues. Topics covered include the influence of human populations on resources, conservation efforts, biodiversity, pollution management, global climate change, and their connections to governmental and non-governmental organizations.
Introduced in the fall of 2023, this inquiry-focused learning pathway will run as both a co-curricular available to all Middle and Senior School students and as a for-credit senior level (Grade 11 and 12) course that students can complete outside of their regular school timetable. Launch Pad is designed around an inquiry-learning model where the natural learning process is invoked through curiosity and passion, which leads to questioning, exploration and deep, personalized learning. Students will be supported to take risks, learn from failure and overcome obstacles to bring their ideas to life.
We are the first independent school on Vancouver Island to be a CISCO Certified Training Academy. This allows us to provide students in Grades 9 to 12 with access to world-class technology and ICT training opportunities through the CISCO Networking Academy. GNS students are now able to complete IT accreditations and gain globally recognized credentials that can benefit applications to post-secondary and future career opportunities within the IT sector.