Academic Ambition
Senior School - Collège (Grade 6-Level II)
Welcome to the Senior School!
On behalf of the entire teaching team, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our Senior School. With an enrolment of just over 600 students ranging from Grade 6 to Grade 12 (Level V), the Senior School is the final stage of our students' educational journey at TFS.
Indeed, the seven years they spend in our branch are fundamental to the construction of their personal identity. It is here that, thanks to a vibrant school social life including a variety of club and society activities, students discover more about themselves as they further develop their artistic, athletic, scientific or cultural passions. They also forge relationships of camaraderie and friendship that will provide them with support and will serve them throughout their lives.
At TFS, we teach the French national and Ontario curriculum through the International Baccalaureate (IB) framework, and this combination has culminated in a demanding and exciting program – one that enables students to gain a solid intellectual grounding based on in-depth knowledge, the capacity to think independently and the ability to analyze and debate. This foundation, together with the many community service opportunities we provide for them, allows students to prepare for their roles as citizens.
Civic-mindedness lies at the heart of our students' educational journey and is firmly focused on the world and humanity. On entering TFS, they begin their study of modern languages, engage in exchanges, both virtual and international, with other institutional members of the AEFE (the Agency for French Education Abroad) and the Mission laïque française, and participate in the programs offered by our assemblies and societies. Through these various activities, our school seeks to build a true interculturalism and awareness of universal human experiences, thereby mirroring the extraordinary diversity of our community.
Jean-Bastien UrfelsCivic-mindedness lies at the heart of our students' educational journey and is firmly focused on the world and humanity. On entering TFS, they begin their study of modern languages, engage in exchanges, both virtual and international, with other institutional members of the AEFE (the Agency for French Education Abroad) and the Mission laïque française, and participate in the programs offered by our assemblies and societies. Through these various activities, our school seeks to build a true interculturalism and awareness of universal human experiences, thereby mirroring the extraordinary diversity of our community.
Our teachers and the Senior School team hail from around the world and join forces to work alongside their students in order to implement this ambitious and exciting program. They are bona fide mentors who endeavour to inspire passion and the joy of learning in these young people.
Whether students begin their journey at TFS in Pre-Kindergarten or join us at a later stage, we will make every effort to ensure that the years they spend at the Senior School are indelibly etched in their memory.
Principal, Senior School
Academic Ambition in the Collège
Entering Grade 6 and 7 is an important development in the life of students at TFS. Students make the transition from the Junior School to the Senior School. It also marks three significant changes in our students’ academic lives.
In Grade 6, students transition from being taught in a dedicated classroom, generally by one assigned teacher, to rotating among classrooms, as they are now taught by subject-specialist teachers. They also, for the first time, have the opportunity to select an optional third language course and may even study an ancient language.
Students in these grades learn to become independent, while also undergoing dramatic physical, emotional, social and psychological changes. To help them adapt to these changes and meet their developmental needs, they are supported and guided by their instructors, their lead teachers and the Learning Forum professionals. The topics they address include peer relations, health and well-being, along with time management, school work organization and study skills.
In Grade 6, students continue with the curriculum of France and, when they reach Grade 8 (Level I), they start to work towards Ontario secondary school credits. It is also in Grade 6 that the Middle Years Program (MYP) of the IB begins. The MYP promotes the inquiry process and encourages students to connect their acquisition of knowledge, skills and concepts to their own lives and to the reality of the world around them.
In Grade 9 (Level II), students complete their formal studies in the current curriculum of France. They benefit from the French program, which allows them not only to master French, but also to learn about French culture and traditions, and gain a more international perspective. TFS students earn the Diplôme du brevet des collèges, which validates their mastery of the basic skills and knowledge they need to continue their studies at the Lycée level. They earn this diploma by passing an examination that includes written tests in math, French, history-geography and science, together with an oral exercise that might focus on a topic such as art or citizenship. These tests are graded by independent, external markers.
