The English department is rich in talent and experience. Several of our teachers are published authors and columnists. All have a passion for their subject and are flexible in how they deliver course content. All have a fervent belief that the goal of the English program is to produce students whose reading and writing skills will assist them in all of life’s challenges. Returning students comment that the English instruction they received at City Academy prepared them very well for the challenges of university essay writing.

We offer a wide variety of English courses to meet the needs and interests of all students

The achievement of a senior mathematics credit is becoming increasingly important to all students entering university. We are proud that all of our math teachers are specialists and are knowledgeable about the content of all high school math courses, as well as math courses which will be taken at university. Because of the focused approach of the timetable, students who have had difficulty with mathematics in previous grades are surprised at how easily the concepts are learned in a small group setting with an excellent teacher.

We also provide our students the support to enter the Waterloo University math contests such as the Euclid (grade 12) and Pascal (grade 11). Our students have excelled in these contests, earning marks in the top 20 percentile.

Many of our students wish to enter university in science programs. Our science staff represents expertise in all three science disciplines: biology, physics, chemistry, and all are passionate about their subject area. We are proud that in the science department we have teachers with Master’s degrees and PhDs, thus offering our students a wealth of experience and content expertise. In the past we have placed students into very competitive university science programs and all have reported that they felt they were exceptionally well prepared and could take their place equally beside all other students.

In the pre-entry interview, the most common response from students to the question “what program do you wish to enter in university?” is “Business”. Because the business field is so varied a good pre-business program for these students requires instruction by teachers who are knowledgeable about current business practices.

The business and computer departments at City Academy are very closely linked to the math department and we have the availability of talented teachers to deliver credits in business that are closely linked to business courses taught at the university level. We also consider Computer Studies an essential part of a pre-business program.

In addition to regular course offerings in this area, we have enriched our program with IDC (interdisciplinary) courses in Film Studies, History of Art and Financial Securities.

We are fortunate to have on staff teachers with unique skills in art, film, photography, and music and computers. The school’s belief is that art is a reflection of our society and therefore all students should be exposed to new art experiences. Our facilities are small, but offer the same opportunities as much larger schools. We have an art room, a dark room and computers for specialized editing, both music and film.

The success of these art programs is reflected in the fact that every year we place students into the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) and the film studies programs at Concordia University, University of British Columbia and York University. Because of our unique Music and Computers course there is a growing student interest in post-secondary courses focused on the music industry. With the assistance of our talented, creative and inspiring teachers, many of our students have discovered a talent in art that they had not previously realized they possessed. And, although art may not be a career choice, they recognize that by taking art courses they will be more knowledgeable future consumers of art.

Our Language/Classical Studies department is small, but talented. We have teachers who can teach French, Spanish, Italian and German. In the past we have offered courses in Japanese and Mandarin and we were proud that, one of our students, because of the instruction she received at City Academy, entered the University of British Columbia in the faculty of Asian Studies.

Also, one of the most popular history courses in our school is Classical Civilizations.