Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School

STS offers the full International Baccalaureate continuum: the Primary Years Programme from Kindergarten to Grade 6, the Middle Years Programme from Grade 7 to Grade 10, ending with the MYP Personal Project, and the Diploma Programme in Grades 11 and 12. IB teaching is combined with the Alberta Programs of Study, so all students earn provincial credits. In Senior School students choose either the full IB Diploma, including Theory of Knowledge and the Extended Essay, or a mix of IB courses and Alberta requirements. The school notes that it is among the few in Canada offering IB DP Music.

STS has three divisions on one campus. Elementary School runs from Kindergarten to Grade 6 and is organised into three learning communities (K-2, Grades 3-4 and Grades 5-6), with a weekly ENCORE activity rotation. Middle School covers Grades 7 to 9 with advisory groups and SPARK enrichment sessions. Senior School covers Grades 10 to 12, leading to the Alberta High School Diploma with the option of the full IB Diploma. The online STAND programme serves high school students separately.

The school motto, Nil Nisi Optimum, means 'nothing but our best'. STS aims to help students lead lives of purpose and to grow emotionally, physically and intellectually. It names responsibility, kindness, respect and service as shared community values and encourages students to make meaningful choices about their learning. Learning across all grades is tied to the outdoors, global citizenship and service, with older students acting as mentors to younger ones on a single campus.

The campus covers more than 200 acres of foothills land with forest, a pond, ravines and around 10 km of trails used for running, skiing, snowshoeing and canoeing. Indoors there are science labs, a library, a sports centre with a weight and conditioning gym and an indoor running track, and a climbing boulder. A donor-funded 65,000 sq ft arts and elementary building opened in 2018 with art and design studios, two music rooms, a band studio, practice rooms, a drama room and an indoor amphitheatre, adding to a 630-seat theatre. Outdoors there is an athletic park with a track and playing fields, playgrounds and outdoor learning spaces.

Families can use an optional daily bus service from the Calgary area, and the on-campus Black Watch Bistro offers breakfast and lunch. Student Services provides wraparound support from Kindergarten to Grade 12 through learning strategists, guidance counsellors, post-secondary counsellors, educational assistants, a school nurse and a psychologist. Uniforms are required. Need-based bursaries and merit scholarships, including entry scholarships for Grade 7 and Grade 10, help families with the cost of tuition.

STS teams compete in more than ten sports, playing in the Calgary Independent Schools Athletic Association and the ASAA South Central Zone. Sports include basketball, volleyball, soccer, rugby, field hockey, cross-country running, track and field, golf, badminton and curling, with an elementary sports club and a cross-country ski club. Arts options include bands, jazz bands, choirs, plays and musicals. Students can also join speech, debate and Model UN teams, robotics, chess, climbing and math clubs, student leadership, Round Square and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.