Pearson College UWC

Pearson was one of the first schools in North America to offer the International Baccalaureate and has developed its own IB courses, such as Marine Science. Students choose between the IB Diploma Programme, taking six subjects plus Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and CAS, and the Climate Action Leadership Diploma, certified under the IB Career-related Programme. Language A courses are offered in English, French, Spanish and Chinese, with a self-taught option for other mother tongues, and the arts include Theatre, Visual Art and a Literature and Performance course. The college reports that more than 60 % of its students since 1974 scored above 35 IB points.

English is the main language of teaching and daily life. In the IB, Language A courses are taught in English, French, Spanish and Chinese for native or very advanced speakers, and a supported self-taught literature course serves students whose strongest language is another one, which can lead to a bilingual diploma. French, Spanish and English are offered as Language B, and beginners can take Spanish, French or Mandarin ab initio. All students take a language placement test on arrival.

Pearson offers only the final two years of secondary schooling as a pre-university programme for students aged about 16 to 19. Canadian students usually join after completing Grade 11, and students from other countries join at a similar stage. Over two years they complete either the IB Diploma Programme or the Climate Action Leadership Diploma (IB Career-related Programme).

Pearson is fully residential. All students live on campus in five cedar houses, normally four to a room with roommates from different countries and a mix of first- and second-year students. Each house has a houseparent apartment and a large day room. Local volunteer host families welcome students for short stays when the campus is closed, such as during holidays or travel gaps.

Pearson shares the UWC mission of making education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. Its values include intercultural understanding, celebration of difference, personal and mutual responsibility, compassion and service, respect for the environment, idealism and action. The college puts consideration for others at the centre of community life and is working to become a place of cultural safety for Indigenous people as part of its reconciliation commitments.

Each student commits for at least a year to activities that combine creativity, action and service, often taking on leadership roles in the second year. Options have included choir, orchestra, guitar and voice, Ukrainian dance, pottery, photography, astronomy and creative writing, as well as kayaking, sailing, scuba diving, paddle sports and wilderness skills. Service activities include first aid, a campus emergency response team, peer support, refugee support, environmental stewardship and work with elderly people in Metchosin. Model United Nations, Global Affairs talks and two experiential learning weeks a year complete the programme.

The campus spreads through old-growth forest along the waterfront of Pedder Bay. Students live in five cedar residences linked by forest paths, each with a houseparent apartment and a large day room. Learning spaces include classrooms, a library building, updated art rooms, a 300-seat theatre and a floating marine science building on the water, next to docks for sailboats, kayaks and other small craft. The college also runs a greenhouse and a Health Centre, and is connected with the nearby Race Rocks ecological reserve for marine studies.

Each student has an adult advisor, usually a teacher, who helps balance academics, activities and residential life, and houseparents live in every residence. The Dean of Students oversees student welfare, and the on-site Health Centre provides nursing, medical, counselling and mental health support, with trained first aid responders on campus. Academic, learning and language support is available. Students share in running the campus through weekly house duties, kitchen service and individual student jobs.