Appleby College

Appleby's curriculum leads to the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) and the Appleby College Diploma, with optional diplomas of distinction in Business, Creative Arts, STEM and Global Leadership. The school offers around 20 College Board Advanced Placement courses, prepared through Pre-AP work in the junior years, and since 2016-17 it has been authorised to deliver the AP Capstone Diploma, which combines AP Seminar and AP Research with at least four AP exams. A global experience is a core requirement of the Appleby Diploma, and as a Round Square school it offers international conferences and exchanges.

English is the language of instruction, and Honours English is required in every grade. French is compulsory up to Grade 9, and in Grades 9 and 10 students must also study an additional world language chosen from Arabic, Spanish, Mandarin and German, continuing one of their languages for a second year to meet the Appleby Diploma requirement. Advanced students can take AP French or AP Mandarin. With boarders from about 40 nationalities, the school also celebrates international events such as Diwali, Lunar New Year and Eid.

Appleby covers Grades 7 to 12 in three divisions. The Middle School (Middle One and Middle Two, Grades 7 and 8) builds core skills in a supportive setting. The Upper School (Upper One and Upper Two, Grades 9 and 10) broadens the programme with required French and a second world language, the Northward Bound leadership courses and the first AP options. The Senior School (Senior One and Senior Two, Grades 11 and 12) focuses on AP and university preparation, with all Grade 12 students boarding.

Boarding is available from Grade 9 to Grade 12, and all students live in boarding in Grade 12 to prepare for university life. About 270 boarders from more than 40 nationalities live in four houses, Baillie, Colley, Powell's and Walker, which compete each year for the Inter-House Cup. Boarders have room and board seven days a week during term, a weekend activity programme, life-skills sessions and 24-hour care from the Health Centre. For 2026-27, tuition plus boarding ranges from CAD 78,240 to CAD 96,010 per year depending on student type.

Appleby's mission is to educate students to become leaders of character who make a real contribution to their local, national and international communities. Its shared values are respect, responsibility, integrity and compassion, and its approach is framed by eight pillars: discovering oneself, thinking creatively, embracing wellbeing, engaging globally, practising leadership, growing through experience, pursuing scholarship and building community. The school aims to combine academic rigour with hands-on, experiential learning.

Appleby fields more than 65 competitive and instructional teams, with 22 varsity teams competing in the CISAA league. Seasonal options include hockey, swimming, soccer and futsal, field hockey, rugby, basketball, volleyball, tennis, squash, badminton, golf, softball, cross-country, track and field, table tennis, ultimate frisbee and rock climbing, as well as yoga and fitness training. Through a co-curricular passport, every student also takes part in arts and service each term. Around 68 clubs cover choir, orchestra, a house band, dance, drama, drawing, film and photography, robotics, coding and AI, debating, Model United Nations, DECA, chess, cooking and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.

The lakeside campus includes the Nicholas Arts Centre with art studios and a music wing, the Willis Hall recital theatre, a Design Lab for digital fabrication and electronics, numerous science laboratories and the Samuel Academic Resource Centre library. The 80,000 sq ft A.W.B. Alumni Centre for Athletics and Student Life houses three gyms, a fitness centre, four squash courts and a climbing wall, alongside a heated 20-metre indoor pool and a regulation hockey arena. Outdoors there are a turf field overlooking the lake, four grass fields, a 270-metre track, five tennis courts, basketball and beach volleyball courts, plus the John Bell Chapel, a Health Centre and four boarding houses.

Tuition includes a daily hot lunch in the Schlesinger Dining Hall, care from the on-site Health Centre and athletic therapy for sports injuries, a school laptop and required academic and global trips. A team of guidance and university counsellors supports students, with a student-to-advisor ratio of about 8 to 1. A school bus service is available at extra cost, students wear a uniform, and financial assistance and scholarships are offered. Parents can join the Appleby College Parents' Association. In summer the school runs day camps, ESL and enrichment programmes and Camp Kandalore.