Starting high school is an exciting time – you’ll have many new opportunities and new challenges. And beginning in 1999, new standards for education will be introduced in high schools across Ontario. There will be another big change as well: like students in other provinces, students in Ontario will complete high school in four years instead of five.

The new high school program will be introduced in Grade 9 in September 1999 and will be phased in over the following three years in the higher grades. This guide will help you and your parents* prepare for the new four-year program and the new curriculum. It provides an overview of how courses in each grade will build towards the next, preparing you for your postsecondary goal, whether it be college, university, apprenticeship, or the workplace.

The new program recognizes that students enter high school with different strengths, interests, and goals. Now, you’ll be able to select courses that suit your needs and that take you gradually towards your goal through an increasingly specialized four-year program.

In addition to the challenging new curriculum, Ontario’s new standards for high school will now provide greater opportunities for cooperative education, work experience, and apprenticeship training. There will also be a new requirement for community involvement to help you explore and expand your interests, and to prepare you for responsible citizenship.

Ontario’s new standards for high school have been developed in consultation with teachers, parents, employers, and representatives from colleges and universities to ensure that your education is relevant to today’s changing world.

Throughout high school, you will be working with your parents and a teacher to help you make your course selections and to develop an annual education plan. Preparing the plan will help you develop your interests and identify future educational and career opportunities. It will ensure that you are taking the courses you need to progress smoothly through high school and towards your goal.

The new standards for high school are designed to ensure that you receive an excellent education. An Ontario education will be your passport to jobs, hope, opportunity, and growth in the twenty-first century.

* Throughout this guide, the word parents is used to stand for "parent(s) and guardian(s)"