Braemar College is a private secondary school located in downtown Toronto, near the University of Toronto. Its programs are designed to ensure students realize their academic, personal, and social potential. The college provides support to each student to assist in admission to universities and colleges across North America, and indeed, across the ocean: Braemar graduates have gone on to study in the United States of America, United Kingdom, and other countries. Braemar College was founded in 1995 to assist students acquire, improve, and perfect their academic skills in preparation for post-secondary studies. Both for local and international students, the college offers a context in which understanding, and becoming genuinely familiar with other cultures, histories, and languages, is the norm. This is of crucial importance at the dawn of the 21st century, as economies globalize, and future opportunities increasingly arise in diverse places. Why Braemar College • Student focus: From the founding of Braemar College in 1995, the first order of business has always been the needs of students. Its teachers, staff and guidance team work hard to ensure a smooth transition to life in Canada. Academic progress is closely monitored, with official reports registered every five weeks. And four times every academic year the guidance team conducts a thorough review of every dimension of the student experience. Braemar's Students First program expresses its commitment to the well-being of every student. • Flexibility: Braemar's unique term system provides students with advantages they will find nowhere else. Braemar College has five intake periods per year. This means students can begin or graduate, five times each year. It also means that students requiring less than eight credits can finish sooner than students in other schools, which often offer only two semesters. • Accelerated learning: Regular Braemar students take two courses each term; Express Option students take three. This allows advanced and motivated students to complete their university entrance requirements 50% faster. Here is an example: a student who has completed the equivalent of three years of high school, and places at the grade 12 level in math and English, can complete the final year of high school in as little as five months. • English preparation: Students whose first language is not English will likely have to satisfy the English proficiency requirements of Canadian colleges and universities. For some, this can be a challenge. But Braemar students have an advantage. Drawing on decades of experience and detailed testing, the team at Braemar College has developed a comprehensive in-house skills assessment matrix that tracks the progress of every student toward the level of English competence required for the college or university program of their choice. • Philosophy of education: Braemar's philosophy of education is based on the principles of personal autonomy, responsibility, and excellence. These are ideals with timeless appeal. Some of the features that have grown out of this philosophy of education are reflected in the following ways: an environment that places emphasis on autonomy; small, well-managed classes with limited enrollment; teachers who teach by guiding, not lecturing, students; a rigorous emphasis upon practical academic skills; knowing the measure of success is attaining one’s best; and a school setting where personal responsibility is key.