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Surrey school district getting second International Baccalaureate diploma program

New program to start at Johnston Heights in September
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Johnston Heights Secondary in Surrey. (Image: Google Street View)

The Surrey school district’s second International Baccalaureate diploma program will be starting at Johnston Heights in September.

According to the district, this second program is “nearly three years in the making, following significant interest in expanding the district’s IB program and offering more program options in Surrey.”

Currently, the IB program is only offered at Semiahmoo Secondary.

“The teachers and team at the school have worked really hard over the years to bring a second IB site to the district – they’ve done a remarkable job,” said Shauna Ross, Director of Instruction Continuous Learning.

“We’ve had to meet a lot of criteria and standards to offer the IB program, including specialized training, and it’s quite fantastic we’ve been able to do that in the midst of a pandemic.”

The district said Johnston Heights already offers the middle years program for IB students in grades 8 through 10.

Ross added there were “numerous other considerations” to have the diploma program at Johnston Heights, including “regional access for students of varied socioeconomic backgrounds, as it could be difficult for students outside of South Surrey to get to Semiahmoo Secondary.”

The new program will start in September, with a cohort of about 60 Grade 11 students and expanding to Grade 12 in the 2021-22 school year.

Ross said the district will assess the number of registrations this year and determine if the number of spaces will be increased in future school years.

Applications for the Johnston Heights IB program will open on Friday, Feb. 5 at 8 a.m., coinciding with Semiahmoo Secondary’s IB applications. A virtual parent information night for Johnston Heights is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 6 p.m.

For more on the information night, registration and the admission policy, visit the Johnston Heights International Baccalaureate page.

READ ALSO: Surrey students’ online tutoring, mentorship program expands to Ontario, Oct. 10, 2020



lauren.collins@surreynowleader.com

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Lauren Collins

About the Author: Lauren Collins

I'm a provincial reporter for Black Press Media's national team, after my journalism career took me across B.C. since I was 19 years old.
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