Applications Open for Four Specialized HDSB High School Programs

Families deciding where a high schooler should land next year have four specialized options open to them right now, and a firm date to decide by. The Halton District School Board is accepting applications for Advanced Placement, the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, I-STEM and the new Academy for Athletic Performance and Excellence, and online applications close at 11:59 pm on November 30. All four are open to students across Ontario, not just Halton.

Advanced Placement is the university preparation route, with first year university content built into Grade 11 and 12 courses and an AP-Prep stream for students entering Grade 9 and 10. The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme runs across Grades 11 and 12, and every HDSB IB school offers a free IBDP Prep program in Grades 9 and 10 to get students ready for the workload.

I-STEM is the four year, hands-on option, built around engineering design, design thinking and entrepreneurial skills. APEX is the newest of the four and the one with an Oakville address: it opens in September 2027 at the board's new secondary school at 4020 Sixth Line, aimed at athletes already competing at provincial or national level, with sport science and performance data worked into the course load. The campus is being built with three gymnasiums, a fitness and weight room, a practice field and a domed turf field.

Each program applies through its own page on the board's secondary programs section. Four weeks is not long to tour a school and talk it through at home, so the calendar is the thing to sort out first.