The Sudbury Catholic District School Board（萨特博里天主教育局，SCDSB）is the public Catholic school board serving Greater Sudbury, Ontario, and it runs an international education program for elementary and secondary students. This guide covers the program options, entry requirements, published and unpublished costs, and the application support you can expect, using only the board’s own website and official PDF documents, checked on August 6, 2026. Where a fact is not published, this guide says so plainly instead of guessing.
Programs and School Calendar
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board offers international students two main study shapes. A full year of study covers two semesters with a maximum of eight courses; a half year covers one semester with a maximum of four courses. The school calendar published by the board for 2026-27 shows the school year starting on September 8, 2026, the second semester beginning February 2, 2027, and the last day of the school year on June 30, 2027. The board’s international program website lists four secondary schools for international students: St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School, Bishop Alexander Carter Secondary School, St. Charles College, and Marymount Academy, alongside an elementary school system. The board describes Sudbury as a northern Ontario city set among more than 330 freshwater lakes with around 200 km of trails, and points to local post-secondary options including Laurentian University, Cambrian College, and College Boréal — descriptions from the board itself, not independent comparisons.
Entry Requirements and the Online Application
Applications to the Sudbury Catholic District School Board are accepted only through the secure online application system; mailed, emailed, or faxed applications are no longer processed, and incomplete or unpaid applications will not be processed. The application fee is 250 CAD and is non-refundable. Required documents are: a signed international student agreement; transcripts or report cards for the last two years, translated into English; a letter of recommendation completed by a teacher, counselor, or principal, translated into English and carrying an official school seal or stamp; a picture of the student; and the passport photo page, or a birth certificate if there is no passport yet. Files must be PDF or JPEG, under 5 MB each. The academic bar is a minimum B average, approximately 70%, over the past two years. A partial application that is not completed within ten days is automatically deleted, and the board recommends sending a letter of intent and immunization records even though they are not required at submission.
Application Support and the Online System
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board directs applicants to its secure online application portal, linked from the Apply page of the international program website; the portal itself is run through the MyTrueNorth platform on the board’s dedicated database. Support around the application includes downloadable templates for the international student agreement and the letter of recommendation, an immunization checklist, custodianship declaration, insurance notes, and homestay instructions on the program’s documents and resources page. Before applying, you should have the complete information of the applicant and at least one parent, including names, birthdates, and addresses. The board’s own pages note that students under 18 in Ontario are subject to a mandatory custodianship requirement. For students who arrange their own accommodation instead of homestay, a custodian must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, at least 25 years old, living full time in the Sudbury area.
Tuition and Fees: What Is Published
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board publishes fee information as PDF rate sheets on its international program website. The fees sheet for the 2026-27 school year lists the application fee at 250 CAD, non-refundable, with a renewal fee of 150 CAD, and states that tuition for both elementary and secondary is 15,500 CAD for a full year (two semesters, maximum eight courses) and 7,750 CAD for a half year (one semester, maximum four courses). Tuition includes health insurance coverage from September 1 to June 30. Costs not included in tuition are the uniform (about 500 CAD) and optional items such as portrait photos, bus passes, recreation activities, and sports team fees. A transcript validation fee of 250 CAD applies with written notice required by June 15. Payments go through Flywire; wire transfers require prior approval and a 25 CAD service fee. The application fee must be paid before the application is processed, and tuition must be paid before a letter of acceptance is issued. The 2025-26 sheet confirms the prior year’s figures of 14,500 CAD full-year and 7,250 CAD half-year tuition, showing year-to-year movement.
Deadlines and Refund Policy
The Sudbury Catholic District School Board sets its application deadlines by intake: applications for September entry must be received by May 31 of the same year, and applications for February entry must be received by November 15 of the prior year. Applications received after May 31 may be subject to adjusted tuition. The board’s refund policy (revised September 2024) states that the application fee is not refundable under any circumstances. First-year students who are refused a study permit can receive a full tuition refund minus the application fee and a 500 CAD administration fee upon satisfactory evidence of the refusal. Withdrawals before the start of school return 70 percent of tuition minus the application fee; withdrawals within 30 calendar days after the start return 50 percent; after that no refund is given. Returning students who withdraw before June 15 of the following year receive 50 percent of the annual tuition, and nothing after that date. Students removed for breach of agreement receive no refund.
Homestay and Custodianship
Homestay for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board is offered through a homestay provider referenced in the board’s fee documents. The 2026-27 service rates card describes a homestay package that includes a non-refundable application fee, homestay accommodation, custodianship, student supervision, 24-hour emergency support, round-trip airport transfers, and the first invoice’s bank fee. Ten-month school-year programs and five-month semester programs are available. Extra costs include per-night extensions, homestay change fees, special dietary surcharges, a surcharge for grades 7-8 students, an optional unaccompanied minor service, extension fees, and luggage storage fees; rates are adjustable on 30 days’ notice. Custodianship is mandatory for minors in Ontario, so families not using the board’s homestay must arrange a custodian meeting the requirements above.
What the Board Does Not Publish
Two things the Sudbury Catholic District School Board does not state openly, and this guide will not invent them. First, there is no published minimum English language score for general admission in the application materials; instead, students receive initial language and mathematics assessments on arrival so that courses and ESL support can be tailored to their level. Second, the board does not publish a unified figure for the homestay service fee on the rates card this guide could read; the card describes what the package includes without listing each line-item amount, so a full budget should be checked against the latest rate sheet on the program website.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the tuition for 2026-27? The Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s published sheet lists 15,500 CAD for a full year and 7,750 CAD for a half year, for both elementary and secondary, with health insurance included from September 1 to June 30. Is there a grade requirement? Yes, a minimum B average, approximately 70%, over the last two years, based on translated transcripts. How much is the application fee? 250 CAD, non-refundable, paid through the online system. Do I need a custodian? Students under 18 are subject to Ontario’s mandatory custodianship requirement; homestay includes custodianship, while self-arranged accommodation requires a custodian who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, at least 25, living full time in Sudbury. When should I apply? Applications for September entry must be received by May 31, and for February entry by November 15, with the application fee paid before processing and tuition before the letter of acceptance.
This guide is a factual summary of the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s official pages, verified on August 6, 2026, and is not a recommendation. Fees, deadlines, and policies change between school years, so treat the board’s official website as the current source of truth. If you would like to check your child’s grade level, timeline, and budget against the board’s published requirements, our advisers can walk through your specific situation.