This guide pulls together what international students and their families need to know before applying to the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB), a public school board in Eastern Ontario, Canada. Everything below is taken from the board’s official websites (ucdsb.on.ca and its international program site) as accessed on August 5, 2026. The board’s own pages describe its programs and policies; they are not a basis for rankings or comparisons with other boards, and visa and legal eligibility are set by the Government of Canada.
About the Upper Canada District School Board
The Upper Canada District School Board is a public education organization serving Eastern Ontario, in the corridor between Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto. The board administers 85 elementary, middle and high schools — 21 of them high schools — for about 25,000 students across a 12,000-square-kilometre region of small towns and rural communities. Its international program office is based in Brockville, about an hour’s drive from both Montreal and Ottawa, and the region is connected to the VIA rail line with daily service to the major cities. The international education program is run by the Upper Canada Leger Centre for Education and Training (UCLCET), a non-profit corporation, and the board says it welcomes over 400 international students each year. Because it is a public school board rather than a university or private academy, students enrol at a local member school as full-time students in the Ontario system, and international students have access to the same services as local students.
Programs: Academic Year, OSSD Diploma and Short-Term Options
The Upper Canada District School Board offers international students three main program types. The Academic Year Program (AYP) lets students enrol full-time at one of the board’s elementary, middle or high schools from Kindergarten through Grade 12, for students aged 4 to 21. The minimum stay is one semester — September to January or February to June — and students can stay longer, potentially graduating with the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). The Diploma Program is for students aiming at the OSSD itself: on application, students declare whether they intend to continue to college or university, and the board plans an academic pathway around that destination. University preparation courses emphasize theory and academic content; college preparation courses emphasize applied skills, and a college-pathway student can still reach university later, for example by completing a two-year college diploma and then transferring credits into a degree. Graduation requires 30 credits (18 compulsory and 12 optional), a Grade 12 English credit (ENG4C or ENG4U), the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test, and 40 hours of community involvement (10 hours per year of enrolment). Credits from earlier secondary schooling can be assessed for equivalency, up to 8 credits per year of study. The Short Term Integration program is a cultural and educational option for individuals or groups (minimum 8 students plus one chaperone), with customizable ESL training, dormitory accommodation for groups, and optional trips to Toronto, Niagara Falls, Ottawa and Montreal.
English Support and Course Placement
English proficiency drives placement at the Upper Canada District School Board. Ontario recognizes five province-wide ESL levels — ESLAO (beginner) through ESLEO (advanced) — and the board’s international hub schools provide three-tiered ESL support: a dedicated English language learner instructor and classroom, a credit-bearing ESL course, and after-school classes for homework help and test preparation. Before arrival, an ESL specialist assesses each applicant’s proficiency using test results, interviews, transcripts and teacher recommendations, and the board adjusts the study plan within the first semester if the assessment turns out to differ on arrival. Course placement depends on the student’s ESL level, stated preferences, graduation requirements and timetable fit; international students typically take 3 or 4 courses per semester, and the board notes that students are not advised to take an academic English course in their very first semester. The number of years needed to complete the diploma varies by entry grade and ESL level — the board’s reference tables show, for example, that a university-pathway student entering Grade 9 with an AO level should plan on about 5 years, while a student entering Grade 12 at the advanced EO level may need about 1 year — and most students take longer than the minimum.
Entry Requirements and How to Apply
Applications to the Upper Canada District School Board are submitted through the online application system on the program’s official site. A non-refundable application deposit of CAD 250 must be paid with the application (it is deducted from the tuition balance), and the board aims to make an admission decision within about 48 hours of receiving a complete application, issuing a Letter of Admission immediately on acceptance. Documents required before the admission decision include transcripts or report cards for the last two years translated into English, a Student Self-Introduction Form, and a Teacher Recommendation Form. Students applying for homestay must also submit a Parental Consent to Custodianship signed by a parent or guardian and notarized, plus introductions from the student and parents. At least six weeks before arrival, students should provide the International Student Participation Agreement, a passport photo page and immunization records. Students not using the homestay program must assign a custodian — a Canadian citizen or permanent resident over 25 who lives full-time in Eastern Ontario. All documents must be submitted as PDF or JPEG files under 5MB each. For a home-school placement, students list preferred schools and the board matches them to the school that best fits their needs, subject to availability; for the first semester of 2026-27 some communities have adjusted homestay arrangements, while all schools are open to new applications for the second semester.
Costs, Payment and Refunds
The Upper Canada District School Board does not publish a single unified tuition price list on its official pages. The only fixed figure published is the CAD 250 application deposit; tuition is invoiced per student and paid through the Flywire payment platform, which accepts local currencies, online payment methods and bank transfers, with payment tracking available. Homestay fees are set by the homestay provider and paid on a monthly basis to host families, and spending money is the responsibility of the student and parents. The published refund policy works as follows: a full tuition refund (less the non-refundable application deposit) is given if Immigration Canada refuses the study permit, on presentation of the refusal letter and the original Letter of Admission; two-thirds of tuition is refunded for withdrawal before the program start date; half is refunded for withdrawal within 30 calendar days after the start; and no refund is given after 30 days or for dismissal for breach of law, policy or regulation. Homestay fees follow a separate cancellation schedule, with a full refund (less non-refundable service and custodianship registration fees) if the student is refused a visa, and full refunds for cancellations 30 days or more before arrival. As with any fee schedule, amounts are subject to change, so families should confirm against the latest official pages before budgeting.
Support Services: Homestay, Orientation, Insurance and Academics
The Upper Canada District School Board arranges support services around the student experience. Homestay places students with carefully selected and pre-screened Canadian families through the board’s partnership with one of the country’s largest homestay providers; hosts are inspected before approval, students get a private bedroom and regular meals, coordinators are available around the clock, and students who are not comfortable in a home can be re-matched. New first-semester students should arrive at least 5 days before the school year starts to attend the program orientation, which covers Canadian culture, homestay life and preparation for arrival; second-semester students attend orientation at their home school within the first two weeks, and every school runs its own welcome orientation introducing buildings, teachers and extracurricular life. International students are covered by the StudyInsured insurance program arranged through the official site. Academically, private tutors can be arranged on a per-hour basis with fees set directly between the tutor and the student, and each student meets with a guidance counsellor to confirm courses and post-secondary goals. Extracurricular activities, community events and organized trips round out the integration package. All information above reflects the Upper Canada District School Board’s official pages as of August 5, 2026, and pages are updated frequently, so verify details against the latest official versions. To judge whether UCDSB’s programs, entry requirements and budget fit your family’s situation, talk to our consultants here with your child’s age, English level and study goals.