Upper Canada College

Focus

Transformational learning experiences

Day fees 2025/26

$31,300-$33,900

Boarding fees 2025/26

$56,600-$58,000

Term dates

• Term 1: 3 September to 18 December 2025
• Term 2: 6 January to 6 March 2026
• Term 3: 23 March to 12 June 2026

Ages

4-18

Pupil count

1,280

Spear’s Review

There must be something in the water at Upper Canada College (UCC), given that so many Olympic athletes have been educated there since it was established in 1829. 

The school’s focus on ‘transformational learning experiences’ encourages boys in sporting excellence, rigorous academic debate and critical thinking. And at its 450-acre ‘second campus’, called the Norval Outdoor School, they attend overnight and day trips, working in groups to develop their outdoor skills and interpersonal relationships. By year 9, each student will have spent 11 weeks total ‘wilderness learning’.

Academically, UCC is one of the few schools in Canada offering the International Baccalaureate primary years, middle years and diploma programmes.

Academics

In 2025, 19 per cent of students achieved an IB point total of 40 or above.

Head teacher

Sam McKinney is the 19th principal of UCC. Prior to his arrival in 2016, McKinney was deputy headmaster and head of senior school at St Peter’s College in Adelaide, Australia. He received a BA from Carleton University in Ottawa, a graduate diploma in education from the University of Adelaide and a master’s from Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. More recently, he studied at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education Principals’ Centre.

University and college destinations

In recent years, UCC students have matriculated at the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and Ivy League universities in the US. In 2025, graduates recorded more than 990 offers of admission to 135 universities.

Admissions

The admissions process differs slightly according to the prospective students year group but typically consists of an application, submission of school reports and references, an interview and a visit to the school.

Notable alumni

• Mark and Mike Evans (Olympic rowers)
• John Black Aird (politician)
  
• David Ross Beatty (economist)
  

Accessibility

Toronto Pearson International Airport: 30 minutes

Location

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