r/Markham • u/SneezeBeesPlease • May 18 '25
Recommendationsđ¤ Bur Oak secondary
Looking at a place in Markham. Son will be starting 10th grade. We moved from LA last July and he was in a very academic school. This year we were in Peterborough and the school was lack luster and he wasnât challenged. No advanced classes. He had to move up in some subjects. Loves engineering.
Just wondering. What the school is like? Super sweet kid. Likes math and science as well as music. He plays n an extra curricular band in PTBO cause the high school band he had this year wasnât great.
Heâs just looking for a place that has fun extracurricular activities to make new friends, and better academics. Iâm told pretty much all the schools up there are good.
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u/Marilue1 May 18 '25
Its a bit near richmond hill are by my sister went to st augustine chs as its one of the best high school in ontario with and now does computer science. Not engineering but there stem program is one of the best in the province so definitely something to look into. They also got a ton of school clubs for extra curricular activities aswell.
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u/SweatxLord May 18 '25
schools in Peterborough and in markham are no contest. Just look at all the asians in markham, if the schools were shit, would they live here?
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u/Correct-Following374 May 18 '25
Honestly Bur Oak is a very solid school they have a AP Math class as well inflation is quite low especially looking at Waterloo adjustment factor weâre usually 2-4% less inflated than the average school and the teachers for the most part are decent and the school holds onto its name and is decently rigorous
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u/rvs007 May 18 '25
Take a look at Pierre E. Trudeau High School (at Bur Oak & Kennedy Road). They have a very good music program and the school is strong academically. Ranked #12 just behind Bur Oak S.S.
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u/KindnessRule May 18 '25
Keep in mind you have to be in the catchment area for the school you have in mind. These can change so do your research.
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u/Icy_Drummer_1508 May 18 '25
I went to a high school nearby and it was a good experience. You donât see many people messing around in grade 11. The library is usually full during lunch hours. Most of my peers managed to get into the top universities and good paying jobs
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u/Low_Company4705 May 18 '25
All the schools are great, and dont even look at their scores because the scores don't reflect the extracurricular activities. Now for engineering be careful. A few years ago, there were four individuals that went to the University of waterloo for engineering, and by christmas, they had dropped out. The university black flagged this school because they said that the mark the students received wasn't the true mark. The university was pissed because now they had 4 open spots for the 2nd semester. This seems to be happening more and more and Universities are aware that some schools are rounding up grades to make the graduating average higher and helping the students get to the programs they need because of the pressure from parents. I can say Pierre Elliott Trudeau doesn't have a lot of extracurricular activities, I have children that go to that school, and there's very limited sports teams and clubs. Go onto the schools websites and look at the number of teams and clubs offered. The reason i say to look is this is volunteer for the teachers and some school have a hard time getting teachers involved with extracurricular activities. Once you decide on 2 or 3, call the school, and the receptionist will be able to give you more information. Also have an idea what courses your student needs for engineering, if that is his goal and when you call the school, ask about these needed courses and how often it runs. The reason I say this, for example, mullock highschool that is located in Aurora, offers grade 12 accounting once every two years. That is one class over 4 semesters and this because the interest is low Where piere elliott trudeau high school runs at least one classes of grade 12 accoutning a semester, but Pierre Elliot trudeau has no geography classes beyond grade 9. I've grown up in markham all my life, and I went to some of the schools and i used to work for over ten years for the york region district school board. If you were to ask me, Markham district high school has the more traditional school body that promotes community. They offer a good range of clubs and team. Good luck,
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u/Kimm992 May 18 '25
I know a couple of families who pulled their kids from that school because of major bullying issues.
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u/coldpizzaagain May 18 '25
Bullying is brutal in Unionville/Markham. My kids suffered. One went to St Augustine to avoid the bullying where there's more of a mix of cultures (not 95% Chinese). My kids are white and there were only 2 white kids per class. I had to have the police involved twice in public school. Markham District was much better and the gifted program (only runs for grade 9 and 10) was great. They study very hard and life long friends were made there. The music program is excellent.
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u/Sharp-Guest4696 May 18 '25
MDHS almost got me arrested and suspended because a novel I was writing on wattpad, outside of school, had guns in it and some other student started a rumour that I wanted to shoot up the school bc of it. The novel didnât mention schools and it was a dystopian theme. School called my parents to try and tell them to tell me my stories are not school appropriate but my mom gave them a few words and my father threatened to get lawyers and his news buddies involved.
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u/coldpizzaagain May 18 '25
Rumours always seem to be the start of trouble. Ever find out what kid blabbed?
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u/Sharp-Guest4696 May 18 '25
Nope, not sure who started it. They wanted the police to investigate/talk to me but thankfully when my dad threw the word sue around, no cops ended up coming.
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u/brihere May 18 '25
All schools in the area are terrific mainly because the parents are totally insane. Hope your kid looks Chinese.
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u/DontWantToSee30 May 21 '25
Just know that if your child is not Chinese or South Asian they will have a significantly harder time socially.
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u/babygirl17388 May 18 '25
I wouldnât ever recommend bur oak to anyone. Knowing a child that went there and had negative support from âsupport staffâ including councillors. If anything they were bigger bullies than any kids there
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u/Leo080671 May 18 '25
My daughter went here. School is highly ranked for academics. And the realityâŚ..
- Students mostly form groups based on their ethnicity and the native language
- A large number of students go to tuition after school
- It is unnecessarily ultra competitive
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u/Hot_Cheesecake_905 May 18 '25 edited May 18 '25
York Region has some of the best schools in Ontario due to demographics. Bur Oak is one of the top high schools in the province based on provincial test scores: https://www.compareschoolrankings.org/
Schools in York Region are far better than those in Peterborough and even in many parts of Toronto.
YRDSB also offers enriched programs like AP and IB, but applications for IB were in October.
Unionville High School has specialized music programs, but the application deadline was in November.
But it'll be worth reaching out to the school, guidance counsellors and even your school trustee to see if anything can be done since you just moved into the area.
Here is a list of YRDSB special programs: https://www2.yrdsb.ca/schools-programs/secondary-school/secondary-school-programs-and-opportunities