The following is a list of the courses required for Grade 9 Students. There are different choices for mathematics, language arts (English) and electives.

Graduation Requirements for Grades 10-12

Some courses that are offered in this course catalogue may be cancelled due to enrolment numbers, teacher availability and other reasons as determined by Richmond Christian School. We thank you for your understanding when this could affect a student’s schedule.

All students at the Secondary Campus of RCS must take 9 year-long courses every year including Career Education. For the purposes of counting courses, Learning Assistance, Study Blocks and Online Course Blocks are included in the definition of courses.

Students at RCS are allowed to take one study block for every four academic courses at the Grade 12 or Advanced Placement® level in that current school year. An academic course is defined as a course under the following departments:

• English Language Arts
• Mathematics
• Modern Languages
• Sciences
• Social Studies

To support the diverse goals of the students at RCS, students are allowed to use one of their nine courses per year to take a DL course, if the school does not offer the course. Students are typically only allowed one DL course block per year of study. Students wishing to take a DL course must follow the procedures set by the student services department which includes a post-dated cheque in the amount set by the school campus administration. As the course will be offered by a different DL school, the responsibility for completion lies with the student and the registered DL school, not RCS.

Advanced Placement (AP)® courses provide students with the opportunity to gain university credits. The AP courses help students to pursue intellectual activities that are challenging, develop higher level thinking skills, and promote independent study, research, and content enrichment.  AP courses are open to students in Grades 11 or 12 only.

Each AP course has an optional exam that students can take in May for a fee. Students who score a 4 or 5 (out of 5) on the exam may be eligible for credit in first year courses depending on the institution. Students must register by October.  We only offer AP Exams to students who are taking the course at our school.

 We offer the following AP Courses:

• Biology
• Calculus AB
• Calculus BC
• English Language and Composition
• English Literature and Composition
• Physics 2
• Psychology

RCS students enrolled in Advanced Placement® classes can expect to have 60 minutes to 90 minutes of homework per class day. For a balanced life, it is recommended that students take no more than two AP® courses. 

Students who plan to take more than two AP courses in a school year must submit an application form that is filled out by both students and parents.

The Accelerated Courses are an opportunity for students to be challenged and show perseverance as they complete two years of curriculum in one year. Students will be expected to critically connect ideas, problem solve, and engage with material in an increasingly mature manner. Assessment for work in Accelerated Courses has a higher expectation for depth and breadth of understanding of the material. RCS students enrolled in accelerated courses can expect to have 60 minutes to 90 minutes of homework per class day.

We offer the following accelerated courses:

• Mathematics 9/10 (Link to Math Page)
• English 10/11 (Link to English Page)

In cases where a student has obtained training in a course with similar learning outcomes BC Ministry of Education or Board Authority Authorized courses, arrangements may be made to challenge a course for credit. Students must demonstrate their proficiencies in curricular competencies and content at an appropriate level set by the Student Services Department, in consultation with department heads. Students may be asked to show their proficiency in variety of ways such as a written examination and skill demonstration. A student may only challenge a course once.

Students can earn external credentials by taking courses, programs or activities that fall outside the normal B.C. school curriculum. The BC Ministry of Education authorizes programs of certain organizations that fulfill their criteria. Richmond Christian School will give transfer standing to students who show appropriate documentation for the completion of programs or courses that the Ministry has approved. For a full list of organizations and programs, click here.