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

¹ Taken in their Grade 9 year.

² Credit for Literary Studies 11 is shown in the Grade 11 and 12 table below.

³ Taken in Grade 10 as part of English 11 Accelerated

In addition to the 64 credits being earned from Grade 10-12, students are also required to earn at least another 16 credits (4 full-year courses) in the Grade 10-12 level. These credits must be earned in one of the following ways:

• by taking BC Ministry of Education developed courses
• by taking Board Authority Authorized (BAA) courses
• Through a challenge process
• Through an equivalency process
• Through the external credential process

Provincial Assessments

Students must also take three provincially mandated assessments to graduate from RCS:

• Numeracy 10 Assessment
• Literacy 10 Assessment
• Literacy 12 Assessment

Additional Requirements

• Students must ensure that at least 16 (4 year-long courses) of the 80 credits needed for graduation are at the Grade 12 level.

Students must also take three provincially mandated assessments to graduate from RCS:

• Numeracy 10 Assessment
• Literacy 10 Assessment
• Literacy 12 Assessment

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.

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.

Currently we are offering the following Accelerated Courses for the coming school year with their respective prerequisites:

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. Each AP course has an optional exam that students can take in May. Students who score a 4 or 5 (out of 5) on the exam are eligible for credit in first year courses in most universities. Registration for these exams takes place in February with a strict deadline. The fee is $125 per exam.

AP courses are open to students in Grades 11 or 12 only.

Students who enrol in AP courses online are required to take their AP exams with that course provider.

Students who enrol in AP courses offered by unaccredited academies will not be able to take the AP Exam at RCS.

Grade 11 Students and Advanced Placement® Courses
Students may have an opportunity to enter an Accelerated or Advanced Placement® class if they do not meet the prerequisites listed. A student and their parents may request a conference with an Advanced Program coordinator, teacher and the RCS Secondary Principal. If a student is granted permission, then an Academic Probation Contract will be created. The Academic Probation Contract will create specific benchmarks that a student must achieve to remain in the Advanced Program course past the month of September.

Prerequisites Appeal
***All prerequisite courses must be completed within the Richmond Christian School system. Taking prerequisite courses through distributed learning (online) or through summer school will prevent the student from being eligible for AP® courses at RCS.

Any Grade Eleven student desiring to be in the Advanced Placement® Program must fill out a form that explains why they are ready to take a university level course in Grade 11. The students will then be placed on academic probation.

Homework Load in Accelerated and Advanced Placement® Courses

RCS students enrolled in Accelerated or 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® classes.

All students at the Secondary Campus of RCS must take a minimum of 8 year-long courses every year. 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 eight 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.

Please complete this form if you are planning to take a DL Course: DL Agreement Form.

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. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/support/graduation/getting-credit-to-graduate/external-credentials/organizations-offering-approved-external-credentials

Students will be granted credit, through equivalency, for courses taken in other Canadian provinces and territories.

Students who are provincial-level athletes, certified coaches and/or certified officials may qualify for graduation elective credits only. Students must provide documentation on official letterhead from the Provincial Sport Organization or the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture that details the student’s name, sport program, category and level of credit.

 For athletes, please note that high school, community and club sport programs are not eligible for external credit because they do not meet organizational eligibility standards and minimum high-performance sport criteria.

For more information on the External Sport Credentials Policy, please visit https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/support/graduation/getting-credit-to-graduate/external-credentials/external-sport-credentials-program

For more information, see External Sport Credentials Policy.