BC Graduation Program Policy Guide

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
• English 10/11

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:

• Calculus AB
• Calculus BC
• English Language and Composition
• 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.

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 Richmond Christian School 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.

At Richmond Christian School, we believe that education is best carried out in “community”. There is no other way to build community than by being in community. From classroom learning to chapels, field-trips to school-wide activities, class projects to special events, education is about much more than simply gaining required credits.  We desire for our students to be able to access a variety of courses and programs in order to holistically develop as students, citizens and Christ-followers. 

RCS strives to be fiscally responsible to ensure that we can continue to offer diverse, high-quality education to all students.  RCS receives funding based on student course load and builds staffing models and budgets in advance.  As an independent school, we receive less funding than the public school system which is larger and more able to accommodate reduced course load and alternative programming.  Having students who are not participating at RCS full time, significantly reduces our ability to offer diverse and engaging programming.  As such, we ask our families to support the interests of the school and all students when considering student course load, and to access support from our Academic Counselor or Administration in advance when considering their graduation plan. 

All students at the Secondary Campus of RCS must take the equivalent of 9 full year courses.  As part of their 9 choices, they must take a Biblical Studies course and a Career Education course.  Students on an IEP may apply for an Access – Restricted Learning Assistance) block as one of their nine blocks and students in Grade 11 or 12 may apply for one Access Block each year as one of their nine blocks. This could be an Access – Online or an Access – Restricted/Unrestricted.  Students in Grade 11 may apply for an Access- Restricted (study) block and Students in Grade 12 may apply for an Access-Unrestricted (study) block if they are taking four academic courses.

Students who want to reduce their course load beyond one or two courses may apply for a reduced course load; however, there is a fee associated with this to offset the loss of the government grant.  A student may not enroll in RCS if they are taking less than the equivalent of three RCS courses plus Bible and Career Life.  Please contact the Vice-Principal for more information on how to apply for a reduced workload.

The BC Curriculum allows for a diverse range of courses for students to meet Graduation requirements.  While Richmond Christian School (RCS) has courses in a variety of disciplines, RCS also recognizes that some students are looking to take specialized courses for specific post-Secondary pursuits.  As part of RCS’ Portrait of a Graduate, RCS allows Grade 11 & 12 students to take an online course block to complete a course of personal interest that RCS does not offer.  Students who are interested in an online course must read and sign an agreement along with their parents/guardians and return to their Access teacher by the end of the second week in September.  As the course will be offered by a distributed different Online school, the responsibility for completion lies with the student and the registered distributed Online school, not RCS.  There will be no academic support for online courses by RCS staff. 

Online Learning Course Agreement