How to Earn your OSSD with
Blyth Academy Online

Students in Canada and abroad are able to earn their Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) completely online through Blyth Academy. In order to obtain an OSSD, students are required to earn a total of 30 credits, complete the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT), and complete 40 hours of community service hours.

All of these requirements can be completed through Blyth Academy Online:

now offering more than 160 online courses

Completion of 30 Credits

Blyth Academy Online offers over 160 courses and continues to develop new ones each month. All compulsory course requirements are offered, with the exception of cooperative education. Please see our full list of course offerings.
 

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)

Generally, students write the OSSLT in March/April of their grade 10 year. This is a requirement for graduation. Regardless of the grade a student joins in, students must write the OSSLT. The Ontario Ministry of Education administers the test, however; Blyth Academy Online will arrange for the test to be written in the student’s home country for full-time students. Please note that the test date for the OSSLT is fixed year to year and cannot be changed.

If a student has had two opportunities to take the OSSLT and has failed it at least once, the student is eligible to enrol in the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Course (OSSLC) in order to meet the literacy requirement. Principals have the discretion to allow a student to enrol in the OSSLC before he or she has had a second opportunity to take the OSSLT if the principal determines that it is in the best educational interest of the student.

International Summers & March Break Community Service Programs

Community Service Hours

Students are required to earn 40 hours of community service to earn an OSSD, however; students joining from outside of Ontario can be granted equivalent hours in the equivalency process. Students generally complete 10 hours per academic year; for example, a student joining in grade 11 from outside of Ontario would likely be required to complete only 20 hours instead of 40.

Blyth Academy also offers students the chance to complete their high school community service hours abroad through our International Summers Program and through our March Break Program.

Student Records

For students that have previously attended a school in Ontario, their Ontario Student Record (OSR) will be requested from the previous school, and Blyth Academy Online will become their home school. As the home school, Blyth Academy Online will maintain all of the student’s records and ultimately issue the OSSD.

For students that have not previously attended a school in Ontario, an OSR will be created for them. Blyth Academy Online will examine previous reports cards and transcripts for prior high school years and perform an equivalency process whereby Ontario credits can be granted for courses completed outside of Ontario; these credits will count toward the student’s 30 credit requirement.

Ontario Ministry of Education Resources

What do you need to graduate | Grade 9 Curriculum | Grade 10 Curriculum | Grade 11 Curriculum | Grade 12 Curriculum

APPLY TODAY

Though our physical doors remain temporarily closed, the minds of our students stay open. Summer classes are continuing to meet on their regular daily schedules, in virtual classrooms with face-to-face instruction and peer interaction.  The Blyth Academy model of small class sizes, flexible scheduling and individualized approach have enabled us to remain faithful to our standards. Our commitment to ongoing and meaningful communication between school, teachers, students and families has been critical to this effort.

Although our students have transitioned into summer mode and COVID-19 restrictions have begun to loosen, we are looking ahead to what September will hold for our campuses and families.
We want to be clear - our preference and our priority is to get students back to our campuses, but we must ensure this is done in a safe and effective way. While we await official guidance from Public Health and the Ministry of Education, a "return to school" task force has been hard at work putting concrete operational plans in place for all likely scenarios. This includes a full return to campus with safeguards, a blended model of virtual and in-campus learning and the continuation of fully virtual classrooms. All scenarios will provide robust learning and live, daily instruction and interaction with teachers and peers. 
With ten campuses across Ontario, we realize that each one of our schools is a unique space and community. We will be implementing across-the-board policies on hand washing, facility cleaning and social distancing measures. Each school is also prepared to pivot individually based on the guidance of local health authorities and to best serve students and families. 
Our recent survey showed that over 80 per cent of Blyth Academy families are eager to return to campuses, and we are hard at work to prepare for this day. As September's scenario becomes clearer and more information becomes available, we will continue to communicate. 

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