
School Life
Canadian schools offered in Nanaimo are as follows.
• NDSS Nanaimo District Senior Secondary
• Dover Bay
• Wellington
• Cedar
• Barsby
No school rankings + 40 clubs
All offer excellent teachers and courses
20-30 international students graduate each year in Nanaimo
All schools offer
ELL – English Language Learners support – offered as an elective
Technology in all schools
Extracurricular electives: Woodworking, sewing, design, cooking and culinary arts and theatre
Students are placed by goals, and interests and must obtain a >60% average during the school year to pass
Advisors are located inside all the schools, and homestay coordinators work to match to students to the exact right programs that are best for them.
Nanaimo International Schools have the ability to remain hands-on because it is a small business, run by a team that truly cares about the students visiting Nanaimo.
Costs
5 month program either September – January or February – June
10 month program September – January
AVAILABLE ON REQUEST
Contact our LivEnglish team for exact prices
Extra costs
Student tours
• Rockies, 3 day trip to the Rocky Mountains
• Vancouver, day trips are offered throughout the year
• Victoria, day trips offered throughout the year
• Tofino camping, 3 day camping on the West Coast of the Island
• Hiking, walking, kayaking, fishing etc…
About Nanaimo
200 Years ago, Nanaimo began with single story buildings in the older part of the city.
A population of 118,000 people live here today.
Outdoor activities that bring people here are;
- surfing
- kayaking
- skiing
- snowboarding
- mountain biking
- stand-up paddle boarding
There is an abundance of Wildlife. Vancouver Island is a temperate rainforest.
Things to do & see
Ladysmith – light up ceremony 30,000 attend parade, dinner for students and Santa turns on the lights Xmas ISE trip
Sports – Hockey; grass, ice, street and gym. This is a large part of Canadian heritage and history
Port Theatre – Nanaimo offers culture through events, shows and theatre
Climbing – Romper room
BMX Park
Parks
- Neck Point
- Westwood Lake
- Colliery Dam
- Pipers Lagoon
Follow the link to parks, and trails in Nanaimo
NDSS Nanaimo District Secondary School

Oldest school in Nanaimo, and the biggest with 1600+ students
Dual track, regular English, French Immersion and Francophone programs are available
Special sport applications – positions are filled using the LOTTO system
West Coast Wilderness Studies
Dover Bay Secondary School

1400+ students
Academic courses WWS
Fine arts – positions filled by LOTTO system
Musical theatre AP- Biology
Culinary arts program
Wellington Secondary School – The Beautiful School

1000+ students
Jazz music program – Diana Krall video applications
West Coast Wilderness Studies
Science Super Labs
John Barsby Secondary School

650+ students
Ladysmith Secondary School

700+ students
Cedar Secondary School

250+ students, rural, without buses
There are also 28 elementary schools as well who do IES, but they do not offer homestay with these programs. This is more for families who want to host other family members from out of country.
Student Testimonies
For personal accounts of what Canadian exchange programs are like, follow the link to two personal interviews with two recent students!
Meet Cagla (Chala) from Turkey and hear how much she loved learning English in Canada. She plans to return next year to graduate from Grade 12. Learn English in Canada
Next meet Clara, a German student who did a short 5-month program. She very much enjoyed the wildlife and hanging out with her friends! German Student living in Canada