Admission

How To Apply

Admissions Process & Key Entry Years

Thank you for including The Country Day School in your independent school search! When considering applying, please know that we accept a larger number of students for JK, Grade 4, 7 and 9 every year with JK representing two full classes and Grades 4, 7 and 9 enrolling one additional class. That being said, we encourage prospective families with students in all grades to contact us as we regularly have availability across other grades due to annual attrition.
 
Reach out to  a member of our CDS Admissions Team today by calling (905) 833-1972 or emailing us at admissions@cds.on.ca to learn more. 

Admissions Timeline

Our online application for September 2025 is now open! We recommend applying for admission to all grades at your earliest opportunity and encourage applicants considering one of our entry years of Grade 4, 7 or 9, to submit a completed application by our early deadline of November 1.

Entry Years Grades 4, 7 & 9
Early Deadline for Grades 4, 7 & 9             November 1, 2024 
Early Decisions/Updates communicated  November 28, 2024
Early Acceptance/Deposit Deadline           December 2, 2024

Junior Kindergarten
Application Deadline                                   December 1, 2024
JK Student Assessments                            January 11 & 12, 2025
Decisions communicated                            January 17, 2025
Acceptance/Deposit Deadline                    January 24, 2025

Regular Deadline (all grades)                  December 1, 2024
Equal consideration for all available spaces
Deadline for financial aid applications and the Eberts Scholarship
 
Decisions/Updates communicated            January 17, 2025
Acceptance/Deposit Deadline                   January 24, 2025
 
Applications received after December 1, 2024, will be considered on a rolling basis after January 24th based on available space.


 

Request an Application

 
 

Application Procedure

To ensure that an applicant will develop and be successful at The Country Day School, our application procedure is multi-faceted, comprehensive and tailored to the age and stage of the applicant. Please note that before the academic and character assessments can be booked, a complete application must be uploaded/submitted to the Office of Admission. Each application is reviewed carefully and, although many students are invited to participate in an assessment, there may be circumstances where this is not the case. Before sharing any personal information, you are invited to consult the School’s Privacy Policy below.

In addition to the written application and document review, we place considerable weight on each student’s potential. Ultimately, we are looking for students who want to be fully engaged in and contribute to everything that our school has to offer.

Admission Process Steps

List of 2 items.

  • 1. Submit Completed Online Application

    • The completed Application Form including the Confidential Teacher Report Form
    • Copies of current school Report Cards and final reports from the previous two years
    • Recent Photograph of the applicant (face clearly visible)
    • Copy of Birth Certificate or Passport
    • Application fee of $150 (non-refundable) paid online, by credit card, upon submission of application. 
    • Psycho-educational report and IEP (if applicable)
    *All CDS students are required to live locally with a parent.
  • 2. Academic & Character Assessment

    The Academic and Character Assessment varies depending on the applicant’s grade level.  More detail describing specific elements of the academic and character assessment will be communicated directly to applicants in a timely manner. While our preference will be to continue our practice of in-person assessment, we are prepared to conduct meaningful remote assessments. Remote assessments may include a supervised academic testing component, as well as a student and or parent personal meeting or interview.
 

Privacy of Personal Information

All personal information collected by The Country Day School from prospective families, current families and alumni is stored in a confidential database. Access to this information is restricted to authorized staff of the School. The School is committed to maintaining the confidentiality, privacy and security of the personal information it collects. If you have any questions regarding this statement or other privacy concerns, please contact the Head of School.

List of 1 items.

  • Privacy of Personal Information: Admissions

    The Country Day School uses the information collected during the admissions process to communicate with prospective families, to identify and evaluate applicants, and to determine the effectiveness of our marketing.

    If the applicant is admitted to the School, the contact information that you provide is used by the School to deliver services, to keep you up to date on the activities of the School, including programmes, services, special events, funding needs, opportunities to volunteer or to make a donation, and to keep you informed through School publications.

    If the applicant is not admitted to the School, the information that you provide is retained until you withdraw from the application process.

    All of your information will be stored in a confidential database and/or in secure files located at the School. Access to this information is restricted to authorized staff. By providing the information, you have consented to the use of the information as described above. The School is committed to maintaining the confidentiality, privacy and security of your personal information. If you have any questions regarding this statement or other privacy concerns, please contact the Head of School.
prospectus, cover

viewbook, cover

English Requirements

The Country Day School does not offer an ESL program. In order for students to be successful at CDS, they must be able to demonstrate fluency in both written and spoken English. CDS is not a boarding school and prospective students ideally will have lived in Canada for one or two years. Applicants whose first language is not English may be required to complete a written test (SSAT/TOEFL) to gauge their proficiency.

Our community is diverse and the logistics of translating our documents into the many first languages of our families is not feasible or desirable for our school. Throughout our Admissions process we emphasize the need that new parents who are learning English have someone who can translate documents for them or that they integrate Google Translate or other helpful Apps to assist them in translating what we send home. We strongly feel this is the best option as their children immerse themselves in the English language as CDS students.

Please note that testing is one part of the process. Standardized test results are not always an accurate reflection of a student’s achievement or potential. However, testing offers a benchmark to compare candidates, and for a discussion with families about their student’s potential for success at CDS.

Land Acknowledgment

The Country Day School wishes to recognize and acknowledge the land on which the school operates. Our nearest Indigenous Nations are now the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Chippewas of Georgina Island. The Dish with One Spoon Wampum covenant is often cited as an example of the shared responsibility for caring for these lands among the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples who would call these their traditional territories. CDS respects the relationship with these lands and recognizes that our connection to this land can be strengthened by our continued relationship with all First Nations, by acknowledging our shared responsibility to respect and care for the land and waters for future generations.

School Information

Junior, Middle and Senior Schools
13415 Dufferin Street, King, Ontario L7B 1K5 

(905) 833-1220 

communications@cds.on.ca
admissions@cds.on.ca

Founded in 1972, The Country Day School is a co-educational private school offering programs in JK-12 and located on 100 acres north of Toronto in King.