There’s No Place Like Kells for the Holidays - Catching Up with Grade 12 Grads

At this time of year, many Kells Grade 12 graduates are home for the holidays. On any given day in December, you’ll likely find a former Kells student dropping by the school to catch up with old friends and mentors. You might even find Kells alumni tucked away in a classroom, studying for their university exams. That’s because Kells feels like home to them, a place where they grew in confidence and skill and made lifelong friends. A common thread among the Grade 12 graduates I caught up with is that Kells not only guided them in choosing the right postsecondary path, but also helped them excel in it.

The Kells Grade 12 program is specifically designed to facilitate a smooth transition between high school and university. There are five program streams to choose from: Science and Engineering, Health Science, Computer Science, Commerce, and Social Sciences. Each stream provides a solid foundation for the courses students will be taking at university. Another key aspect of the Grade 12 program is building study skills and independence. This is woven into the instructional approach of our expert teachers. Throughout the year, students develop a clear plan of action that aligns with their needs and goals. They graduate with confidence, ready to take on the challenges of postsecondary life.

But don’t take my word for it – the Kells approach to university preparation has a proven track record. Kells has had a 100% university acceptance rate since the program was founded in 2017. When they dropped by the school, I caught up with our Kells Grade 12 graduates to learn more about the program and how it has supported their goals for the future. 

Emily - Grade 12 Class of 2024

Emily got home from a three-month turtle conservation program in Bali in December and Kells was one of her first stops upon her return. She has always had a keen interest in Biology and the environment, which was nurtured throughout her time in the Health Science stream at Kells. Before applying to universities, Emily knew she wanted to gain some practical experience in her fields of interest. That’s why she opted for a gap year. While at Kells,  she researched IBHQ and volunteer programs; her teachers encouraged her to go for the conservation program in Bali. It was a perfect fit; she gained practical experience in the field of conservation, a newfound interest in Indonesian culture, and a passion for protecting endangered species. 

Now, she is ready to embark on an undergraduate Science program and the application process has begun. Even though she graduated last year, the team at Kells made it clear that she can ask for help or guidance with the application process whenever she needs. Emily was quick to mention that she has already emailed Ms. Bailey a few times to ask for advice and help with a particularly tricky application form. Every Kells student knows that the unparalleled support offered At Kells extends beyond Convocation. Kells teachers are truly invested in the success of their students, while they’re in the program and after they graduate.

Josh - Grade 12 Class of 2024

After graduating from high school, Josh attended CEGEP for a semester, but he found that it was too big of a change for him at the time. That’s when he heard about Kells. He joined the program in January; his teachers made the mid-year transition from CEGEP to Grade 12 seamless for him. Josh says that in the Social Science stream at Kells, he finally got to take classes that he was interested in. He started to genuinely care about learning. 

Josh says that the Kells team was proactive and supportive throughout the university application process. With their guidance, he was able to get his applications in much faster than his friends at other schools. He started getting acceptance letters before some of his friends  even started applying. Now, Josh is at his dream school - Queen’s University - and he loves what he is studying at university. He doesn’t think this would have been possible without the passion for learning, research skills, and independence he gained at Kells.

Samin - Grade 12 Class of 2024

When Samin dropped by Kells Academy to catch up with her Kells family, everyone was thrilled to see her. Samin graduated from Kells Grade 12 in the summer of 2024 and is now pursuing a Computer Engineering degree at Concordia University. She is also laying the groundwork for an AI company, which she is planning to launch with a friend from university.

Samin loved her time at Kells Academy; she felt comfortable speaking her mind here because she felt like she truly knew everyone in her program. She says that at Kells, the university application process was easy because her teachers were true experts and they helped her navigate the process, every step of the way. Even now, she often finds that she uses what she learned at Kells in her university classes. This makes university exams far less daunting because she is already familiar with the types of questions to expect thanks to her time at Kells. 

Rohaan - Grade 12 Class of 2023

Rohaan says that the Kells Grade 12 team did a wonderful job of explaining how university works and making sure that the students understood every step of the application process. The program was also flexible and adaptive to the needs of students. For example, Kells added SAT tests so that students could apply to American universities. Rohaan was accepted into several; UC Berkeley even offered him a full scholarship. While this offer was tempting, his teachers helped him sort through his options. Now, after two years in the Mechanical Engineering program at Concordia, he feels confident that it’s the right fit for him. 

One of Rohaan’s favourite things about his time at Kells is the sheer amount of ways to get involved in school life. He helped plan prom, organized and performed in Kells concerts, and played on the basketball team. Through his extracurricular involvement, he found that making friends at Kells was easy. Many of them, along with the Kells staff who became his mentors, are part of his support system to this day, which made for a very happy reunion when he stopped by Kells. 

Victor and Arsalan - Grade 12 Class of 2022

Victor and Arsalan, now in their third year of Engineering at Concordia, didn’t just come home to Kells to catch up, they came to study for their upcoming exams. The Grade 12 program must be very special if students are willing to brave the cold and venture off-campus to study with their high school teachers three years after graduation. Victor agrees; he says that the Physics courses he took at Kells made him sure that he wanted to go into Mechanical Engineering. He says that if he were to go back and do it all over, he would still choose Kells because it led him to a university program that he loves.

Arsalan came to Kells as an international student from Iran. He wasn’t familiar with the university application process in Canada, but the one-on-one support he received at Kells made the path to university easy for him. Arsalan started out in the Health Science stream, but eventually realized that Engineering was his true passion. The team at Kells made it possible for him to switch streams mid-year, enabling Arsalan to still graduate on time and gain admission to the Civil Engineering program at Concordia. Arsalan says that university is a big change, but the academic research and writing skills he gained at Kells allowed him to adjust quickly.

As 2024 comes to a close, self-reflection and gratitude are in the air. It’s heartwarming to see so many Kells graduates return to express their thanks for the part that Kells has played in their postsecondary journeys so far. There truly is no place like Kells for the holidays!