1 . No , none . The exact definition of what Secondary constitutes varies between school districts , but it is always required . You have to go , at least for a few years . Testing without the potential of failing is pointless . 3 . It varies considerably from school to school . Mine personally divided the day into 6 blocks An optional early morning , 2 blocks , lunch , 2 blocks , home . A block is a single class . There were some specialty classes took the optional morning block AND the first block . Not every block needed to be filled Taking a class in that early morning block meant you may have a 2 hour lunch or go home early . 4 . There are a set of mandatory classes Math , Science , English , and Social studies Combination of history , geography , and law are usually required . Beyond that , my school allowed you to register for any courses with no restriction . Again , this varies region to region and even school to school . 5 . Same courses as anywhere else in the world . Availability varies school to school , but if you can imagine it fitting in a secondary school , at least one school has it . It ' s not like Canada has special courses nobody else does , or lacks something you have . From ancient lit to automotive to carpentry to IT , it ' s all there . 6 . The quality of the teachers not only varies region to region and school to school , but also teacher to teacher . This is kind of a meaningless question What are your teachers like ? My bet is that they aren ' t all the same . As for social skills No , absolutely not . You ' re a young adult , not a small child . They ' re there to teach their subject and it ' s up to you to act responsibly or not . 7 . $ 0 . It ' s free . Our tax dollars at work . Also , as mentioned before , you ' re required to go Can ' t exactly charge for it . Individual courses might have small fees for specialized textbooks or materials , but even these are small and can be waived . 8 . Varies considerably . Are you a citizen or permanent resident ? If so , it ' s cheaper . Are you a resident of the province in which the school is situated ? If so , it ' s usually cheaper . Are you on residence ? Are you being subsidized for low income ? What faculty are you in ? A good suggestion is perhaps $ 3000 per semester with a full course load .