Banbury Crossroads School

As a parent for 6 years, I can say that this school is ideal for many students who find that the public system does not work for them. The learning is student focused and the students are responsible for their education. The staff not only know every student by name but also their background and situation so no student slips through the cracks. Many of the behaviors that are typical in other schools are not tolerated at Banbury due to their respect for self

We (barely) survived 2 years of CBE, but now my kid thrives here. It is abundantly clear that the kids here are respected as the drivers of their own education. It was very important for us to find somewhere our kid could feel happy and secure, and where his love of learning wouldn’t be extinguished by the wear and tear of traditional education practices. We got want we asked for and so much more! This is the ideal environment for a kid with asynchronous development, and passion for learning that turns to boredom in a typical classroom.I am in awe of this school. We’ll move all of our kids here. I wish every kid could have an education like this.

Banbury taught me how to keep myself on track and push myself to work harder. I attended Banbury from grade 3 to 6 and they helped me stay on track and manage my school work while I was a very serious dancer. I now go to Alberta Ballet School and my teachers there are amazed with my knowledge and how mature I am. Banbury taught me so many things and I believe it is a great school. I go back to visit regularly and everyone is so welcoming.

Banburry is every way it said it is and more. I picked this school for my 5 year old not only because the self directed learning principle, but mostly the warmth, the love and the happiness this school radiates. I personally would love to attend the school if I could.My very shy 5 year old just turned 6 and has opened up significantly from attending the school since last September. She is very articulate, very confident and mostly, very very happy. She looks forward to see her friends at school, in all age groups, including her teacher, every morning. She is eager to share her experiences at school and at home.Through her I truly see that it is possible to have a learning environment that allows children to thrive through play, activities and self realization with teachers assistance and encouragement. I would recommend Banburry to any parent who is considering an alternative to the old education system and is wanting to see more natural self development from their children.

I attended Banbury from grades 8-12 between the years of 1996-2000. The independent learning environment allowed me to explore my academic interests while ensuring that I recieved a well grounded and comprehensive high school education. The teaching staff encouraged me to develop intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivations for learning; this has given me a lifelong appreciation for the value of self motivation both during my post-secondary education and my career. I cannot speak highly enough regarding the dedication and commitment of the teaching staff. I have maintained a relationship with the teachers at Banbury and consider them to be both my mentors and friends.

I met Diane the owner of Banbury when I was desperately looking for a good high school to register my kid. She explained the concept of self directed schools and walked me trough the school. My daughter been in this school for two years and I found myself part of the school family. The teachers and staff are so honest, friendly and professional. Kids learn to plan and study independently while teachers are there for them to help. I am so glad my kid is going to this school and recommend this school to every parents who are looking for such environment for their kids. You might consider to give the school a visit to learn more about it.

A HORRIBLE SCHOOL! Banbury Crossroads School left our 9 year old child behind on a field trip and didn't realize it until an hour and a half later. The school told our son not to tell us and also the school never informed us. They tried to keep this incident from us until we found out from another parent weeks later. We asked them about this incident and only after repeated questioning did they finally admit that this incident happened and that they had kept this information from us intentionally. To top it off, they were not apologetic about this incident. This is unacceptable as this information was held from us by the owner, the principle and his teacher and we were unable to help our child deal with it emotionally as they had hid it from us.In another incident, the school took him out of a core subject early in the school year without consulting with us or telling us. The school then let him sit by himself for an hour a day without any supervision and without anything to do. Our child is gifted with a minor learning disability and was in grade 4 at the time and the decision to pull him out of the class was because he struggled with handwriting. The school was fully aware that he had handwriting issues before we started him in this school.The school also purposely left him behind on another school field trip as they told him that there was no room for him to go, which is absolutely damaging for a young child. He was very upset about this, as all of his classmates got to go but him. They left him with the preschool kids 5 years younger than him. We were not informed there was a field trip and if we had known, we would have made sure that he would have had transportation there.In yet another incident, his teacher left students in grades 4 to 6 alone at the Children's festival without any supervision. At this time, our son was almost left behind if it hadn't have been for another student seeing him and notifying him that they were leaving.We had to hire a full time tutor to work with our son as his teacher was not capable of working with him and as such, basically ignored him. If it were not for the tutor we hired, our son would be so far behind on his schooling he would not have even passed grade four. We had to spend thousands of dollars in addition to the tuition to ensure that he was getting educated.The school is not caring as they portray themselves and I would never recommend this school to anyone. It was a horrible experience and after our son left the school, he suffered all sorts of rage and anxiety issues from the way he was treated by the school. It took us months to get him feeling good about himself again after this horrible experience.Banbury Crossroads can not cater to gifted children or children with minor to severe learning disabilities because the staff is not qualified. They will portray themselves as a school that can handle gifted children or kids with learning disabilities, but they can not.Bottom line: This school is not caring and run completely unprofessionally.Our son is now extremely happy and doing exceptionally well at Rundle Academy and he loves it there, thank goodness!

When my son and I first went to Banbury Crossroads school, we were immediately overtaken by a feeling of inclusion and acceptance. My son had been attending a public junior high school where he had been subject to both physical and verbal abuse. This abuse was not just meted out by the other students attending there, but also included name calling and rejection by the teaching staff at this school. My son had begun to exhibit signs of severe emotional stress that began to wear down his mental and emotional health and well-being.This was how we came to discover Banbury Crossroads, in a desperate search for a place of belonging and supportive education. And what we found at this school was so much more than we could have ever imagined! The school administrator, Diane Swiatek, immediately made us feel welcome as she showed us around the school for the first time. Following this initial introduction to the school, we quickly discovered that this was more than just a school for learning educational subjects: this was a place where children who did not fit the mold of mainstream education, were accepted and embraced for their unique traits and abilities. This was a place of inclusive acceptance, even to those children who appeared odd and unusual to outsiders.In Banbury, there is a philosophy of equality and respect for all who attend. The children are treated with the utmost dignity and allowed to learn at their own pace and in their own manner. There is a progressive wisdom that acknowledges the differential ways in which different children are capable of learning. The staff understands the importance of flexibility in education so that each child’s education is tailored to their unique manner of learning (some children are more visual learners while others are more tactile, etc.).However, Banbury goes beyond basic institutional education. Here, the children learn the fundamentals of adult living and survival as well. In the higher grade classes, they work with a school mentor to choose a job internship that complements their own interests and inherent abilities. This allows the young adults attending there to learn valuable life lessons and gain priceless experience in the adult work environment. They also learn immense life skills such as money management and conflict resolution in the larger world beyond the boundaries of the school.Most notably, however, is the atmosphere of genuine caring and compassion exhibited by all the staff at Banbury. All students are engaged and accepted equally, and praised, rather than criticized or ostracized, for their uniqueness and individuality. They are not forced into a mold of “normalcy” but are actually honored for who they are. They are accepted with open arms into a loving “community” that allows them to feel safe and supported. I will always remember my son’s education at Banbury with immense gratitude for helping him to feel accepted and nurtured in his experience there. And to Diane Swiatek, I can never adequately repay your kindness and support for accepting us as part of your “family”! We will never forget you. Thanks to you, my son finally finished his high school education and acquired the confidence he needed to believe in himself again. With a sense of self-esteem and confidence in his abilities, he forged forwards and is now studying at university for a degree in political science. Without the support of Banbury, he would have dropped out of school and limited his opportunities for a successful and prosperous life where he can have a fulfilling and rewarding career, while giving back to the community!

Dear Banbury CrossroadsLike most parents we wanted what was best for our daughter. After having a satisfactory public grade school experience we started to become concerned with the public education system in middle school as class sizes increased, teachers in general seemed overwhelmed adding to the increased pressures of children’s social insecurities, limited one on one, lack of awareness, stress and anxiety. Our first encounter with student issues concerning our daughter was not handled in the most sensitive and productive manner in our view motivating us to seek alternative educational opportunities. Banbury Crossroads was one of the schools we researched. Once our daughter’s good grades started to drift to average and with much natural uncertainty but confidence, due to Banbury’s proven philosophies and history, we made the move to Banbury. Within weeks our daughter had become motivated to learn again and with no influence from us she excelled beyond expectations allowing her to advance with no limits but rather received encouragement and support allowing her to be the best that she can be. Now in her final years of High School every opportunity in the world is open to her with application processes now beginning to apply to the top universities in North America. On top of this is the positive development in character, kindness and understanding she received from attending Banbury which is priceless. Like most parents who want what is best for their children, to Banbury Crossroads we will be forever grateful.For more information on our experience Please feel free to use us as a reference anytime.T&G

I cannot say enough about the positive experience we have had with Banbury Crossroads. Our son, who struggled to have his gifted needs met at two different public schools, has absolutely thrived here. The teachers embody the kindness, curiosity, and dedication that are the hallmarks of humanistic education, and their teaching is tailored to students' unique abilities. As a professor of education, I am convinced that Banbury's approach to education is how we would design teaching and learning if we were somehow able to start schooling from scratch.