At SMYS, parents, staff, students and alumni form a close-knit community through events, traditions and our common mission. Among the most important lessons students learn at SMYS is what it means to be part of a community.  We start with the community of each classroom then expand out to our school, and finally, reaching into our neighborhood, city, and world.

Stratford Middle Years follows a cross-curricular approach using a small class format with an exceptional student-to-teacher ratio of 9 to 1. The individual attention that each student receives makes a huge difference in allowing our students to reach their full potential. By keeping our class sizes small and having the freedom to focus on each student's abilities, we are able to nurture and coach personalized learning strategies, and do so in a supportive engaging atmosphere with a unique community spirit.

Compared with other school systems, we have more daily instruction in French with bilingual teachers - including the AIM program and French drama. Unlike traditional French immersion, our math, sciences and other core subjects are taught in English, which allows for full comprehension and accelerated learning.

Nothing builds the confidence of children and youth more quickly than direct involvement in the performing arts. Our productions are always sold-out performances and conclude with standing ovations. It is wonderful to witness our students working together as a close-knit team to successfully perform a challenging feature-length production. We see an important part of our vocation as developing the innovation and creativity within each of our students.

We feel privileged to know each and every student and we are proud to have them as part of our school family. Their academic, athletic and artistic talents are quite simply amazing. Their respectful, positive attitude is evident, whether at school or during our 3-day summer camp, trips to Toronto or visits to the Stratford Festival Theatre. Watching their inquisitive natures, compassion and social awareness blossom is a constant reminder to us of why we love what we do.